Man, 22, who broke his ankle during 'senseless' attack in London's West End died weeks later from secondary injuries

21 May 2025, 15:57

A healthy young man who broke his ankle during a “senseless” attack in London’s West End, died weeks later from a health issue stemming from the attack, a court has heard.

Taha Errami, 22, was injured when he was punched and stamped on during the fracas early last June 1, jurors were told.

He died in hospital five weeks later after suffering cardiac arrest on a train to Paddington Station.

The Old Bailey heard how his death was the result of a blood clot that formed at the site of the ankle injury and travelled to his lungs.

Malachi Wilson, 27; Devonta Rose, 21; and Dennis Kaantharasan, 26, are on trial accused of Mr Errami’s manslaughter.

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said: “His assailants, during an episode of late-night, senseless street violence, were these three defendants. Mr Errami did not know any of them.”

She told jurors that the events before, during and after the incident in Shaftesbury Avenue had been caught on CCTV footage.

The victim had provided police with an account, which was recorded on the officer’s body-worn camera, the court was told.

Read more: Fans accused of ‘losing control’ on streets of Bilbao as Spurs and Man Utd supporters descend on city

Read more: Ex-Ukrainian politician shot dead by ‘motorbike-riding assassin’ while dropping children at school in Madrid

Mr Errami had asked the officer for help at about 1.15am, saying he had just been robbed.

He said that he had been talking to a woman before the men had “beaten him up” and “taken his phone”, Ms Carberry said.

Mr Errami, who appeared to have been drinking, explained that he had been in Leicester Square when one of the males allegedly took his cigarettes and punched him, causing his phone to fall out of his hand.

They went on to Shaftesbury Avenue, where two other men were with a woman in a red dress who splashed him with hand sanitiser, he said.

Ms Carberry said: “He was, it would seem, under the mistaken impression that all three defendants were together.

“He said one of the men punched him to the floor and they all stepped and stamped on him. They then left together down Rupert Street, leaving him in the shop doorway where the assault had taken place.”

Mr Errami went on to explain to a paramedic on Shaftesbury Avenue that his leg had been stepped on during an assault.

His left ankle was swollen and tender, and an X-ray in hospital later confirmed it was fractured.

His ankle was placed in a walker boot and he was given crutches before being discharged with advice to attend a fracture clinic.

Jurors heard that patients with lower limb fractures that are immobilised in a cast or in a walking boot have an increased risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Ms Carberry said that Mr Errami was “a young healthy person” and did not fall into the category of a patient requiring anticoagulant drugs but was given an advice leaflet about DVT.

On the charge against the defendants, the prosecutor told jurors: “It is not the Crown’s case that the three defendants intended to cause Mr Errami’s death, or even that they intended to cause him serious physical harm, simply that they each participated in an assault which they realised might cause Mr Errami some harm.”

Wilson, of no fixed address; Rose, of Manor Park, east London; and Kaantharasan, of Stratford, east London, have denied the charge against them.

The trial at the Old Bailey continues.