One of the victims of a mass axe attack broke down in tears in the witness box while describing watching his friend being hacked to death.
Mahinda Mahndaskaran almost had his fingers chopped off when he raised his hand to protect his neck during the armed fight on November 23 last year in Sibthorpe Road car park, Holborn Way, Mitcham.
The fight, which lasted only a matter of minutes, ended in the death of 26-year-old Justin Neel Croos.
Mr Croos died in hospital two days later from severe head injuries.
Emergency services in the car park
Eight men have so far been charged with his murder as well as the attempted murder of another four men. Two others are still wanted by police over the fight.
Giving evidence from behind a screen at the Old Bailey on Thursday, June 9, Mr Mahndaskaran insisted his group of friends had been ambushed by their rivals, who had been hosting a birthday party in the nearby Morrison’s carpark.
Mr Mahndaskaran alleged that defendant Prashad Sothilingham – known as “Bullet” – ran towards Mr Croos with an axe, while Mr Croos desperately tried to defend himself with an empty Hennessey brandy bottle.
Speaking through a Tamil translator, he said: “Justin had a bottle. He hit Bullet with a bottle. Bullet then came and tried to cut Justin.
“The next thing I know, he got injured. He turned around and fell backwards.
“When I looked up they were running towards us, screaming ‘hit him, kill him, catch him’.”
In tears, Mr Mahndaskaran added: “The man who had already fallen, they hit him again and again.”
A forensic tent in Sibthorpe Road car park where Mr Croos fell
Mr Mahndaskaran said he had already been hit on the back of the head with an axe and fallen to the ground, from where he watched what happened to his friend.
As he lay there, he alleges that Sugan Selvarajan took aim at the back of his neck with an axe, and he put his hand up to protect himself. The blow almost dismembered his figures, which had to be reconstructed by doctors.
Mr Selvarajan is still wanted by police for his part in the fight.
Mr Sothilingham’s defence barrister, James Scobie QC, questioned Mr Mahndaskaran’s version of events, and argued only one axe had been used in the fight, and that axe had originally been in the possession of Mr Croos before it was taken by Mr Selvarajan.
He added that Mr Selvarajan had first attacked Mr Croos, before hitting Jeyathpan Ganeslingham and then turning to Mr Mahndaskaran. Mr Mahndaskaran disagreed, and insisted he saw Mr Sothilingham attack Mr Croos with the axe.
Both Mr Scobie and defence barrister for Araventhan Puventhiran, John Benson QC, said they believed weapons had been delivered to Mr Croos’ group in Sibthorpe Road car park shortly before the fight, in the boot of a car belonging to two of their friends.
Mr Mahndaskaran denied this, but Mr Benson accused him of being armed with a wooden cricket stump which had been delivered to him in the boot of the car. Mr Mahndaskaran said he had picked up a “wooden stick” to protect himself without knowing what it was.
Mr Benson said: “When you wrote your statement which you made on December 1, 2015, you didn’t make any reference to any of your group having any weapons. But during the course of this violent incident you had a cricket stump, didn’t you?
“You do play cricket, or you used to play cricket. You know what a cricket stump is, don’t you?”
Mr Mahndaskaran replied: “If someone is trying to kill you, would you be looking at the person who is about to kill you or the stump?”
Eight men are standing trial for the murder of Mr Croos, the attempted murder of Mr Mahndaskaran, Mr Ganeslingham, Mayuran Gunaretnam and Hassan Rahman, and violent disorder.
Fourteen men in total are thought to have ran into Sibthorpe Road car park to launch the attack after leaving the Morrison’s car park.
Weapons involved in the fight are believed to have included axes, machetes, swords, knives, metal bars, glass bottles and socks with snooker balls in. None of the weapons have been recovered by police.
The eight defendants in the trial are:
- Prashad Sothilingham, 25, of Edgehill Road, Mitcham.
- Araventhan Puventhiran, 22, of Stoneleigh Avenue, Worcester Park
- Sivakaran Ockersz, 18, of Heathdene Road, Wallington
- Gowrishanth Loganathan, 21, of Cambridge Road, Mitcham
- Mohanran Parimalanthan, 22, of Stafford Road, Wallington
- Jerome Anton Jeyakumar, 23, of Framfield Road, Mitcham
- Visuparathan Dayaparan, 23, of Phipps Bridge Road, Mitcham
- Vithusan Balamurali, 20, of Hawkes Road, Mitcham.
All of the men have denied all of the charges.
Two men, Inkaran Balasingham and Sugan Selvarajan, are still wanted by police.
The trial continues.
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