A pair of Hounslow men who viciously attacked and killed a young dad days before Christmas have been found guilty of his murder.

Sebastian Szalski, 35, and Darusz Badek, 19, were convicted of murdering Sukhijit Dhariwal, 36, at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday (July 4).

The court heard how on December 21 last year Mr Dhariwal had been in the Albion Road pub, in Hibernia Road, with two friends after work.

From the pub he moved onto another bar in Hounslow High Street, which he left at around 1am to make his way home.

Mr Dhariwal was near his house when Szalski and Badek first attacked him.

They struck him and pushed him to the ground before running off.

The pair returned around ten minutes later and launched a second attack - much of which was caught on CCTV.

The footage captured the duo as they violently punched, kicked and stamped on the victim. They then stole some of his possessions, while he lay helplessly on the ground.

Szalski and Badek then returned home to arm themselves with a knife before making their final attack on the victim.

Darusz Badek was found guilty of murder
Darusz Badek was found guilty of murder

They stabbed him repeatedly in the leg and severed an artery. They rounded off the stabbings by punching and kicking Mr Dhariwal more.

Police and London Ambulance Service paramedics found Mr Dhariwal a few minutes later but despite their efforts to save him he was pronounced dead at the scene at 2.54am.

A post-mortem examination carried out on December 23 at Fulham Mortuary, gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head, and multiple stab wounds.

Witness accounts led officers to Szalski and Badek's address on Albion Road. Officers spotted blood stains on the front door handle and inside the home when they arrived.

Police found Szalski and Badek virtually naked and hiding in the attic and arrested them.

Their blood-stained clothing was found scattered about the home and efforts had been made to burn their trousers. Both pairs of trousers were tested and traces of the victim's DNA were found within the blood stains.

The knife used to stab the victim and the possessions the pair had stolen from him, were also recovered from the property.

The pair were charged and appeared in custody at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on December 26.

They both entered a not guilty plea at a pre-trial preparation hearing on January 9.

Sebastian Szalski was convicted of murder
Sebastian Szalski was convicted of murder

Homicide and Major Crime Command Detective Chief Inspector John Massey, said: "This was a senseless and brutal attack on a young husband and father, costing him his life and leaving a small child to grow up without a father.

"It is clear from the fact that the defendants left and returned twice, to further assault Mr Dhariwali, that their intent was to cause serious harm.

"In what has been an extremely traumatic time for Mr Dharwali's family, I hope that the convictions can bring them a sense of justice."

Szalski and Badek will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on July 19.

A 29-year-old man was arrested near to the scene of the crime on suspicion of murder. He was bailed to return to a date in January and was subsequently released without further action.

A 29-year-old woman also arrested on suspicion of murder, was bailed to return to a date in January. She was subsequently released without further action.