Cousins 'prowled the streets' for man before fatal stabbing
Two cousins who "prowled the streets" before killing a man they wrongly accusing of stealing a bike have been jailed.
Mikhail Hanid, 47, was assaulted by Curtis Ford, 28, and Samuel Ford, 30, near his home in Weston-super-Mare. Curtis Ford pleaded guilty to murder at a previous hearing and was ordered to serve a minimum of 26 years. Samuel Ford, who was convicted of manslaughter at Bristol Crown Court, was handed a nine-year jail term. 'Hateful attack' The court heard on 25 June Mr Hanid spent the afternoon with friends, including a woman named Lizzie Crow, in Weston-super-Mare. Miss Crow met up with Samuel Ford and afterwards he realised his bike was missing. Samuel Ford "immediately blamed" the people who Miss Crow had been with that afternoon, including Mr Hanid. But it turned out that another man in that group had taken the bike. Kate Brunner QC, prosecuting, said Samuel and Curtis Ford "prowled the streets" around where Mr Hanid lived two days after the bike went missing and attacked him when he came home. Mr Hanid was found lying in the gutter near his home on Ridgeway Avenue having suffered 11 stab wounds and lost a significant amount of blood. Recorder of Bristol Judge Peter Blair QC described Mr Hanid as a "warm, kind-hearted and interesting human being" who was "brutally killed". "It was an utterly senseless act by Curtis Ford," he added. Despite undergoing surgery, Mr Hanid died three days later. During the trial it emerged that Samuel Ford had used racist language to describe Mr Hanid in a text message sent before the stabbing. In statements read to the court, Mr Hanid's family described him as a caring brother, son and uncle. They said he had been killed in a "brutal, thoughtless and hateful attack". Related Internet Links HM Courts Service