Man sentenced following vicious north London stabbing

A man has been jailed after he stabbed a stranger in the head, leaving them with life changing injuries.

Richard Sivanda, 23 (20.06.2002), of Highgate Hill was today, Friday, 17 April, sentenced to 27 years in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

He was found guilty of attempted murder following the attack on a 20-year-old man in the Archway, north London.

Officers reviewed CCTV footage which placed Sivanda at the scene and identified him as being in the area before and after the attack.

Footage also showed Sivanda returning to his home address, where he was arrested just 29 hours after the attack took place.

The investigation team also uncovered a video depicting Sivanda, who used a filter intended to mask his face, claiming that he believed he had killed the victim and boasting of the gruesome nature of the assault.

Today’s sentencing comes as the Met continues to tackle knife crime, having already taken nearly 3,000 knives off our streets last year through the use of data-driven tactics, dismantling criminal gangs and bringing offenders to justice.

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.”

Officers were called at 22:28hrs on Saturday, 15 February 2025 after a man was admitted to hospital with stab wounds to the head.

Earlier that night, Sivanda had approached the victim and his girlfriend as they walked along Highgate Hill towards Archway tube station. Neither of them knew Sivanda, nor had they ever met him.

Sivanda proceeded to challenge the victim and asked him where he was from, believing him to have been a member of a rival gang who was responsible for a murder which had taken place in 2021, a claim for which there was no evidence.

After the victim and his partner walked away, Sivanda chased after them and confronted the victim again, attacking him with a pointed weapon. Sivanda then fled the scene while the victim was left in a critical condition, later managing to get to hospital and receive life-saving treatment.

Despite this, he was left with lasting brain damage and was forced into an assisted living facility.

Sivanda had previously pleaded guilty to assault with the intention of causing serious harm.

On Wednesday, 14 January, a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court found Sivanda guilty of attempted murder.