Masked knifeman stabbed stranger to death 90 seconds after meeting, court told

A masked knifeman stabbed a stranger to death 90 seconds after meeting at a bus stop, a court has heard.

Ibrahim Gonclaves-Cumare, 30, is charged with the murder of 34-year-old Troy Ramsundar and having a knife last Thursday.

On Wednesday, a court heard he allegedly travelled across south London from Croydon to Brixton with a knife in his pocket and wearing a hood and mask.

At around 5am, the defendant allegedly came across Mr Ramsundar at a bus stop where he was believed to have been trying to sell bags of crisps.

“The defendant beckoned to Mr Ramsundar to come with him and they walked down a side road.

“Within 90 seconds of having met each other, the defendant took a knife from his pocket and repeatedly stabbed Mr Ramsundar to the chest, front and back.”

The attacker then fled, leaving the bloody knife with a 19cm blade at the scene, the court was told.

Police were called to reports of an injured man in Brixton Road at 5.10am but despite the efforts of emergency services, Mr Ramsundar died at the scene.

He had suffered around three stab wounds, the court was told.

On Sunday, Venezuelan national Gonclaves-Cumare was charged with murder.

The defendant, of no fixed address, appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday by video-link from Wandsworth Prison.

He was assisted by a Spanish interpreter and spoke only to confirm his identity.

Judge Mark Dennis KC set a plea hearing for June 11 and a provisional trial from December 1.

Remanding the defendant into custody, the judge noted the killing appeared to be a “wholly unwarranted display of violence on what amounts, on the face of it, (to be) a completely random attack on an innocent person by a masked and hooded individual carrying a kitchen knife with him”.