Two cousins jailed after killing Somerset man in 'appallingly violent' hate crime
Two cousins who killed a man in an "appallingly violent" attack near his home in Weston-super-Mare have been jailed.
Mikhail Hanid, 47, was stabbed multiple times after he was confronted by Curtis Ford, 28, and Samuel Ford, 30, who wrongly accused him of stealing a bike on 27 June 2020.
Mr Hanid underwent intensive treatment and multiple operations in hospital, but died from his injuries three days later.
The 47-year-old was a "warm, kind-hearted and interesting human being," a judge at Bristol Crown Court said during the trial on Thursday (7 January).
Curtis Ford previously pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Hanid while Samuel Ford was convicted of manslaughter.
During the trial, it was revealed Samuel Ford used racist language to describe the victim in a text message sent before the attack.
Judge Peter Blair QC, the Recorder of Bristol, jailed Curtis Ford for life and ordered him to serve a minimum of 26 years in prison.
He jailed Samuel Ford for nine years, with an additional three years on licence.
Describing the attack, Judge Blair said: "He [Mr Hanid] was brutally killed by an appallingly violent knife attack upon him last June in Weston-super-Mare.
"It was an utterly senseless act by Curtis Ford."
Mr Hanid did not know his attackers, who lived together on Baildon Road in Weston-super-Mare.
On 25 June, Mr Hanid spent the afternoon with friends - including a woman called Lizzie Crow. Miss Crow later met with Samuel Ford who went on to realise his bike was missing.
Ford blamed the people who Miss Crow had been with that day, including Mr Hanid. It emerged in trial that another man in their group had taken the bike and tried to sell it on.
Samuel Ford proceeded to ask for Mr Hanid's contact details in an aggressive attempt to establish who was responsible for taking the bike.
In a text message sent before the attack he described Mr Hanid using racially abusive language. However during the trial the judge said Samuel Ford insisted Mr Hanid's skin colour had "nothing to do with" the attack.
"I regard the comments you made about him as revealing an ingrained prejudice," the judge told Ford.
The prosecutor at trial said the cousins "prowled the streets" around where their victim lived, while "lying in wait" for Mr Hanid before the attack.
Witnesses at the trial described seeing Curtis Ford repeatedly stab Mr Hanid, while others reported hearing Samuel Ford interrogate the victim about the whereabouts of his bike.
Officers from Avon and Somerset Police were called to the scene at 12.10am and found Mr Hanid lying in the gutter, having lost a significant amount of blood. He was found to have suffered 11 stab wounds.
In statements read to the court, Mr Hanid's family described him as a caring brother, son and uncle.
They said he would never have stolen a bicycle and had been killed in a "brutal, thoughtless and hateful attack".
"Mikhail was worthless to Samuel and Curtis Ford," his brother said.
"To our family, he was a deeply loved son, brother and uncle.
Speaking after the case, Detective Chief Inspector James Riccio, of Avon and Somerset Police, described Mr Hanid as "an innocent man who was subjected to a brutal attack".
"This incident has been recorded as a hate crime due to the racially abusive language used within the threats against Mr Hanid and I am sure the impact of what happened has been felt by people in the community," he said.
"As an organisation, we continue to tackle violent crime and work with our partners to educate around the consequences of knife crime."
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