Pictured: ‘Angelic’ 43-year-old mother killed in Maida Vale stabbing

A woman who was stabbed to death on a busy west London street has been identified by her family as 43-year-old mother-of-two.

Yasmin Chkaifi, who was known as Wafah, was the victim of a frenzied knife attack outside the entrance to a park in Maida Vale on Monday morning.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, while the attacker, named by the Met Police as 41-year-old Leon McCaskre, died after being hit by a car.

The force said the pair were known to each other and had previously been in a relationship.

The driver of the car, a 26-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of murder and has since been bailed to mid-February.

The force said he had been “fully co-operative” with the investigation.

Ms Chkaifi’s cousin, who asked not to be named, wiped back tears as she lay flowers at the scene of the killing.

She said: “It’s just such devastating news. I just can’t believe this is happening. It is just devastating to be taken so young, in her final year of university, doing well. She was an angel.

“There is nothing bad you could say about her. We were really close growing up. I don’t have the words. She was angelic. She had a heart of gold.”

She added that she would like to thank the driver who had run over her cousin’s killer.

Ms Chkaifi’s mother also attended the site of her daughter’s murder but broke down in tears and had to be supported by family members.

Witnesses described how the attacker began stabbing Ms Chkaifi repeatedly in the street.

As the victim screamed for help, a group of passers-by tried to distract and disarm the attacker.

But when the suspect turned on other members of the public, it is claimed that one onlooker got into his car, knocked down the knifeman and pinned him under the vehicle.

Paramedics and an air ambulance attended the scene, but both the woman and her 41-year-old attacker were pronounced dead.

Scotland Yard said it was not aware of any links between the motorist and the two people who died, but confirmed he had been arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder.

Raad Jiyad, a nearby resident, said: “I heard screaming outside my flat. I saw the guy get on top of her and stab her four or five times. In total he might have stabbed her as many as 10 times. He was staring at her and he kept saying ‘take it, take it’.

“People kept trying to get him off her but he was chasing them away and waving his knife at them.

“We tried to stop him but we couldn’t get to her because he was waving the knife."

“One man got in his car, then a car hit the man.

“It was all over so quickly. He went completely under the car. I think the driver was just trying to buy time to distract him.”

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “I heard screaming and my son, who was looking out the window, came over and told me someone was being stabbed outside.

“I saw the lady on the floor and the man on top of her and I thought he was beating her up but then I saw he had a knife.

“The man with the knife was hit by the car and everyone was trying to help the lady. The man who had been crushed by the car kept calling out ‘help me, help me’ but no one would go to him as we were all trying to help the woman."

'He ran to the attacker'

Mo Ahmed, 27, a local shop owner, said one of his customers had tried to help the female victim.

"He ran to the attacker and managed to push him away from the girl. But then the attacker stood up and ran to attack my customer.

"People were trying to intervene, there were people all around, shouting 'leave her alone, she's bleeding'. After a car hit him the attacker fell down.”

Det Ch Insp Jim Eastwood said: "This was a terrible incident that occurred in broad daylight on a busy London street. It also appears that a number of members of the public bravely tried to intervene to stop the attack.

“A man has been arrested in relation to the case. We are not aware of any links between this man and the two deceased. I can also confirm that we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.

“A team of detectives is working to establish the circumstances of the incident and I would ask the public to avoid speculating on what may have happened while these initial inquiries take place.

“A number of people have already come forward. Any information could be vital in helping us understand why this dreadful incident happened."