Adam Tarikhas pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a bladed article at the Old Bailey
Adam Tarik, 25, of Pacific House, Vale Road, Tottenham N4, had pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a bladed article at the Old Bailey on 3 February. He was found guilty of murder following an eight day trial. He is due to be sentenced at the same court on Thursday, 13 February. The court heard that Tarik attacked 33-year-old Baris Kucuk, who was Kurdish and from Turkey, after he spotted him on Seven Sisters Road at around 2.30am on Saturday, 1 June 2019. Baris, who lived in Finsbury Park and worked as a chef, had enjoyed a night out with his friends and was returning home when he stopped at an off licence near Manor House underground station to buy some beer. There, he bumped into a young woman, an Italian national, and the pair walked together along Seven Sisters Road, using a translation app to communicate with each other. They did not know they had been spotted by Tarik, who had been on his bicycle on the other side of the road. Tarik had been out looking for people to rob, and had only moments earlier approached a woman in an attempt to rob her, but she had fled. Baris’s companion stated in court that she became aware of a man on a bike getting ever closer, and that his presence made her feel anxious and frightened. Baris walked the woman to her home, and they embraced before she went inside. Only seconds later, she heard screaming, and looked out to see Baris on the floor, with the man who had been following them standing over him. The man got back on his bike and rode off in the direction of Seven Sisters station, leaving Baris bleeding profusely on the pavement. He had suffered a horrific knife injury to his leg, where the blade had sliced through the knee joint from the back, cutting more than half-way through the thickness of the entire knee joint. Doctors worked tirelessly to save Baris’s life, and a decision was made to operate and amputate his left leg from the knee down. Despite their best efforts, Baris’s condition deteriorated further, and he died at 4pm on 3 June 2019. A post-mortem examination held at Haringey Mortuary on 6 June found the cause of death to be multiple organ failure, hypovolemic shock (i.e. catastrophic blood loss), and an incised wound to the left lower leg. Detectives from the Specialist Crime Command had begun an investigation and identified Tarik as a suspect. At around 7.20pm on 8 June he was stopped leaving his home address and was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into custody. He was further arrested for a number of unrelated matters. Tarik was identified as having been responsible through CCTV and forensic evidence and was charged with murder. He answered no comment during interviews. As they investigated, detectives established that Baris’s phone, as well as one of the bottles of beer that he had purchased at the off licence, had been stolen from him as he lay dying.
