Moment knife attacker boasts ‘I touched his mind’ after stabbing stranger, 20, within the head in case of mistaken id – as he’s jailed for 27 years
This is the moment a sick knifeman boasts ‘I touched his brain’ after stabbing a stranger to death in a case of mistaken identity.
Richard Sivanda, 23, knifed a 20-year-old man in the head so hard he was left with brain damage, and is now unable to live without assistance.
Sivanda today received 27 years in prison for attempted murder over the brutal assault in Archway, north London, in February last year.
Detectives found a recording of a livestream from just hours after the attack, in which the gangster boasts about its gruesome nature.
Distorted by a digital filter to mask his identity, he says: ‘I’m not gonna lie, I probably touched his brain.’
When someone off camera suggested he had actually stabbed his victim in the cheek, Sivanda doubled down on his brag.
Sivanda spotted his victim and his girlfriend walking along Highgate Hill on the night of February 15 last year, and wrongly believed him to be a rival gang member responsible for a 2021 murder.
He approached and challenged the pair, neither of whom had ever met Sivanda, and demanded to know where the man was from.
Richard Sivanda, 23, seen here distorted by a digital filter to mask his identity, boasted about touching his victim’s brain hours after a sickening stabbing attack
Sivanda was sentenced to 27 years in prison after being found guilty of attempted murder
Sivanda was arrested 29 hours after the attack, and protested to officers that he had university that day
They walked away, but Sivanda chased after them – and launched a savage attack.
CCTV footage shows the thug making a beeline for the man and landing several stabs, as others try to pull him off.
He then sprints away, leaving his victim with life-changing injuries, and returns to his home.
The 20-year-old, in a critical condition, managed to get to hospital to receive vital treatment.
But he had sustained lasting brain damage, and was forced to move into an assisted living facility.
Police bodycam footage of Sivanda’s arrest, 29 hours after the attack, shows him protesting that he has university in six hours’ time.
The officers tell him: ‘You won’t be going to uni today.’
Sivanda pleaded guilty to assault with the intention of causing serious harm, but was found guilty of attempted murder by a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court on January 14.
He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Sivanda mistook his victim for a rival gang member who had committed a murder in 2021
The victim was left with lasting brain damage and forced into an assisted living facility after being attacked on Highgate Hill. Police released grainy CCTV of the attack
Detective Chief Inspector Gemma Alger, who led the Met’s investigation, said: ‘Our thoughts are with the victim of this heinous attack.
‘A victim of mistaken identity, this case shows how gang violence can spill out further onto our streets.
‘Sivanda was particularly brazen in his conduct, going as far as to brag on social media of the attack and the lasting damage he caused.
‘Thankfully, our detective work has seen him put behind bars.
‘Our mission to eradicate this kind of violence is having an impact, with the number of people hospitalised after being stabbed falling by 29 per cent in the last five years.
‘This represents promising progress, but we remain focused on driving down serious violence across London.’
