Imaddeen Sayed: Man who killed stranger in Landsdale petrol station machete attack found guilty of murder

A man who killed a stranger with a machete at a Perth petrol station but fought a murder charge at trial, claiming he was just trying to protect his brother and young niece, has been found guilty by a jury. Imaddeen Sayed, 30, brutally attacked Atbin Razavianroudbarden outside the Landsdale 7-Eleven on the afternoon of July 6, 2023 as customers fuelled their cars and bought goods in the shop. Confronting footage shown in the Supreme Court of WA last week showed his brother Ershaad Sayed and the 22-year-old victim shouting at each other and squaring up for a fight as they paced the forecourt. Imaddeen Sayed arrived and ran up, joining his sibling while Mr Razavianroudbarden backed up. Horrifyingly, the footage then showed Imaddeen Sayed raise a machete — which he had initially been holding behind his back — above his head and bring it down forcefully. The victim had just punched Ershaad Sayed and Imaddeen Sayed claimed he “panicked”. The blow completely cut through Mr Razavianroudbarden’s collarbone and first rib, and caused one of his lungs to partially collapse. Imaddeen Sayed said he had only been holding the blade to scare him and had it in his car as he used it to cut roots in his work as a concreter. But he had no other tools in the vehicle and fled after the attack, shaving his head and disposing of the weapon, which has never been found. He tearfully claimed on the witness stand that his brother had frantically called him asking him to come to the store, saying “someone was trying to run him off the road”. He testified that he feared for his brother who had suffered “break-ins, attacks, assaults” and even a firebombing of his family home after testifying against a murder accused at a trial some 12 years earlier. He said his four-year-old niece was also there and the victim was threatening “once he’s done with us, he’ll get to her”. “All I could think about was the firebombing. This was the next step, the next attack,” Imaddeen Sayed said. “I didn’t have time to think.” The jury took almost six hours to deliver its verdict. Sayed looked down and shook his head after the verdict was delivered, while Mr Razavianroudbarden’s devastated relatives quietly wept from the public gallery. Sayed will face a sentencing hearing on May 15. Outside court, the victim’s brother Cyrus Takhfifi read out a statement. “The family would just like to thank all the first responders who were there on the day, who came to his aid, all the witnesses who came forward,” he told reporters. “We would also like to thank the police investigators and the judicial system for their hard work. I feel like they don’t get enough credit for what they do. “Also ... Atbin was a gentle, kind person who was loved by everyone in our community. “He never wished harm to anyone and is a great loss in our community. “We do not wish this to happen to any family.”