FULL LIST OF ALL THE HOMICIDES (MURDERS AND MANSLAUGHTERS) SINCE JAN 2020, INCLUDING FIONA HOLM (PICTURED) WHO WENT MISSING IN JUNE 2023

2024

Nov 10 – Hilkiah McLeggan, 77, was stabbed in East Street Market in Walworth, south London. Two other men survived. Musse Ali, 66, has been charged with of one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one of knife possession. Ali needed a Somali interpreter during his first court appearance. He awaits trial.

Nov 10 – Curtis Green, 30, was shot dead in Sydenham, south London. He was described by his family as “Happy, excited and beautiful.” They said: “He was an entrepreneur and the owner of a clothing brand and local fitness company. He was also a father-to-be, with a child due in five months.”

Nov 9 – Andres “Pillin” Bracamonte and Daniel “Rana” Atardo, were shot dead in Rosario, Argentina. They were leaders of the Canallas group of ultras or hooligans, who followed Rosario Central football club. The gangs, or “barrabravas,” are mafia-like organisations. Bracamonte, who was banned from attending Rosario’s matches due to his history of violence, and Atardo were reportedly ambushed near the club’s Gigante de Arroyito stadium, where the club lost 1-0 to San Lorenzo. During his 25 years leading Rosario’s barrabrava, Bracamonte was the target of around 30 murder attempts, media reported. He had appeared in court the day before on charges of gender-based violence, for which the prosecutor had requested two years’ imprisonment. He was also charged with extortion, criminal conspiracy and money laundering. He is believed to have been killed by a rival gang of Rosario Central ultras.

October 2024

Oct 29 – Reuben Higgins, 17, was stabbed to death in Marston Green, Birmingham. Abdurrahman Summers, 18, from Yardley, and two boys aged 15 have been charged with murder and await trial.

Oct 20 – Rhiannon Whyte, 27, a hotel worker, was stabbed to death at Bescot Stadium railway station in Walsall, West Midlands. Deng Chol Majek, 18, a Sudanese refugee, has been charged with murder and awaits trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. He had been staying in a nearby Radisson Hotel after crossing the English Channel on a boat and entering the country illegally. The CPS said: “I would like to remind all concerned that there are active criminal proceedings against Cholmajek and he has the right to a fair trial. There must be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that may in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

Oct 20 – Eston Lundy, 43, was shot as he sat in a car in Walter Cox Drive in Kew Town, Turks and Caicos Islands. He was the 40^th murder victim of 2024 in Turks and Caicos Islands, an island with a tiny population. The day before, the chiefs of the National Security Council – Daleeni Daniel-Selveratnam and Washington Missick – said of the islands’ record homicide rate: “This situation is unacceptable. We want to assure you that we are taking decisive action to secure our law enforcement response and build our capability to deal with the threats we face.  In the last month, the RTCIPF has received additional specialist capability assigned to the serious crime team and tactical firearms unit.  Our multi-agency law enforcement efforts have intensified in high-risk areas, with intelligence-led operations aimed at disrupting and dismantling criminal groups.  The safety of our communities and all who visit is our top priority.”

Oct 19 – John Taylor, 44, was killed outside his home in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland. Kieran Lindsay, 19, Kiey O’Connor, 26, and Marshall Strachan, 19, have been charged with murder and await trial. Police Scotland said it was a “targeted attack.”

Oct 19 – Damara Kirland, 35, who was 2 months pregnant, was shot dead at her home in St Paul, Minnesota. Her ex-husband Mychel Stowers, 36, has gone on the run. He has been charged in absentia with two counts of second-degree murder. Officers responding to reports of gunfire found Kirkland’s body crumpled on the floor. There were ultrasound photos in the apartment and a letter addressed to Stowers in the mailbox. Stowers had been paroled from prison in March, after serving time for a second-degree murder charge in the 2008 shooting death of a St. Paul man. He was on work release and living at a halfway house, but he had been granted a pass to visit Damara. Stowers filed for divorce in June, although it doesn’t appear it had been finalised.

Oct 18 – Abdul-Latif Pouget, aged 20 from Camden, was stabbed and then crashed his moped into a wall in Farringdon, central London. He died of his injuries on 21 October. Oguzcan Dereli, 26, from Islington, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Oct 15 – Kieran Shepherd, 30, was assaulted in Great Baddow, near Chelmsford, Essex, on Tuesday at midday. Joseph Dawe, 20, from Great Baddow, Zack O’Keeffe, 19, from Langdon Hills, Basildon, and Harrison Carpenter,19, from Chelmsford, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Oct 12 – Baba Ziauddin Siddique, 66, an influential Congress Party politician, was shot near his car while he was leaving his son Zeeshan’s office in Banda, Mumbai. He died later in hospital. Siddique was part of the coalition governing Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital. The alleged shooter, Shiv Kumar, confessed to his involvement and revealed the plot was orchestrated by Anmol Bishnoi, brother of Laurence Bishnoi, an infamous gangster from the Punjab. A total of 24 people were arrested.

Oct 2 – A 30-year-old Mexican drug dealer was shot dead man outside the five-star Hotel Riu Palace resort in Cancún, Mexico. He was involved in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old boy a beach next to the hotel in July.  The Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office said in a statement about the July incident that the victim was riding one of the two jet skis that approached the shores of Caracol Beach, where they confronted rival drug dealers. One of the bullets struck the stomach of 12-year-old Santiago, who was sitting on a beach chair several yards away from the RIU Cancun hotel. The child, a native of Mexico City, was rushed to an area hospital, where he died. Two drug dealers from the rival groups were arrested during an operation August 4.

September 2024

Sep 29 – Dontae McLaren, 24, was stabbed to death during a brawl between two groups of men with knives in Wandsworth Road, Stockwell, south London. Dynzell Patrick, 26, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 15 – Charlotte Lawler, 31, was stabbed to death in the foyer of a block of flats in Tower Hamlets, east London. Hope Rowe, 32, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 12 – Francis Reilly, 63, who was known as Frankie, died after a serious assault in Brentwood, Essex. Mr Reilly’s family said he was a “loving father, brother, grandfather, and uncle”. John Moore, 38, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 4 – Tikquaan Stephenson-Walters aka Lil Bam, 28, a personal trainer, was shot dead at 11pm in Bravington Road on the Mozart estate in west London. He was an associate of the Harrow Road Boys (HRB) gang. The murder took place a day after the anniversary of the murder of MLO, from the rival SSK gang. Police said Tikquaan was approached by a lone suspect on a white moped. They exchanged words before Tikquaan was shot at close range and the suspect then fled north and turned right into Marban Road.

Sep 4 – Antonio Bellocco, 36, an Inter Milan ultra, was stabbed to death during an argument outside a sports centre in Cernusco sul Naviglio, Milan. Andrea Beretta, 49, head of the “curva nord” (north end) ultras, has been charged with murder. Beretta said he stabbed Bellocco in self-defence after he was shot in the leg. Beretta was questioned in his hospital bed by a prosecutor. Beretta, who has been convicted several times for violence and drug dealing, became head of the Inter ultras after their historic leader Vittorio Boiocchi was assassinated in October 2022. According to press reports, Bellocco is the heir of a powerful ‘Ndrangheta crime family from Calabria, and has been condemned in the past for organised crime activities.

Sep 2 – Four passengers – three of whom were asleep – on a Blue Line train, which operates 24 hours a day, from Forest Park through downtown Chicago to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, were shot dead at 5.30am on Labor Day (a bank holiday Monday). Rhanni Davis, 30, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Three of the victims were identified as Adrian Collins, 60, Margaret Miller Johnson, 64, and Simeon Bihesi, 29. Bihesi was a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marines, serving from 2016 to 2022. But his father in Columbus, Ohio said his son became homeless after suffering from depression.

Sep 1 – Alan Sutton, aged 41, was killed during a fight between a group of men in Monk Bretton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Callum Strachan, 21, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 1 – Bhim Kohli, 80, died after being attacked at Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, Leicestershire, while walking his dog Rocky. A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 1 – Four people were killed execution-style in Tshelimnyama, Mariannhill, South Africa. The six suspects were killed in a shootout with police in South Beach, Durban, a few days later. They  have also been linked to the murders of three men near a tuck shop in Hammarsdale, Mpumalanga.

August 2024

Aug 29 – Alexander Zurawski, 6, was killed at his home in Gendros, Swansea, south Wales. His mother Karolina Zurawska, 41, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.  She has also been charged with attempted murder involving a 67-year-old man earlier on the same day.

Aug 29 – Jahziah Coke, 13, was stabbed to death at his home in Oldbury, West Midlands. Two boys, aged 13 and 15, have been charged with murder and await trial at Birmingham Crown Court. A man in his 40s has been charged with assisting an offender. The prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the case was “tragic” and “senseless” after it was brought up by the local MP.

Aug 26 – Mussie Imnetu, 41, a Swedish chef who was visiting the UK from Dubai where he worked (at the Arts Club restaurant), was found unconscious with a head injury in Queensway, west London, at around 11.22pm after attending the Notting Hill Carnival. He was taken to hospital, where he died of his injuries four days later. He was a Michelin star chef, who hailed from Eritrea but grew up in Sweden. Omar Wilson, 31, was originally charged with GBH but that charge has been upgraded to murder. He awaits trial.

Aug 24 – Joshua Pedro Pelico-Pelico, 19, David Antonio Delgadillo, 21, Daniel Segura-Cruz, 17, and Robert Valencia, 18, were shot dead in Pleasant Grove Park in Dalton, Georgia. A 16-year-old boy from Rome, Georgia, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Aug 21 – Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her daughter Denisty Birtle, nine, son Oscar Birtle, five, and daughter Aubree Birtle, 22 months, all died in an arson attack on a house in Bradford, West Yorkshire. A 39-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and had been taken to hospital with critical injuries. Mohammed Shabir, 44, and Calum Sunderland, 25, both of Keighley, have been charged with murder and await trial. Prosecutor Matthew Bean told Bradford crown court on their first appearance there was a third person who was “in a coma”. Bean added: “He is, at the moment, very unwell and the expectation is that he may not recover. He may, but at the moment there is a degree of uncertainty.

Aug 20 – Mahir Abdulrahman, 30, an inmate at HMP Fosse Way in Leicestershire, was killed in his cell. Fellow inmates Shaan Karim, 38, Thierry Robinson, 21, and Ashirie Smith, 18, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Aug 20 – Claudiu-Carol Kondor, 42, an Amazon parcel delivery driver from Sheffield, was dragged to his death in Wortley, Leeds, as he tried to stop his van being stolen. Mark Ross, 32, has been charged with murder. Police are also seeking Eddie Hampshire, 24, from Belle Isle, Leeds, in connection with the incident. Ross’s trial is due to take place at Leeds Crown Court in March 2025.

Aug 18 – Alberta Obinim, 43, was stabbed to death at a house in Gorton, Manchester. Her husband, church leader Joshua Obinim, 64, and her 17-year-old daughter survived. A 22-year-old man, believed to be Alberta’s son, has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Aug 18 – Sophie Watson, 57, was stabbed to death at a house in Magherafelt, County Londonderry.  on Sunday afternoon. Andrzej Pajaczkowski, 43, a Polish national, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Aug 18 – Stephanie Marie, 19, was stabbed to death near the railway station in Crawley, West Sussex. Jason Flore, 21, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Aug 15 – Joel Stenning, aged 29, died in hospital after he was shot by a Surrey Police firearms officer at a house in Knaphill, Woking.

Aug 15 – David Dosa, 53, was stabbed to death outside his home in Luton. Yasar Hussain, 27, from Aylesbury, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Aug 11 – Kalik Aaron, 26, from the US Virgin Islands, was shot dead in Sandy Ground, Anguilla. It was the 6^th murder on the Caribbean island – which only has a population of 15,000 – in 2024. Two others were injured. Police described it as a “targeted” shooting.  At the time, hundreds of spectators were at the Anguilla Summer Festival closing ceremony which was held in the area. Governor Julia Crouch said it was “awful” to hear of another shooting. “Those involved demonstrated a callous disregard for the safety of the public and the sanctity of human life,” she said. In Nov 2018 Aaron was acquitted of an attempted murder in Road Town in the British Virgin Islands. He was accused of being the “getaway driver” after the shooting of a fellow partygoer at Da Basement, a club below U.P.’s Cineplex.  Adrian Augustin, from St Croix, was the alleged gunman who shot Dakeem Cheltenham on Oct. 29, 2016. Mr. Cheltenham was shot several times near the club but narrowly survived. Augustin was himself shot to death in St. Croix in May 2018.

Aug 11 – Eight people were shot dead in Cherry Tree Lane, Four Paths, Clarendon parish, Jamaica. The victims included a seven-year-old boy, Aiden Bartley. The other victims were Kavel Daley, 27, a therapist, Lawrence Francis, 50, a construction worker, Diamond Bennett, 20, a cashier, Errol ‘Wagga’ Stewart, 58, Jermaine ‘Blacks’ Boothe, 32, Courtney ‘Dummbie’ Messam,  and a woman called Margaret. A one-year old boy and a 70-year-old woman were among 10 others who were injured. Two men have been charged with the murders and await trial. They are Dushane ‘Snowman’ Smalling, 28, from May Pen, and Leighton ‘Bands’ Whyte, 32, from Havana Heights. A third suspect, Steve Smith, was shot by police in a shootout. The police claim the three and other men, who were all armed with handguns, drove to the community, where a birthday party was being held, and fired at a group of people.

Aug 9 – A 31-year-old junior doctor at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, India, was raped and then stabbed and mutilated after finishing a gruelling 36-hour shift. She had fallen asleep in a seminar room due to the lack of a designated rest area. The next morning, her colleagues discovered her half-naked body on the podium, bearing extensive injuries. A hospital volunteer worker has been arrested in connection with the crime. The attack triggered massive protests and Reclaim The Night marches across India. Under Indian law the victim can never be identified because she was a rape victim.

August 8 – Lyudmila Lazarenko, 44, was killed and dismembered in Yurimaguas, Peru. Ivan Kuzmin, 38, a Ukrainian, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. The incident occurred at the Dos Mundos integrated development centre. Workers heard screams and found Kuzmin standing over Lazarenko’s body, which was lying in a pool of blood. Kuzmin resisted arrest, threatening suicide and attacking officers. A drug pipe was found in his belongings. Lazarenko, who leaves behind a husband and two children, was reportedly in Peru for spiritual practices.

Aug 6 – Courtney Mitchell, 26, was stabbed in Ipswich, Suffolk. Logan Burnett, 27, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Aug 6 – Joshua McLean, 31, was fatally shot in Weavers Fields, Tower Hamlets, east London.

Aug 6 – A 33-year-old transgender woman known as Abuja Area Mama was found along a highway in Abuja, Nigeria. She was a TikToker and had a loyal fan base on social media, where she posted about being transgender and her life as a sex worker. She never used her full name, referring to herself sometimes as Ifeanyi. Last year the TikToker told of how she had been attacked and feared for her life. Her body was found along Katampe – Mabushi expressway in the Banex, Wuse II area of Abuja.

Aug 5 – Abdul Jalloh, 23, was stabbed in the Isle of Dogs, east London. Shomiah McKenzie, 18, of Lewisham and Cody Godfrey, 18, of Isle of Dogs, have been charged on with murder and possession of Class C drugs with intent to supply. McKenzie was also further charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

August 2 – Oliver Payne, 38, was stabbed to death in Paragon Place, Norwich. He was a convicted shoplifter.

July 2024

July 30 – Mustapha Ait Chick, 48, a cocaine dealer and former boxer, was shot dead by two men as he opened the electric gate to his home in Livry-Gargan, near Paris.  He was hit by four bullets fired by a Kalshnikov as he sat on his motorbike waiting for the gate to open. Chick was well known to the police. He was jailed for five years in 2011 for his participation in a major drug trafficking operation in Bagnolet. His older brother was the ringleader. He was nicknamed  “Momo” and “Baldy”.

July 30 – Derek Thomas, 53, a bus driver, was stabbed with a Rambo knife in Stoke Newington, NE London. Kamar Williams, 33, was arrested at the Notting Hill Carnival a month later and has been charged with murder and awaits trial.  At a first court appearance the court heard Williams, from the Isle of Dogs, had recently broken up with his girlfriend when he allegedly stabbed her father. A grey Citroen van allegedly used by Mr Williams was found abandoned in east London on 1 August. Two days later, a BMW car allegedly associated with the defendant was stopped in Burntash Hill, south-east London, but drove off at speed before crashing into other cars, the court was told. It is alleged Mr Williams then ran off, jumping through a series of gardens. A female passenger was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

July 29 – Olivia Wood, 29, of Northwich, Cheshire, was killed at a house in Frome, Somerset. Keiron Goodwin, aged 32, from Frome, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 29 – Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class taking place during the summer holidays in Southport, Mersyside. Ten other people – children and adults – survived, some with serious injuries. Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, from Banks in Lancashire, has been charged with three murders and 10 attempted murders. The murders triggered race riots in Liverpool, Hartlepool, Sunderland, Hull, Rotherham, Tamworth and elsewhere after it was falsely reported on social media that the killer was a Muslim illegal immigrant called Ali Al-Shakti. Rudakubana, whose parents are from Rwanda, grew up in Cardiff.

July 28 – Rebecca Simkin, 31, was found dead at a house in Stafford. Wayne Bond, 44, from Stafford, has been charged with her murder and awaits trial.

July 27 – Imran Maroof, 20, was stabbed to death in Plashet Park, Newham, east London. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 26 – Hitkaran Johal, 25, a gangster, was shot dead as he drove down East 63rd Avenue in Vancouver, Canada. Harjot Samra, 28, survived. In 2017 Johal was stopped by Vancouver police on his way to a Kerrisdale office building to burn it down. Johal was originally charged with conspiracy to commit murder, as well as conspiracy to commit arson. But in August 2019, he pleaded guilty in Vancouver provincial court only to the arson count. He was sentenced to two years in jail. Samra pleaded guilty to several firearms and drug offences in 2018 and was sentenced to six years in prison.

July 24 – Anita Rose, 57, suffered fatal head injuries while walking her springer spaniel, Bruce, in Brantham, Suffolk. She died four days later in hospital. A man in his 20s, from the village, was arrested on suspicion of murder. Another man, 45, was previously questioned on suspicion of murder while a woman, 37, was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. On 30 July, the day after the Southport attack, the first claims appeared on X that the arrested 45-year-old and 37-year-old were Somalian. The rumour was repeated by numerous anonymous accounts and amplified by influential anti-immigration accounts. One tweet on 2 August falsely claimed that “two Somali immigrants who followed her attacked Anita to rob her” – to date it has been seen by 2.5 million people. The untruth was then referenced by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and by the rightwing former actor Laurence Fox. It led Suffolk constabulary to take the highly unusual step of publicly rebutting the false rumours, stating that the man and woman were not Somalian.

July 23 – Pharrell Garcia, 15, was stabbed to death during a botched robbery in Hackney, east London, after picking his little sister up from primary school. The incident took place on the grounds of a block of flats next to Benthal Primary School, where Pharrell had been a pupil before going on to secondary school. A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 23 – Ervin Baraku, 33, died in hospital after being stabbed in Seven Sisters station, Tottenham, north London. Kevin Nguyen, 20, and Milumo Pedrinho, 20, have been charged with murder and perverting the course of justice.

July 21 – Rene Graham, 15, was shot dead in Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park in Ladbroke Grove, west London at 7.20pm. Four men, two aged 21 and the others aged 20 and 25, were arrested on suspicion of murder but later bailed.

July 19 – Iryna Farion, 60, a former Ukrainian nationalist MP, was shot dead in Lviv, Ukraine. She caused controversy in 2023 by suggesting that “true patriots” of Ukraine should not speak Russian under any circumstances. Police said her killing was a targeted attack and a power outage affected CCTV in the area. The hardline nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) political party she was a member of blamed Russia directly for the killing.

July 18 – Chen Chen Fei, 47, was killed with a samurai-style katana sword during a fight at her home in San Dimas, Los Angeles, California. Her wife Weichien Huang, 44, was charged with murder and attempted murder of her 70-year-old mother-in-law.

July 18 – Tommy Boom, 30, was stabbed in the early hours in Millers Meadow, also known as Semilong Park, in Northampton. Daniel Larman, 21, and Kieran Okocha-Sleight, also 21, are both charged with his murder. Larman is also charged with one count of possession of a bladed article. Both men will go on trial in January 2025.

July 17 – Andrew Main, 33, from Falkirk in central Scotland, died in hospital on August 14, four weeks after being injured near the entrance to a Travelodge in Swansea. Joseph Dix, 26, of Frome, and Macauley Ruddock, 27, of Bath, both Somerset, have been charged with murder and will go on trial at Swansea Crown Court in January 2025.

July 14 –  Farooq Abdulrazak, 37, and Juan Cifuentes, 33, were shot dead and their Toyota Rav4 car was found burnt out on an industrial estate in Malmo, Sweden.They were both from north London and were running a travel agency called Empire Holidays. They were on a “business trip” to Copenhagen. A month later, Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee, from the homicide team in the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “We are supporting our colleagues in Sweden as they investigate this incredibly tragic and complex incident…Police in Sweden continue to follow a number of lines of enquiry, we understand that no arrests have been made at this time.”  Two men have been detained by the Swedish police – Yaser Abdelaziz (the main suspect in the murder) and Fares Kafaf (suspected of aiding in the murder). They are believed to be part of a gang which has connections to Malmö’s Rosengård district and includes as members Jonathan Håkansson and Marko Osman. It would appear Abdulrazak and Cifuentes were also involved in a drugs deal which went wrong.

July 10 – Izzet Eren, 41, one of the leaders of the Tottenham Turks gang, was shot dead as he sat on the terrace of a café in the stylish Riscani district of Chisinau, capital of Moldova. The gunman, who was wearing a black bike helmet, fled on an electric scooter after firing multiple shots, hitting him in the head. The killing is believed to have been in revenge for a shooting in Dalston, east London, in which several members of the Bombacilar gang from Hackney were shot at. A 9-year-old girl was seriously injured. Eren had a long criminal history, including a 21-year prison sentence for firearms offences in the UK. In 2015 Jermaine Baker was shot by armed police as he prepared to try and spring Eren from a prison van heading to Wood Green Crown Court. He was convicted and then transferred to a Turkish prison in 2019. He was reportedly freed in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and absconded. In May 2022 Moldovan authorities arrested Eren, but he was reportedly free at the time of his death, awaiting extradition to the UK. Eren was implicated in the 1994 killing of Mehmet Kaygısız, who was shot while playing backgammon at a café, a murder initially presented as part of a drug war. But he was never charged.

July 9 – Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Hannah Hunt, 28, and Louise Hunt, 25, were killed in a crossbow attack in Bushey, Hertfordshire. Kyle Clifford, from Enfield, was arrested in a cemetery the following day on suspicion of murder. He is a former boyfriend of Louise Hunt. Carol Hunt was the wife of BBC Radio 5 Live horse racing commentator John Hunt. After the incident the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said she was urgently looking at the laws on crossbows. In April 2024 the previous government concluded a consultation on laws on tightening rules on crossbow ownership.

July 8 – Connor Brookes, 20, was shot dead in Well Lane, Blakenall, Walsall, West Midlands. Jake Sanbrook, 22, from Bloxwich, has been charged with murder, attempt murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. He awaits trial. The family of Connor Brookes said they are “devastated.” In a statement released by the police, his family said: “Connor was a well-loved, respectful young man with a heart of gold.

July 7 – Antonios Antoniadis, 29, was attacked in New Cross, south east London. He died in hospital two weeks later.  Joshua McCorquodale, 20, Sofian Alliche, 19, Shian Johnson, 25, and a 17-year-old have all been charged with murder and await trial.

July 6 – Josh McKay, 30, was stabbed to death in a barber shop in Lea Bridge Road, Walthamstow, north east London. His 6-year-old child reportedly witnessed the killing and told passers-by “my dad has just been stabbed”. McKay was known as JMK and was reportedly associated with the Beaumont gang, which is hostile to the Mali Boys gang. Local Labour MP Stella Creasy tweeted about the incident, which took place two days after the general election. Renai Belle, 29, from Edmonton, Tenika Parker, 38, from Leyton and Daniel Cooper, 21, from Walthamstow,
have been charged with murder await trial in April 2025.

July 5 – Scarlett Vickers, 14, was stabbed to death at her home in Darlington. Her parents, Simon Vickers, 48, and Sarah Hall, 44, have been charged with murder and await trial.

July 2 – Jack Cadwallader, 25, was attacked outside a house in Harrietsham, Kent at 1.30am. Paige Poulton, 19, from Haringey, north London, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 1 – A 37-year-old man from Leatherhead died in a car crash on the A244 in Esher, Surrey. Neil Sullingston, 52, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 1 – Joanne Samak, 49, died of serious injuries at her home in Droitwich, Worcestershire. Her husband, Mohammed Samak, 42, has been charged with her murder and awaits trial.

June 2024

June 26 – Kyle Marshall, 37, was stabbed to death in a park, Well Head Fields, in Bourne, Lincolnshire. Reece Bruns, 20, and a 16-year-old boy have been charged with murder and await trial.

June 25 – Akashdeep Singh, aged 26, died in a house fire in Wolverhampton. A 52-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy were both seriously injured. It is believed to have been an arson attack and a murder inquiry was launched.

June 23 – Neno Dolmajian, a 41-year-old tourist from Montreal, Canada, was attacked on O’Connell Street, Dublin in the early hours. He was taken to Dublin’s Mater Hospital but died two days later with his parents and sister at his bedside. Ionut Danca, 24, a Romanian construction worker, and Madalin Ghiuzan, 23, have both been charged with assault.

June 23 – Charles Jones, 26, a rapper better known as Julio Foolio, was shot dead during his birthday celebrations in Tampa, Florida. He was one of four people hit by gunfire in the car park of a hotel. He had been forced to move to the hotel after being asked to vacate an Airbnb because there were too many people at the party. He posted on his Instagram account that the police had “shut us down.” He had nearly a million monthly listeners on Spotify, where his top-played track is called Voo Doo.

June 22 – Bob Moore, 93, was killed at his home in Hambrook, south Gloucestershire. His son, Gary Moore, 64, was charged with murder and awaits trial at Bristol Crown Court.

June 20 – David Hallatt, 57, a tiler from South Yorkshire, was attacked at The Dolphin and Anchor pub in Chichester, West Sussex. Kieran Egan, 30, from Birmingham, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

June 18 – Delia Haxworth, 85, was killed at her home in Bath, Somerset. Her husband, William Haxworth, 87, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

June 14 – Mark Glasscoe, 46, was found with fatal injuries outside a row of garages in Lincoln. Jason Frow, 31, Louis Giles, 33, and Jordan Hartley, 32, have been charged with murder and await trial.

June 9 – Sebastiaan James-Kraan, 20, was shot in Templeman Road, Copley estate, Hanwell, at 2.10am. He died in hospital on June 12. Javier Rodriguez-McDonald, 18, of Emanuel Avenue, W3, his brother Jayson Rodriguez-McDonald, 19, of Uxbridge Road, W13, and Emmanuel Mgbean, 19, of Alperton Lane, Wembley, have been charged with murder and await trial.

June 6 – Robert Robinson, 21 was stabbed to death in Deptford, south London. Ryan Wedderburn, 18, Dalziell Wedderburn, 44, and Kirk Harris, 18, have been charged with murder and await trial.

June 4 – A 19-year-old man was stabbed to death at Edgware Road station in central London. A gunshot was also heard.

May 2024

May 28 – Maria Nugara, 54, and Giuseppe Morreale, 29, were killed in the village of Ugley in Essex. Calogero Ricotta, 63, has been charged with murder and one count of actual bodily harm and awaits trial at Chelmsford Crown Court. Ricotta is the husband of Nugara and father of Giuseppe.

May 27 – Andrew Rowland-Stuart, 70, was killed at his flat in Brighton. His wife Joanna Rowland-Stuart, 70, has been charged with murder and is due to go on trial at Lewes Crown Court in Nov 2024. When she appeared for a first appearance she  was aided by a British Sign Language interpreter after the battery died in her cochlear implant.

May 25 – Johnny Wactor, 37, an actor who starred in soap opera General Hospital, was shot and killed in Los Angeles when he interrupted three thieves stealing the catalytic converter from his car. He had left work at a downtown LA rooftop bar with a coworker when he saw three men who had hoisted his car. Police said one of them fired at him without provocation and killed him. Robert Barceleau, 18; Sergio Estrada, 18; Leonel Gutierrez, 18; and Frank Olano, 22, have all been charged with murder and await trial.

May 24 – Amie Gray, 34, a personal trainer, was stabbed to death on Durley Chine beach in Bournemouth just before midnight. Her friend, Leanne Miles, 38, survived. Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, south London, has been charged with murder and awaits trial at Winchester Crown Court.

May 24 – Kamari Johnson, 16, was stabbed in Bourne Avenue, Hayes, west London. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place and awaits trial.

May 22 – Jesse Tubbs, 30, of Mississauga, was shot in Toronto, Ontario around 12.30am and died in hospital a few days later. Adrian Gordon Jr, 24, fled to the UK and was arrested in London in August 2024. He has been extradited back to Canada and awaits trial.

May 17 – Emma Finch, 96, was found dead at her home in Mill Road, Liss, Hampshire, at 4.29am.  She died in a fire. Joshua Powell, 26, from Lindford, was later arrested and charged with her murder. He awaits trial at Winchester Crown Court. Emma’s family said in a tribute released through Hampshire police: “The death of our dear Mum at the age of 96, has left a huge void in our lives, more so as to the circumstances surrounding her untimely death.”

May 15 – Franklin Agbotui, 79, was beaten to death at his home in Soprano Court, a sheltered housing complex in Plaistow, east London. Philip Fracezek, 20, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. A number of neighbours had become concerned that a man had entered the block of flats and was trying door handles, the Old Bailey heard.

May 9 – Anita Mukhey, 66, a part-time medical secretary, was stabbed to death at a bus stop in Burnt Oak, Edgware, north London after being slapped, punched and shaken by her attacker at 11.46am. The attack was witnessed by members of the public. Witnesses said he grabbed her and held her “like a rag doll”, shaking her about. Jalal Debella, 22, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 7- Konstantin Tsachev, 66, was stabbed repeatedly at a house in Palmers Green, north London. His son, Aleks Tsachev, 21, a Bulgarian national, has been charged with murder and is due to go on trial at Wood Green Crown Court on 24 Feb 2025. He is also charged with assault and threats to kill and robbery of his mother, Kristina, and the attempted GBH with intent of a 16-year-old boy.

May 6 – Josh Itseli, 20, was shot dead in Drimnagh, Dublin in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday.  He was shot multiple times in an incident that saw a Mercedes and a Volkswagen collide on the Knocknarea Road. The Garda recovered an AR-15 assault rifle and an e-bike. It is believed to be a gangland killing.

May 6 – Oleg Sloboda, 42, a Ukrainian national, was stabbed to death at a house in Chingford, NE London. Baimolda Beibit, 37, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 5 – Jack Hague, 38, was stabbed to death in Bethnal Green, east London. Umair Rafiq, 35, and Mohammed Ikram Uddin, 24, have been charged with murder and await trial.

May 4 – Tekin Kartal, 30, of the Hackney Bombers (Bombacilar), was shot dead after he came out of a restaurant in the Diagonal Mar neighbourhood in Barcelona, Spain, after a meeting with drugs baron and patron Abdullah Baybasin. Kartal, a German-Turk, was one of four men in the restaurant, on Llull Street. He received a phone call, excused himself and headed outside. Five bullets were fired at him, four of them hitting him in the head. Several weeks later a 9-year-old girl was shot and critically injured in a shooting in Dalston, east London. Then in July, Izzet Eren, of the rival Tottenham Turks, was murdered in Moldova. It was all connected.

May 1 – Marcus Smith, 19, was shot dead during a burglary in Eccles Road, Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire at 1.20am. Another teenager survived. A farmer in his 50s was arrested but bailed. Mr Smith, of Chapel-en-le-Frith, played football for a local team and was a DJ at a pub.

April 2024

April 30 – Daniel Anjorin, 14, was approached from behind and stabbed to death with a samurai sword as he walked to school in Hainault, north east London. Marcus Arduini Monzo, 36, has been charged with murder. Four other people – including two police officers – were seriously injured in separate attacks, all within 20 minutes around 7am. Mr Monzo, a dual Spanish-Brazilian national living in Newham, east London, awaits trial in February 2025.

April 29 – Callum and Jake Robinson, both in their 30s, Australian brothers from Perth, were shot dead in Baja California, Mexico, along with their friend Jack Carter Rhoad, a US citizen. Callum and Jack were friends in San Diego where Callum lived. All three were surfers. The trio were reported missing when they failed to check in to pre-arranged accommodation in Rosarito, Mexico. Their bodies were later found dumped in a well. A fourth body was in the well but had been there for years. Jesús Gerardo, aka El Kekas, has been charged with kidnap and murder. The trio were probably killed while trying to stop the tyres of their pickup truck being stolen. Gerardo’s girlfriend Ari Gisel and another man were also detained.

April 28 – Kenneth Brown, a homeless man, was attacked and killed at a bus stop on Charleston Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada at around 3am. Colin Czech, 39, has been charged with murder and attempted murder. Czech allegedly started to “eat his face”.  He ate his eyeball and ear. He also tried to kill a man at a 7-Eleven “in the same manner as he did” Brown. In May, a judge found him competent to stand trial. According to documents, an employee at the 7-Eleven at the intersection of Charleston and Las Vegas boulevards saw Czech outside the store after 3 a.m. Czech appears to do pushups in the middle of the parking lot before mocking the employee. The video shows Czech then tackling the man for some time. Czech said he had been awake for five days and thought he was “possessed”.

April 21 – Two men, aged 24 and 35, were found dead after a fire at an end-of-terrace house in Forest Road, Walthamstow, NE London. A murder investigation was later launched. The SIO, Matt Webb, has refused to name the dead men, who are believed to be Algerian immigrants. The house in question is believed to have been used as a squat and as a drugs den and residents were not happy with the noise which emanated from it.

April 12 – Rijkaard Siafa, 22, was stabbed to death in Fellmongers Yard, Croydon. David Walcott, 34, from Norbury, and Rammon Mali, 32, from Kenley have been charged with murder and await trial. Mali was arrested on 5 May at Gatwick Airport having returned to the UK from Senegal.

April 12 – Myra Thompson, 90, was found dead in her home in Spital, Wirral, Merseyside. Jane Hill, 51, from Upton, Wirral, has been charged with murder. She was also charged with the theft of £60, alleged to have been taken from Ms Thompson.

April 6 – Kulsuma Akter, 27, was stabbed in the neck as she pushed her baby in a pushchair through the Westgate area of Bradford, West Yorkshire. A shopkeeper and a passing doctor tried to help but she was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Police said she wanted to speak to Habibur Masum, 25, a Bangladeshi national who was in the country on a student visa. Masum, who was living in Oldham, was charged with threatening to kill Ms Akter on November 24, 2023 and assaulting her on November 23. Both offences were alleged to have happened in Manchester. He was given bail despite the objections of the prosecution.

April 5 – A 15-year-old boy called Shamseddin died in Necker Hospital after he was beaten by a group of youths near his school in Viry-Chatillon, a suburb of Paris. “This extreme violence is becoming commonplace,” said the town mayor, Jean-Marie Vilain. The boy was walking home after a music class at about 4.30pm when he was set upon by a group of youths. According to witnesses, he was punched and kicked by the attackers, who were wearing balaclavas.

April 4 – The remains of Stuart Everett, 67, were found in Kersal Dale nature reserve near Salford, Manchester. Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski, 68, and Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, both from Eccles, have both been charged with murder.  A torso – consisting of the bottom of the back, buttocks and thigh – was found in clear plastic by a passer-by at Kersal Dale Wetlands on April 4. Remains were found at two further locations a few days later and a further discovery in an alleyway close to the railway lines off Worsley Road, Eccles.

April 2 – Sarah Mayhew, 38, died and her remains were found at Rowdown Fields in Croydon, south London. A man, 44, and a woman, 48, were arrested.

April 1 – Janayo Lucima, 21, was shot dead at a house in Comeragh Road in West Kensington, west London at 10pm on Easter bank holiday Monday. Khuedr Al-Kurdi, 21, Muktar Said, 22, Issa Siteri, 18, Yusuf Muhudin Abdi, 18, two 17-year-old men and a 16-year-old boy have all been charged with murder and face trial in February 2025. Siteri and Abdi voluntarily returned from Morocco in June 2024 while the 16-year-old boy was extradited from Spain in June 2024. Lucima had been convicted of perverting the course of justice in 2021 after helping in the clean-up operation after William “Blaise” Algar was murdered in Dec 2019 in the so-called Monster Line murder.

https://totalcrime.substack.com/p/why-easter-shooting-has-echo-of-the

March 2024

March 31 – Steven Hutton, 43, was found seriously injured inside a house in Dundee, Scotland. Brian Millar, 27, Barry Murray, 43, Scott Henderson, 39, and Carrie Stewart, 42, are accused of murder and await trial.

March 28 – Camila Gómez Ortega, 8, was found by a road near the city of Taxco, Guerrero state, Mexico. She is believed to have been killed after she trespassed to use a couple’s swimming pool. A woman, identified only as Ana Rosa, was beaten to death by a lynch mob in revenge. A video of the incident went viral on social media. A man survived.

Mar 20 – Zhe Wang, 31, a Chinese woman, was stabbed to death at a house in Hither Green, south London.  Joshua Michals, 24, of Lewisham, was charged with her murder on Friday and awaits trial.

March 11 – Bajram Luli, 27, from Edgware, was stabbed to death in a car at Sudbury Heights Avenue, Greenford, west London around 5.30pm. He was taken to hospital where he sadly died a short time later. Sabin Manda, 31, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 6 – Brendon Staddon, two weeks old, died at a house in Yeovil, Somerset. Sophie Staddon, 20, and Daniel Gunter, 25, have been charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child and await trial.

March 5 – Aliki Mamwa, 30, known as Alex, was stabbed to death in St Paul’s Bristol. David Malcolm, 43, from Easton, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 4 – Shay Kang, 10, was found dead at a house in Rowley Regis, West Midlands. Her mother Jaskirat Kaur, also known as Jasmine Kang, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 3 – Christine Bauld, 55, was killed at Burbage in Leicestershire. Her son, Gregor Bauld, 22, has been charged with murder and possession of a bladed article. A trial date has been set for September 2024.

March 3 – Five people – Mandlenkosi Mayise (66), Delisile Mayise (63), Phemile Mayise (36), Bongathini Mayise (34) and Phindile Mayise (29) – were shot dead at a propery in Dumaneni in Ulundi, South Africa.

Mar 1 – A 48-year-old man was stabbed to death in his home in Brighton Park, Chicago, Illinois. Another man has been arrested.

February 2024

Feb 27 – Bernie Fowler, 87, was found on the floor of Harold Wood station in east London after going to get a free morning newspaper at 4.30am. The station is on the Elizabeth Line. Sekai Miles, 22, from Brent Cross in north west London, has been charged with murder. He is due to go on trial in January 2025.

Feb 26 – Robert Weston, 30, was stabbed to death at a house in Harrow, NW London. Jaden Sheriff, 19, from Hoxton, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Feb 23 – Paramjit Gill, 40, known as Pam, was killed at her home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. Paul Gill, 39, has been charged with one count of murder and awaits trial at Reading Crown Court.

Feb 19 – Jesse Baird, a TV presenter, 26, and his boyfriend Luke Davies, 29, a Qantas flight attendant, were murdered at his home in Paddington, Sydney, and their bodies were found buried on a rural property in Bungonia, near Sydney, Australia. Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, a police officer and former boyfriend Mr Baird, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. He joined the police force in 2019 and was previously a celebrity blogger. Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty said the remains were found “near the entrance to the property” and that attempts had been made “to cover the bodies with rock and debris”. He added that police believe two “surf bags” were used to transport the deceased couple in a white van from Mr Baird’s home. The incident led to the police being uninvited to the LGBT Mardi Gras parade in Sydney.

Feb 18 – Fares Bash, 7, Joury Bash, 3, and Mohammed Bash, 9 months old, were found dead at a house in Sea Mills, Bristol. A 42-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The children were all boys and the family was originally from Sudan.

Feb 18 – Christine or Chrissie Everett-Hickson, 21, was killed at a house in Riddings, Derbyshire. Kain Tailby, 30, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Feb 17 – Brian Low, 65, a retired groundsman, was shot while he walking his dog in Pitilie on the outskirts of Aberfeldy, Perthshire. His death was initially thought to be non-suspicious and medically-related but a post-mortem examination then took place six days after his death, prompting a murder investigation. His body was discovered on a remote track next to his black Labrador, which was unharmed.

Feb 17 – Nathan Bawuah, 17, was stabbed to death in Hackney, east London around 10.50pm. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial in June 2024.

Feb 14 – Darrian Williams, 16, was stabbed in Rawnsley Park, Easton, Bristol. He died in Old Market. At the time it was reported the killers were wearing masks and fled on a bicycle. Two boys, both aged 15, have been charged with murder and possessing a knife in a public place. They await trial.

Feb 12 – Sam Varley, 44, was killed at a house in Harehills, Leeds. Warren Spence, 54, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Feb 9 – Brian Darby, 60, died when a van was driven into a crowd of people in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside. Martin Breeze, 56, and Shaun Breeze, 29, have been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder. They are due to go on trial in July 2024.

Feb 7 – Teddi Baker, 21, died after being involved in a fight in Dod Street, near an alleyway that leads to Limehouse Cut canal in Limehouse, east London around midnight. She is believed to have made her way back to a flat in nearby Stainsby Road, where she died of her injuries.

Feb 6 – Wallis Webb, 65, a former councillor, was found dead at his home in Erdington, Birmingham. Sakander Hussain, 25, is accused of murder and fraud and awaits trial. West Midlands Police said Mr Wallis’s bank card was used after his death.

Feb 5 – Giovanni Joseph, 31, was shot five times in Providence Avenue, Nassau, Bahamas, by robbers who stole his Honda Accord car. His mother Territa said her son was about to leave for work about 6am when he was shot. Nobody has been arrested. The killing was the latest in a series of violent events in the Bahamas, with 20 murders in January 2024 alone.

Feb 4 – Bledi Petraj, 37, was stabbed to death in Southgate, north London. Kozma Papa, 21, from Yate, Bristol, was charged last night with murder and awaits trial. He was arrested after his car was stopped on the M25 in Hertfordshire.

Feb 4 – Samantha Murphy, 51, was attacked in a bushland area where she was known to exercise, near her home in East Ballarat, near Melbourne, Australia. Patrick Stephenson, 22, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. He is the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson. He was arrested at a house in Scotsburn, a farming community east of Buninyong, where he was house-sitting.

Feb 2 – Blake Newland, 17, was stabbed in Limavady, County Londonderry. Michael McGlinchey, 53, Stephen McGlinchey, 27, and Andrew McGlinchey, 29, are all charged with the teenager’s murder and await trial.

January 2024

Jan 31 – Mohammed Duraab Khan, 26, was stabbed to death at a Texaco petrol station in Meadow Lane, Nottingham. Haseeb Majid, 22, from The Meadows, Nottingham, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Jan 31 – Wallis Webb, 65, a care home chef, was stabbed in the neck at his flat in Erdington, Birmingham. Sakander Hussain, 25, was jailed for life for murder and robbery. The court was told Mr Webb was gay and frequented Birmingham’s Gay Village, used chat sites on the internet to meet like-minded males and had a regular friend for over 10 years who he would spend time with, although they were not settled partners and did not live together. On the night of the murder he was picked up by Mr Webb, allegedly for a gay encounter but he killed him and then used his victim’s bank cards at supermarkets and a takeaway. He was convicted by a majority 10-2. Hussain, from Washwood Heath, pleaded guilty to fraud before his trial but denied murder, citing psychiatric issues after initially claiming not to be involved in the death.

Jan 31 – Michael Mohn, who worked for the US Army corps of engineers in Philadelphia, was shot dead. He was then decapitated with a power saw and his head was shown off in a video online. His son, Justin Mohn, 32, has been charged with murder and abuse of a corpse. The gruesome video circulated for hours on YouTube garnering more than 5,000 views before it was taken down. During the online diatribe, Mohn railed against the Biden administration and the border crisis while declaring himself the new acting US president under martial law and decrying his father as a traitor. The diatribe also mentioned fiscal policy, urban crime and the war in Ukraine.

Jan 29 – Charles Kinston, 23, a dairy farmer, was shot dead in a field near his farm, off Brizlincote Lane, Bretby, Derbyshire. A man in his 30s was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. Mr Kinston had won a third-place accolade in a Farmers’ Weekly inventions competition in 2020 for a Land Rover Discovery 1 300Tdi he had modified for calf-feeding rounds.

Jan 29 – Dimitrios Tsavdaris, 54, known as Jimmy, was stabbed to death at a house in Hackney, east London. Two men were arrested.

Jan 27 – Mason Rist, 15, and Max Dixon, 16, were stabbed to death in the street in Knowle West, Bristol. Anthony Snook, 44, from Hartcliffe, Bristol, and three boys, aged 15, 16 and 17, have been charged with murder and await trial. Bailey Westcott, 22, and Jamie Ogbourne, 26, have also been charged with two counts of assisting an offender.

Jan 26 – Claudia Kambanza, 22, was stabbed on a street in Hull. She died a short time later. Her partner, Mateus Johannes, 28, has been charged with murder and possession of a bladed article and awaits trial.

Jan 24 – Tyler Donnelly, 19, was stabbed to death in Hanworth Park, Feltham, Middlesex. The body was discovered by joggers in Hanworth Park in Feltham, at about 7.40am the following morning. Daniel Matos, 21, Joshua Cowley, 27, and Keith Preddie, 32, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Jan 19 – Kanticha Sukpengpanao, 36, Jasmin Kuczynska, 12 and Natasha Kuczynska, nine, were found stabbed to death at their home in Costessey, Norwich. Also found was the body of Bartolomiej Kuczynski, 45, who had suffered fatal neck injuries. He was the children’s father. Norfolk Police has twice referred itself to the police watchdog in connection with the case. It later emerged that Kuczynski rang the police at 6am and said he was confused and worried about his mental state. The police did not attend but told him to contact a doctor. An hour later the bodies were found.

Jan 19 – Petra Ross, 23, who was born in Inverness, went missing and her body was discovered near the Gibraltar Point nature reserve in Skegness two days later. She had died of hypothermia. A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and bailed. Ms Ross was unemployed and living with her parents in Skegness when she was reported missing. According to social media she was engaged to be married.

Jan 16 – Tyreece Scott, 24, was stabbed to death in Hounslow, west London. Ben Laing, 23 from Feltham, and Duarra Abdi, 19 from Acton, were charged with murder and await trial.

Jan 15 – Five people, including a 16-year-old boy were shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. Three of the victims were found dead inside a pick-up truck while a fourth was found on the pavement. A fifth victim died in hospital while being treated for his wounds. Police Commissioner Antonio Lopez told the WKAQ radio station weapons were found inside the bullet-riddled pick-up. He said the victims had just left a cock-fighting establishment in the nearby town of Naguabo. It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting late on Monday, although Mr Lopez said authorities believe it was related to drug trafficking.

Jan 11 – Shakira Serrano, 24, was found dead in the parking lot of the Louis H. Pink Houses in Brooklyn, New York. She had suffered severe trauma to her head and body after being run over by a car. Neighbours said they saw her fighting with her boyfriend and the car, which was being driven by a woman, then hit her. It was reportedly a love triangle situation.

Jan 10 – Ryan Munro, 36, fell to his death from a window of a block of flats in Morgan Street, Dundee, Scotland. Jennifer Souter, 38, has been charged with culpable homicide. Ms Souter is alleged to have threatened, intimidated and detained Mr Munro against his will with a view to extorting money from him and placing him in a state of fear and alarm. It is claimed she committed culpable homicide by putting Mr Munro in fear for his safety and causing him to fall from a second floor window, resulting in fatal injuries. Stephen Stewart, 50, and Victoria McGowan, 41, have been charged with abduction and extortion. All three await trial. The brother-in-law of Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf was initially arrested in connection with the incident along with Stewart and McGowan. Ramsay El-Nakla, 36, the brother of Mr Yousaf’s wife, Nadia El-Nakla, was released pending further inquiries.

Jan 9 – Kevin Conway, 26, was shot dead in his home in the Greenan area of west Belfast. Conway, who was originally from the Kilwilkie estate in Lurgan, was one of three men charged in relation to the murder of Shane Whitla in Jan 2023. Whitla – who is believed to have been killed by a drugs gang known as The Firm – was alleged to have lured the victim to his “execution”. Conway’s father, also called Kevin was also shot dead, aged 30, in 1998. The IRA is believed to have been responsible. Conway jr was given bail in July 2023.

Jan 8 – Anojan Gnaneswaran, 21, was stabbed to death at Strawberry Hill railway station in Twickenham, south west London. A 16-year-old boy was found with a knife wound to his leg in nearby Alexander Close. Four men were arrested.

Jan 8 – Chaudhary Mahmood, 45, was stabbed 45 times and dumped in the passenger seat of a car found in the car park of the Stratford Centre shopping mall. He worked at the centre. Vasile Gorghescu, 41, from Southampton, has been charged with murder and is due to go on trial on 28 October 2024 at the Old Bailey. The prosecution claim Gorghescu drove from his home in Southampton to the Stratford Centre in east London, met Mr Mahmood in the car park where he attacked him. The body was only found on Jan 10 after they received a tip-off.

Jan 4 – Jonah Ho-Shue, 24, was stabbed to death in a street in Haringey, north London.

Jan 4 – Maya Bracken, aged 56, was found stabbed to death in a Lexus car outside her home in Pangbourne, Berkshire. She was originally from Indonesia. Thames Valley Police were called to the scene of a crash at around 5:45pm on the A340 Tidmarsh Road at the junction with Flower’s Hill. They found her at the scene. An 18-year-old man, believed to be her son, was found dead on a railway line nearby. Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with Ms Bracken’s death.

Jan 3 – Tia Simmonds, 32, was found dead at her home in Lewisham, south London. Her husband Shane Simmonds, 38, was jailed for life (32 years) for murder. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of rape in relation to a separate woman. He was sentenced to 12 years concurrently for each of these offences.

Jan 1 – Keotshepile Naso Isaacs, known as Naso, 33, was found dead at her home in the Scottish seaside town of North Berwick, near Edinburgh at 8am. Her husband, Mompati Dodo Isaacs, 37, has been charged with murder and awaits trial at Edinburgh sheriff court. The victim was originally from Otse, a village in south-east Botswana. She is understood to have three sons and had been living in the UK since 2023.

2023

Dec 31 – Karen Wilshaw, aged 63 and her mother Joyce Wilshaw, 91, were discovered at house in Cheadle, near Stoke-on-Trent on New Year’s Eve. Both had suffered severe injuries. A 68-year-old man was arrested but Staffordshire police said he was later released.

Dec 31 – Harry Pitman, 16, was stabbed to death in Primrose Hill, Camden, north London, 20 minutes before midnight. Primrose Hill is a popular spot for watching the New Years’ Eve fireworks. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with his murder and awaits trial.

Dec 28 – Joanna Derkacz, 37, was found dead at her home in Waterlooville, near Portsmouth. Her boyfriend, Stephen Sexton, 36, was charged with murder. He was also charged with two counts of coercive or controlling behaviour. It is alleged that Sexton controlled his partner of three years for a period of 16 months before her death.

Dec 26 – Michael Murphy, 49, was stabbed in the street in Hackney, east London. Police have appealed for help in finding the prime suspect, Jurejs Vankovs, 38.

Dec 26 – Luke Miller, 23, was stabbed to death on Boxing Day at a flat in Tadcaster, Yorkshire. Taylor Fenwick, 22, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Dec 25 – Reece Connor, 29, was stabbed to death near Crown Island in Nottingham. Kersharn Dockeray-Barnett, who was 17 at the time, was found guilty by a jury of murdering Connor in revenge for an earlier incident. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years at Nottingham Crown Court.

Dec 24 – William Bush, 23, wad found dead in Cardiff at 11.30am. Dylan Thomas, 23, of Llandaff, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Dec 24 – Jason Hennessy sr, 48, was shot dead during an incident at Browne’s steakhouse in Blanchardstown, Dublin. The gunman, Tristan Sherry, 26, was himself stabbed to death. Michael Andrecut, 22, and David Amah, 18, have been charged with the murder of Mr Sherry and await trial. Sherry apparently burst into the restaurant with a submachine gun but he only managed to get a couple of shots off before his gun jammed. He was killed after targeting gangland rivals. An accomplice fled in an Audi. Sherry was stabbed almost 30 times with one of Browne’s famously sharp steak-knives, before being bludgeoned around the face with a bar stool and shot in the head with his own gun. Sherry was a member of the Gucci Gang, from Finglas, which is led by a gangster known as Mr Flashy. Their rivals are the so-called Blanchardstown Mob. 

Dec 24 – Kacey Clarke, 22, was stabbed to death at a flat in Bermondsey, SE London at 10pm on Christmas Eve. A 16-year-old boy was charged with murder but he was acquitted of that charge in Oct 2024. The boy, by then 17, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 6 and a half years. He cannot be named. The court heard he killed Kacey “in a fit of anger” during a laughing gas-fuelled row. At the time of the killing he was on bail for a series of e-bike mobile phone snatches, having stolen 34 devices valued at £28,000. Judge Simon Mayo KC told the teenager: “I accept you did not plan to stab her and that your decision to do so was formed in the moments before you did so. I also accept you regret what you did and the remorse you have expressed is genuine.” The judge said he was satisfied both the defendant and Ms Clarke were “under the influence” of nitrous oxide at the time of the killing. He imposed no separate sentence for a charge of conspiracy to rob relating to the mobile phone snatches and six counts of dangerous driving. The court heard how a row began over Ms Clarke’s missing car keys, which she had mislaid. The youth was caught on CCTV threatening to “ching” up and kill her. She The threw an object at the youth and pulled a clump of his hair out.

Dec 20 – Chris Marriott, 46, was hit by a car in Burngreave, Sheffield. Hassan Jhangur, 23, has been charged with murder and five counts of attempted murder. He awaits trial. A 32-year-old woman remains in hospital in a serious condition. South Yorkshire Police said Mr Marriott had been out walking with his sons, aged six and eight, when the incident happened. He was among several people hit by a car on College Close, including an off-duty midwife who had also stopped to help.

Dec 20 – Kobi Macharia Dooly, 4, was stabbed to death in his bed at a flat in Hackney, east London. His mother, Keziah Macharia, 41, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. On the evening of 20 December, police were alerted to concerns for Kobi’s welfare by his father, Ben Dooly, who had split up with the defendant approximately a year before, the court heard. Within minutes of a 999 call, officers forced their way into the defendant’s home in Hackney just before 11pm.

Dec 16 – Samuel Wilson, 26, was hit by a van in Market Place, Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Zac Newman, 27, was convicted of murder, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and attempted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after two other men were also injured in the incident. He was jailed for life in July 2024.

Dec 10 – Liam Humphreys, 28, was stabbed at a block of flats in Toxteth, Liverpool. A man aged in his 30s was left critical but stable in hospital while a woman, also in her 30s, was serious but stable. Ian Scott, 37, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Dec 10 – Gary Bartram, 49, a teacher, was found dead in a canal near Deep Hayes Country Park in Longsdon, near Leek, Staffordshire. A 49-year-old man from Dundee has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He remains on conditional bail. Mr Bartram had spent the evening in a pub in Denford.

Dec 6 – Ilya Kyva, 46, was assassinated in Moscow, Russia by a gunman working for Ukraine’s SBU security service.  Earlier in 2023 Kyva was given a 14-year jail sentence for high treason and calling publicly for the occupation of Ukraine. He had already fled Ukraine and was convicted in absentia.

Dec 5 – Lianne Gordon, 42, was shot dead in Vine Close, Hackney, east London. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and is due to go on trial in June or Sep 2024. At an Old Bailey hearing in Dec 2023 the court heard the teenager was wearing a balaclava and armed with a 9mm self-loading pistol and fired the gun, hitting Amani Adams-McGuire, 20, in the buttocks and injuring a 16-year-old boy in the thigh. He then allegedly tried to force his way into Ms Gordon’s house. She tried to keep the door shut but was unable to do so and was shot inside her own home. The teenager has also been charged with possession of heroin and crack cocaine.

Dec 5 – Jack Edwards, 24, sustained significant head injuries when he was attacked and robbed near Sussex Street Skate Park in Nottingham. He died in hospital on December 7. Kai Howitt, 18, and a 13-year-old boy have been charged with murder and robbery. The pair await trial, along with a 16-year-old girl who is only charged with robbery.

Dec 5 – Ilyas Habibi, 17, was stabbed to death in Sutton, south London.

Dec 2 – A 37-year-old man died at a house in Wigan. A 28-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder.

November 2023

Nov 29 – Anthony Ibbitson, 54, died in hospital two days after being rescued from a fire at a house in Terry Street, Hull. Mark Vaskouski, 27, has been charged with Mr Ibbitson’s murder and awaits trial.

Nov 28 – Taiwo Abodunde, 41, was beaten to death with a skateboard as people tried to get into her home in Newmarket, Suffolk. Her husband Olobunmi Abodunde, 48, pleaded guilty on the eve of his trial. She suffered “catastrophic injuries” during the attack. Three officers are being investigated for misconduct over the case, the IOPC has confirmed. Police had been called to the couple’s home on Exning Road a number of times before over domestic incidents, including the day before the fatal attack. Abodunde had been bailed and warned not to visit the property but, after finishing a night shift in Tesco, he went there shortly after 9am. He was jailed for life on May 9, 2024.

Nov 22 – Irina Dvizova, 42, a Russian model, and her daughter Dayana, 15, were found dead at her villa in Bodrum, Turkey. Her five-year-old son Makar was missing. Her Lithuanian ex-husband Andrey Kuslevich, 45, is the prime suspect. He was a former security guard for a Ukrainian businessman. He had been involved in a custody battle for Makar. She had sought custody at a court in Moscow in June 2023. Kuslevich entered Turkey from the Edirne Border Gate with a vehicle with a Lithuanian plate on November 20, 2023, stayed in a hotel in Bodrum and drove from the district with a vehicle belonging to Irina Dvizova. It was determined that he left Ankara Esenboğa Airport with his son on November 24, 2023, from Ankara Esenboğa Airport to France and from there to Lithuania. A red notice was issued for the murder suspect. He was later arrested by German police as he tried to cross into the Czech Republic. He faces a trial in Nuremberg, Germany.

Nov 22 – A 58-year-old man was killed at a house in Charlton, south London. Radoslaw Brzezicki, 41, and Marius Bruzas, 49, were originally charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent but this was changed to murder after the man died. Mr Brzezicki was also charged with actual bodily harm against a woman, who had suffered minor injuries.

Nov 19 – Salam Alshara, 27, was killed at her home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. She was a mother of four. Her partner Wahib Albaradan, 35, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. West Yorkshire Police said the couple are believed to have come to the UK in around 2020 and arrived in Dewsbury in 2021 with their four children.

Nov 18 – Jack Field, 24, was hit by a car in Hailsham, Sussex at 11pm. Kyle Dumble, 26, has been charged with murder, attempted GBH, and disqualified driving and driving without insurance. Jack died in an alleged hit-and-run. Dumble faces trial at Lewes Crown Court in May 2024.

Nov 17 – Gregory “Picasso” Woolley, 51, was shot dead in the car park of a commercial building in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, near Montreal, Canada. The killers’ car was found burnt out on Sébastopol Street. Guy Ouellette, a retired member of the Surete de Quebec and a biker gang expert, noted the Rockers set up their first clubhouse in 1992 on Sébastropol Stree and he said leaving the vehicle there was “a strong message instead of a coincidence.” For decades, Woolley has been tied to the most powerful organized crime figures in Montreal. He started out in a Montreal street gang, but during Quebec’s biker gang war — which ran between 1994 and 2002 — he joined the Rockers, a support club that did much of the dirty work for the Hells Angels during their war with other organized crime groups. He was often seen with Hells Angels leader Maurice (Mom) Boucher during the conflict. In 1997, Woolley and a few other Rockers were charged with the murder of Jean-Marc Caissy, a member of the Rock Machine. The gunman turned informant and alleged that the other Rockers were part of the conspiracy to kill Caissy. Woolley and the Rockers were acquitted in a jury trial.

Nov 15 – Simarjeet Singh Nangpal, 17, was stabbed to death in a fight just after midnight in Burket Close, Southall. Amandeep Singh, 21, Manjit Singh, 27, Ajmeer Singh, 31, and Poran Singh, 71, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Nov 13 – Shawn Seesahai, 19, was stabbed on waste land in East Park, Wolverhampton. Two boys, both aged 12, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Nov. 13 – Rami Hajj Ali, 23, was shot dead in a gang-related assassination, while sitting in a car in the parking lot of the Trans Canada Centre mall in Calgary, Alberta.  After locating a black truck speeding away from the scene, a police helicopter followed the vehicle, which was abandoned in the parking lot of the Chinook Mall. Two people got into another vehicle and then fled to two homes about 10 kilometres away in the suburb of Southview. Police then arrested several people from both homes. A 14-year-old boy was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder and his 18-year-old brother was charged with accessory after the fact to murder. But a few days later the police dropped the charges and apologised for arresting the wrong people.

Nov 11 – Anselam Senaj, 26, was stabbed to death in East Ham, east London. Khalis Malik, 18, from Ilford, Zain Ali, 20, from East Ham,  Esahak Yusuf, 19, and two boys aged 17 have been charged with murder and await trial.

Nov 10 – Karla Brown, who was four months pregnant, was shot dead as she shopped for baby clothes in set up in the Independence Center mall in Independence, Missouri. Three other people were injured. Anthony Greer was charged with second-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon following the shooting. Leandre Peterson Jr was charged with tampering with physical evidence charge connected with the incident. But those charges were dropped in August 2024. Karla’s parents are suing the mall and the company which provided security. Court documents suggest an argument started after someone in the group with Karla said “hello” to the girlfriend of one of the alleged shooters. Two members of the group she was with said that man then opened fire on them and shot back into the mall before they fled for cover.

November 10: Victoria Greenwood, 41, from Luton, was found dead in a car park near Roe Green in Hertfordshire. Robert Brown, 38, has been charged with murder.

Nov 10 – Perseverance Ncube, 35, was stabbed in the chest at a house in Salford, Greater Manchester at 2.40am. She was taken to hospital where she later died. Obert Moyo, 45, from Bolton, has been charged with her murder and possession of an offensive weapon and awaits trial.

Nov 9 – Harpreet or “Harp” Singh Uppal, 41, and his son Gavin Uppal, 11, were shot dead in a car at a petrol station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Gavin’s friend, who was also in the car, survived and was physically unhurt. Uppal is believed to have been linked to the Brothers’ Keepers gang and his killing was an underworld hit. Supt. Colin Derksen said: “What we do know, sadly, is that once the shooter or the shooters learned that the son was there, they intentionally shot and killed him.” He said killing children was once a “line in the sand” gang members refused to cross, but that is changing. “That is sick and twisted,” Derksen said. “I think most gang members would agree.” Sources told CTV News Edmonton Uppal was associated with British Columbia-based gang the Brothers Keepers, a purported variant of the Hells Angels.

Nov 7 – Alfie Lewis, 15, was stabbed to death in front of children leaving a primary school in Horsforth, Leeds. Bardia Shojaeifard, who was 14 at the time, was convicted of murder and was jailed for life (13 years). Shojaeifard admitted stabbing Alfie but claimed he was acting in self-defence. BBC research suggested it was the 16th confirmed fatal stabbing in West Yorkshire in 2023, with six of the victims being teenagers. Reacting to the news during a visit to a school in Lincolnshire, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “My heart goes out to his family and friends. They’ve lost a friend and this is awful.” The trial heard Shojaeifard had a “worrying interest in knives”. Mr Justice Cotter lifted reporting restrictions preventing him from being identified, saying it would help in the “vitally important debate about the scourge of knife crime, among young people in particular”. Mr Justice Cotter said people would be wondering how a young boy “from a loving and supportive family” could commit such an “extraordinary” crime “without forewarning or any warning signs save for some pictures of knives on his phone”. “Outwardly Bardia was a normal 14-year-old boy with no interest in crime, albeit with a poor school disciplinary record,” the judge said. The court heard he had no interest in drugs, gangs or mental health issues.

November 7: Sharon Butler, 64, was found with serious injuries in a garden of a house in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Kevin Shepherd, 54, has been charged with murder.

Nov 5 – Diego Henry, 16, was shot dead in Ladywood, Birmingham. He died in hospital two days later. The body of a second teenager, Jaydon Beckford, 17, was found by detectives investigating Diego’s murder. A gun was found next to him and it is thought he shot himself. Jaydon’s family have released this statement: “Jaydon was so transparent; you always knew where you stood with him. He was not afraid to speak his mind and be true to himself and tell those he loved that he loved them every day. Whether it was cracking jokes or sharing his thoughts, Jaydon was always a joy to be around and spend time with which is reflected in his family and friends who adored him.”

Nov 5 – Mahmoud Alabdullah, 28, was stabbed to death in Bordesley Green, Birmingham. Tarik Al-Mitheab, 21, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Nov 4 – Wayne Ambridge, 50, was attacked in the car park of Tesco in Ware, Hertfordshire. Stuart Smith, aged 42, Karen Lynn, aged 41, and Charlie Penn, aged 20, were all charged with GBH but then, after Mr Ambridge died on Nov 9 those charges were upgraded to murder. They await trial in 2024.

Nov 4 – Hayley Adams, 37, found dead at a house in Barnstaple, Devon. Cheyanne Loder, 32, has been charged with her murder and awaits trial.

Nov 2 – Christie Eugene, aged 64, was found critically injured at 8am at her home in Brixton, south London. She died in hospital at 10pm. Her son, Jason Phinn, 35, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Nov 1 – Jonathan Lewis, 17, was beaten to death in Las Vegas. Dontral Beaver, 16; Gianni Robinson, 17; and Damien Hernandez, 17, and Treavion Randolph, 16, are among 10 Rancho High School students between the ages of 13 and 17 who were all charged with suspicion of murder and two more were being sought. Las Vegas police homicide Lieutenant Jason Johansson said the fight was over a pair of wireless headphones and a vape pen. Lewis suffered severe “head trauma” and other injuries until his death about a week after the fight. Mr Johansson said the fight was prearranged after the headphones and vape pen were stolen from the victim’s friend. After his death, the victim’s father, Jonathan Lewis Sr, said his son was attacked while standing up “for one of his smaller friends”, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. In the alley, the 10 students “immediately swarm him, pull him to the ground and begin kicking, punching and stomping on him”, Mr Johansson said.

October 2023

Oct 29 – Mehak Sharma, 19, was killed at a house in Croydon, south London. Sahil Sharma, 23, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Oct 28 – Dragos Carabineanu, 46, was punched and fell to the ground outside Burnt Oak tube station in north London. He died of his injuries on November 1.

Oct 26 – Paul Knowles, 56, was killed at his home in Woodston, Peterborough. Anne-Marie Burrowes, 53, was jailed for life (17 years) for murder. She had claimed self-defence. She left his body for four days before calling police. A sock had been lodged in the back of his throat, blocking his airways.

Oct 25 – Denise Steeves, 59, was killed after suffering a “significant injury” in Diamond Meadow Lodge Park caravan park in Brean, north Somerset. Simon Steeves, 70, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Oct 25 – Lilie James, 21, a water polo coach, was beaten to death with a hammer in the toilet at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney, Australia. The killer, Paul Thijssen, 24, a Dutch hockey coach, later jumped to his death on rocks in Diamond Bay Reserve. Ms James had recently ended a relationship with Thijssen. They had been seeing each other for only five weeks.

Oct 23 – Mandy Barnett, 60, was killed at her home in Farnley, Leeds. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Oct 21 – Samantha Woll, 40, was stabbed to death outside her home in Detroit, Michigan. Woll was a prominent leader in Detroit’s Jewish community and had served as the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022. But police said they did not believe the attack was anti-Semitic. It came during an uptick in anti-Semitic incidents globally in the wake of the Israeli bombing of Gaza caused by Hamas attacks on Oct 7.

Oct 17 – Melissa Eastick, 36, was killed at her home in Stockton Terrace, Sunderland. Two men, aged 38 and 40, were arrested. In 2021 Eastick was convicted of common assault against her boyfriend Keith Evans, The court heard Eastick drank 10 pints of cider and told police “I have a knife and will stab him’ when they attended Keith Evans’ home in The Village, Ryhope, Sunderland.

Oct 16 – Evaldas Simanaitis, 68, was beaten to death after he challenged two men trying to steal cars outside a house in West Ham, east London, at 4am. Police arrested a 25-year-old man who was found in possession of a car key belonging to a local house. Police also sought the whereabouts of a second man, Tomas Asmenkas, 24.

Oct 15 – Justin Henry, 34, was last seen visiting a McDonald’s drive-thru in Croydon, south London at 9.50pm. He was reported missing the following day. Louis Benjamin, 29, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Police believe that after visiting the McDonald’s Mr Henry drove from to nearby Waddon New Road where his vehicle, a silver Mercedes E Class, remained for around two-and-a-half hours. The Mercedes was later found on October 16 in Kingswood Drive, Croydon. His body was later found.

Oct 15 – Daniel Galhanas, 19, was stabbed in the neck with a broken bottle in the district of Bairro Alto, Lisbon, around 4:30am. Daniel was targeted while trying to defend his friend, one of several thieves from the Sintra Line gang who had tried to rob some British tourists. Video of his killing went viral and made several tabloid newspapers. Police said the Sintra Line gang targeted foreign tourists on weekend evenings as they walk through the city after a night out.

Oct 10 – Khasha Smith, 35, from Calder, Edinburgh, was last seen on a FaceTime call with a friend. She was finally reported missing in January 2024. In September 2024, John Byrne, 39, of Edinburgh, appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Monday accused of murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Oct 9 – Tafari Thompson-Mintah, 16, was riding his moped on Sevenoaks Way in St Paul’s Cray, Orpington, Kent, when he was hit by a car at 3.30pm. He died at the scene. Aaron Conway, 38, and Joseph Barnes, 40, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Oct 5 – Rico Andrews, 21, was shot dead in Shuttleworth Road, Battersea, south London. He is believed to have been a member of the 37 gang, who hail from the Winstanley estate. Josh Eno, 23, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Oct 5 – Mustafa Momand, 17, was stabbed in Queens Road, Brighton and died in hospital. A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Oct 5 – A boy aged 15 was stabbed to death at 8.30am outside a block of flats in Shadwell, east London.

Oct 3 – Ian Langley, 54, known as “Scouse”, was mauled to death by an XL Bully dog in Shiney Row, Sunderland, just before 7pm. Police destroyed the dog in question at the scene “to ensure the safety of the public”, and seized another. The owner of the dogs was arrested on suspicion of murder and bailed.

Oct 3 – Keelen Wong, 22, was stabbed in front of shoppers on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton, south London, around 5pm. Kyiza Sandiford, 23, has been charged with murder possessing an offensive weapon and awaits trial.

Oct 2 – Luke Blackmore, 42, from Morden, was stabbed to death outside a house in Sutton, south London. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Oct 1 – Joshua Clark, 21, and Haidar Shah, 19, died after being stabbed in Commercial Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, at 3.48am. A third man was treated for non-life threatening injuries. Rashane Douglas, 19, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

October 1 –Taye Faik, 16, died after he was stabbed near his home in Kendal Gardens, Edmonton, north London, in an attack by two men. Bernard Carroll, 20, and Josiah Semper, 19, both from Enfield, were both jailed for life (22 years) in Oct 2024 after being convicted of murder at Snaresbrook Crown Court. A 16-year-old girl was acquitted. Taye had been out walking his dog and was yards from his home when he was attacked by the men when they got out of a car.

September 2023

Sep 30 – Abdullah Mirzada, 53, and Khaja Raisoddin Mohammed, 65, were stabbed in Harehills, Leeds, at around 11am. Robert Jean, 46, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. All three men are believed to have lived at the same house.

Sep 30 – Charlene Mills, aged 43, died after police were called to a report over “concerns for welfare” at a house in Hyde Road, Gorton, Manchester. Peter Pitt, 52, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 30 – Temur Qureshi, 19, was stabbed in Hampden Road, Langley, Slough, Berkshire. As a result of the incident, a Section 60 order has been put in place to cover Langley. A 17-year-old boy from Slough has been charged with Mr Qureshi’s murder and possession of a bladed article. The victim’s family said he “brought endless joy into our lives”.

Sep 29 – Hubert Brown, 61, from Easton, was stabbed in St Paul’s, Bristol. Christina Howell, 36, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. The victim was black and the police described it as a “race hate crime.”

Sep 29 – Ashraf Habimana, 16, was stabbed in Nunnery Lane, Luton, at 7pm on a Friday evening. Earlier two youths were stabbed in another incident in Sundon Park Road. Three youths have been arrested over Ashraf’s murder. It is thought Ashraf is related to Tamim Habimana, 16, who was stabbed to death in Woolwich in 2021.

Sep 28 – A woman, 39, and her 14-year-old daughter were shot dead at a house in Rotterdam, Holland. A male lecturer, 43, was later shot dead at the Erasmus Medical Centre hospital. Fouad L, a student of the Erasmus University medical school, was charged with murder. He had been showing signs of psychotic behaviour and had a previous conviction for animal cruelty.

Sep 27 – A 23-year-old was shot dead in Jordbro, on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden. Billy Linder, 22, has been charged with murder. Linder is reportedly linked to a Nazi group, the Nordic Resistance Movement, NMR, and a breakaway group Nordic Strength. But the murder is believed to be linked to an going gang war between two groups – one comes from Hässelby (where Linder lived) and is linked to Rawa Majid aka The Kurdish Fox, and the other, from Jordbro, is anti-Majid. A few days after Linder was arrested and named in some Swedish media, his parents’ home was firebombed.

Sep 27 – Elianne Andam, 15, was stabbed to death after she got off a double decker bus outside the Whitgift Centre in Croydon, south London, at 8.30am. She was on her way to school at the Old Palace of John Whitgift school, a private school. Witnesses said the bus driver and other passers-by tried to save her. An air ambulance arrived but she was declared dead at 9.20am. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and possession of a kitchen knife.

Sep 27 – Junior Osborne, 50, was stabbed to death in Narborough Road, Leicester. James Williams, 18, a 17-year-old boy and two 16-year-olds, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Sep 25 – Hamzah Iqbal, 35,  was stabbed to death when he was out with friends in Olympic Way, Wembley, NW London. Ali Alamari, 21, Joshua Oladele, 20, and Micah Hines, 21, were all convicted of murder after a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in 2024. Oladele was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 28 years. Hines was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 25 years. Alamari was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 24 years.

September 20 – Max Moy Wheatley, 19, was stabbed in Jubilee Country Park close to Tent Peg Lane in Petts Wood, south-east London.

Sep 19 – Brian Edwards, 53, was stabbed to death in a road near Finsbury Park, north London at 4am. David Odunuga, 32, from Brentwood, was convicted of murder and jailed for life (27 years). Detectives were able to link the silver BMW X5 to Odunuga by false details and addresses provided on insurance and registration documents. Their suspicion that Odunuga was the suspect was strengthened following the recovery of a car key for the BMW that scientists confirmed had his DNA on.

Sep 18 – Terrell Marshall-Williams, 16, was stabbed in the street in Merry Hill, Dudley, West Midlands. Omari Lauder, aged 23, from Darlaston, and Mpho Obi aged 22 from Merry Hill, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Sep 16 – Gagandeep Sandhu, 29, was shot dead in his car near Lougheed Shopping Centre in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is investigating it and it is believed to be linked to the ongoing gang war in the Greater Vancouver area, the so-called Lower Mainland gang conflict. A Honda Pilot SUV used by the killers was found burnt out nearby.

Sep 15 – Nathaniel Shani, 14, was stabbed during a fight in Harpurhey, Manchester. A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 13 – Juliana Prosper, 48, Kyle Prosper, 16, and Giselle Prosper, 13, were killed at their home, a flat in a block of flats, Leabank, in Marsh Farm, Luton. Nicholas Prosper, 18, has been charged with three murders, purchasing or acquiring a shotgun without a certificate, possession of a shotgun and possession of a kitchen knife in a public place. He is due to go on trial at Luton Crown Court in March 2025. The victims were his mother and siblings.

Sep 12 – Bradley Hutchins, 20, was stabbed to death in New Addington, near Croydon. A 19-year-old survived. Shane Canavan, 22, and Josha Langley, 27, both of Purley, were charged on Monday with murder, attempted murder and possession of pointed and bladed articles. They await trial.

Sep 11 – Matthew Bryant, 52, was stabbed to death outside the Hare and Hounds pub, which he ran, in Maidstone, Kent. His sister-in-law Stephanie Langley, 55, was convicted of murder and jailed for life. Langley claimed he had raped a woman she knew. She told a customer in the pub: “Get a drink while he is still alive.” She told Mr Bryant: “You’re dead tonight.”

Sep 8 – Gary Sampson, 34, was stabbed to death at his home in Cricklewood, north London. Marie Nellie, 44, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 5 – William Rowe, 71, was beaten to death at a house in Borstal, near Rochester, Kent. Simon Brown, 28, was acquitted of murder at Maidstone Crown Court in March 2024 but admitted manslaughter. He told the jury he lost his temper after Rowe bragged about his past when confronted with a Kent Online article from 2012, when he was convicted of sexual offences against a young girl dating back to the 1980s. Brown said he lashed out in a “blanket of rage” and left Mr Rowe with injuries to his head, neck and torso, including 27 rib fractures.

Sep 4 – Ronaldo Scott, 21, was stabbed to death in Angell Town Park, Brixton, south London. He was better known as Skengroy and was part of the 150 drill crew. His attackers are believed to come from the rival Harlem Spartans. Scott’s mother described him as a “loving, caring, family man.” Scott was given a suspended sentence in Feb 2021 for inciting a riot on the Angell Town estate during the pandemic in June 2020. A month after that sentencing he was arrested in a car on the M20 in Kent. In Nov 2021 he admitted possession of Class A drugs (heroin and crack) with intent to supply and was sentenced to be detained for 42 months in a young offenders’ institution.

Sep 4 – Anis Omar Zen, 19, who was from Harrow, was stabbed to death in Masefield Avenue, Stanmore, NW London.

Sep 3 – Leo Moran, 44, died after being hit by a car in Gosford Street, Coventry. Hospital worker Joel Carriedo died after being struck by the same vehicle on Woodway Lane shortly afterwards. A man aged 33 was arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder and has since been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Sep 1 – Edward Forrester, 55, was last seen in Blackpool. His body was later found in Cumbria. William Wilkinson, 65, from Blackpool, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 1 – Gabriela Kosilko, 26, went missing after failing to return home from work in Leicester. Her boyfriend Sebastian Zarnoch, 30, was charged with kidnap and murder but was found dead in his cell on September 6, the same day that her body was found in woods near Groby Pool. Her car, a red Audi A1, was found in Ratby Lane, Leicester.

August 2023

Aug 30 – Yahye Ahmed, 23, was stabbed to death in Islington, north London. Ibrahim Elkadmiri, 30, has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon. Ahmed Abdi Ahmed, 33, has been charged with assisting an offender. Both await trial. It is believed to have been gang-related.

Aug 28 – Brett Sheffield, 38, a Canadian businessman, was attacked in downtown Toronto at 11.25pm. He died in hospital two days later. Craig Gibson, 28, a British soldier, has been charged with second degree murder.

Aug 26 – The remains of Simon Shotton, 49, were discovered close to the Manor Steps Zig Zag, a path leading to the beach from Overcliff Drive in Boscombe, near Bournemouth. Debbie Ann Pereira, 38, and Benjamin Lee Atkins, 48, both from Bournemouth, have been charged with Mr Shotton’s murder and await trial.

Aug 24 – Theo Porteous, 32, was stabbed to death at a block of flats in Nine Elms, Wandsworth, south London. Police released CCTV footage of the prime suspect.

Aug 24 – Marie Snowling, Glen Sprowl, 53, Tonya Clark, 49, and John Leehey, 67, were shot dead at Cook’s Corner, a famous biker bar at the corner of El Toro, Santiago Canyon and Live Oak Canyon roads, 50 miles south of Los Angeles. John Snowling, 59, a retired sheriff’s deputy with Orange County Sheriff’s Department, was the gunman. He was later shot dead by law enforcement officers. It is believed Marie had filed for divorce in December 2022.

Aug 23 – Claire Knights, 54, from Upstreet near Canterbury, was found dead near Minnis Bay, Kent, while walking her spaniel, Zebulon. Harrison Lawrence-van Pooss, 20, from Margate, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. He was also charged with voyeurism, following an investigation into a separate incident when “upskirt” images of a woman were covertly taken on August 22 in Birchington, Kent.

Aug 22 – Donald Patience, 45, was found dead at his home in Bury, Greater Manchester. He “had been dead for several days” The cause of his death remains unknown and is being investigated. Ian Connell, 39, from Bolton, has been charged with the murder of Mr Patience. Mr Patience was known to own some expensive labradoodle puppies and it has been speculated that he was killed during a burglary or dognapping.

Aug 21 – Aurman Singh, 23, a DPD delivery driver from Smethwick, West Midlands, died after he was attacked in Coton Hill, Shrewsbury. Arshdeep Singh, 24, from Tipton, Jagdeep Singh, 22, from Dudley, Shivdeep Singh, 26,  and Manjot Singh, 24, both from Smethwick, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Aug 21 – Max Richardson, 35, from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, was fatally assaulted in Joyners Field, Harlow, Essex, at around 11pm. Tieran Carmody, 18, from Harlow, has been charged with his murder and awaits trial.

Aug 20 – Andy Foster, 26, died in hospital after being sprayed with ammonia at his home in Wrekenton, Newcastle. Four men have been charged with murder – Yousef Wynne, 39, from Jarrow, Kenneth Fawcett, 31, from North Shields, John Wandless, 31, and Josh Hawthorn, 21, from Jarrow. All await trial.

Aug 16 – Alexey Petrov, 61, a prominent Bulgarian businessman, was shot dead in broad daylight in a suburb of Sofia, Bulgaria. A woman who was with him was injured and was taken to an emergency hospital with a gunshot wound. Petrov had been the target of at least two other attempts on his life. A karate champion and former state security agent, Petrov left his job in the police after the fall of communism to start a private business. It boomed and he became an associate in more than 50 companies by 2002. In 2010, he was arrested and charged with running a criminal group engaged in extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering and tax evasion. He was released on bail and eventually acquitted and was even a candidate in the presidential election in 2011.

Aug 13 – Harrison Tomkins, 25, from Three Bridges, was stabbed to death at a block of flats in Crawley, west Sussex. Police said it was a “targeted” attack. Kaydon Prior, 23, from Crawley, has been charged with murder, being in possession of an offensive weapon and assault by beating. Jason Curtis, 22, from Lambeth, London, has been charged with murder. Both await trial.

Aug 13 – A man’s body was found in the back of a white VW Caddy van which was on fire in Paget Street, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire. His death is currently being treated as unexplained and he has not been identified.

Aug 12 – Krzysztof Baran, 40, was killed at a house in multiple occupancy (HMO) in Hayes, Middlesex. Sufian Choudry, 38, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Aug 12 – Six migrants drowned in the English Channel while trying to cross by small boat from France to England. French police arrested four people on suspicion of manslaughter and referred them to the investigating judge. They are two Iraqi nationals born in 1980, suspected of being part of the illegal immigration network that organised the transport of migrants, and two people of Sudanese nationality born in 1994 and 2006, suspected of having actively participated in the transport of passengers in dangerous conditions in exchange for a preferential rate on their own passage.

Aug 10 – Ben Daly, 30, was shot in Frances Havergal Close, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and was found nearby after staggering away. He later died in hospital. Six people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

Aug 10 – Fuad Saman, 40, was stabbed more than 100 times in a house in Harlesden, north west London. Osman Abshir, 28, has been charged with murder and is due to go on trial in June 2024.

Aug 10 – Sara Sharif, 10, was found dead at a house in Horsell, near Woking, Surrey. Her father Malik Urfan Sharif, 31, and two other people left the UK a few hours before her body was discovered the following day. He is believed to have travelled to Pakistan.

Aug 10 – Four people were shot dead in Gradacac, near Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Nermin Sulejmanovic posted a disturbing video on Instagram, telling viewers that they would see a murder live. The video then shows him taking a gun and firing a bullet into the forehead of a woman, believed to be his ex-wife. The cry of a child nearby can be heard in the video. During the police search, the suspect published another video on Instagram, claiming to have shot at least two other people while on the run. Sulejmanovic then killed himself. He was part of a Bosnian criminal gang. n 2013, he was arrested as a member of a large drug trafficking group headed by Emir Kodzag, along with 24 others. A year later, he was arrested while trying to smuggle 806 kilograms of marijuana into Croatia. An international warrant was also issued for him in 2016, stating he was charged with violence against a police officer. He was a bodybuilder and worked as a fitness instructor in recent years and even won awards.

Aug 9 – Hamed Mani, 20, was stabbed to death near St George’s shopping centre in Harrow, north west London. Abbas Jean-Pierre, 20, from Northolt, and Shakur Idan, 21, from Harrow, were convicted of murder and were later jailed for life. The trial heard Idan rode his electric bike directly at Mani and his friends who became hostile and waved a knife at him. Idan called Jean-Pierre, who appeared with a machete. They then ran towards Mr Mani’s group and Idan called out to Jean-Pierre with the words “wet him up”, which the court heard was street slang for stabbing.

Aug 9 – Stephen Koszyczarski, 60, was found with a head injury at his home in Woodseats, Sheffield. Zoe Ryder, 35, and Nicola Lethbridge, 44, have been charged with murder and robbery.

Aug 8 – Daniel Varadi, 28, was stabbed outside a house in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Daniel Balazs, 21, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Aug 7 – Yusuf Mohamoud, 18, from Enfield, was stabbed to death in Regents Park Road, Barnet, north London. Tyrese Jennings, 20, was acquitted of murder and jailed for 13 years for manslaughter. Jennings was one of a group of three males who confronted Yusuf when he left a restaurant. During the ensuing altercation, Yousuf was stabbed in the neck. Two boys, who were both 15 at the time, were acquitted of murder and manslaughter.

Aug 6 – Karima Nour, 57, was killed at her home in Feltham, Middlesex. Her daughter, Arizo Nour, 33, was charged with murder and appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on 9 August, when magistrates banned the identification of the victim. Police said they were called to a house at 10.26pm amid concerns for a woman’s welfare. Nobody was in but people found signs of a disturbance. The body was found the following day in a canal off Bulls Bridge Lane in Southall, west London. In May 2024 Nour admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given a hospital order.

Aug 5 – Rachel Morin, 37, a mother-of-five, was beaten to death with a rock or a baseball bat on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland. On 17 August police revealed that DNA found at the scene matched that of a Latino man who attacked a young girl in her home in Los Angeles and they revealed CCTV footage of him leaving the house shirtless.

Aug 5 – Cameron Hamilton, 18, was stabbed to death during a drunken fight in Bournemouth Square. Thomas Betteridge, 18, from Southsea, and Lennie Hansen, 18, from Waterlooville, went on trial at Bournemouth Crown Court in Jan 2024. Prosecutor John Price KC said Betteridge was heard saying ‘I sliced him up’ in a “boastful and proud manner” just moments after he inflicted three stab wounds.

Aug 4 – Julian Ebanks-Ford, 20, was stabbed to death in Lewisham, south London in the early hours of the morning.

Aug 3 – Christine Emmerson, 71, was stabbed 26 times at her home in West Ashby, Lincolnshire. Her son Shaun Emmerson, 50, was charged with murder but was mentally unfit for trial. A trial of facts at Lincoln Crown Court in July 2024 found he had carried out the act and he was given an indefinite hospital order.  The court heard he had paranoid delusions that everyone was “going to kill him”. After killing her he climbed onto the roof of the house’s conservatory and called 999 to admit to carrying out a “violent attack” on his mother. He also told the call handler to send armed officers to the scene to “put me out of my misery” and claimed the “Department of Justice have been torturing me for the last 20 years”. Emmerson thought he could hear his “neighbours through the walls” who were saying they wanted to kill him in a “painful” way and he was afraid that someone would “attack” him in his sleep.

Aug 1 – Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, a wealthy Colombian plastic surgeon, was killed and his dismembered body dumped at a landfill on the island of Koh Phangan, Thailand. His boyfriend Daniel Sancho Bronchalo – the son of two famous Spanish actors – has been charged with premeditated murder, which carries a possible death penalty, and with concealment of a body to cover up the death. Koh Phagnan is famous for its monthly “full moon parties”. Sancho is the son of actors Rodolfo Sancho and Silvia Bronchalo. He is said to have confessed to killing and dismembering Mr Arrieta.

Aug 1 – David Taddei, 48, was shot dead shortly before 8 a.m in Route d’Afa, in a car park in Sarrola-Carcopino on the outskirts of Ajaccio, Corsica. Taddei had been acquitted twice in criminal cases in Marseille. In 2015 he was acquitted, along with Guy Orsoni, with attempting to murder a member of the infamous Brise-de-Mer gang. In 2019 he was acquitted of providing the murder weapon in the assassination of Richard Casanova, another Brise-de-Mer member. Taddei’s death is believed to be linked to the murder of Fabrice Chiappe a week earlier (see July 24).

July 2023

July 30 – Talip Guzel, 33, shot dead at the junction of Pretoria Road North and White Lane, Tottenham, north London around 11.30pm. Earlier that evening the Afrobeats singer Wizkid had held a concert at the Tottenham stadium but police said there was no link to the murder. Jan Mercan, 22, from Enfield, has been charged with murder and await trial. It is believed the killing may be linked to the murder of Koray Alpergin in Oct 2022.

July 29 – Don Patterson, 70, and wife Gail, 70, died along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, after they ate a meal containing death cap mushrooms which had been prepared by the Pattersons’ former daughter-in-law Erin, 48, at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, Australia. Heather’s husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68, a pastor at Korumburra Baptist Church, remains in hospital. Erin Patterson’s two children were also at the lunch but were given a meal not containing the toxic mushrooms. They have reportedly been taken into state care as a “precaution”. Erin Patterson is said to be separated from her husband – the son of Mr and Mrs Patterson – but their split was described as “amicable”. She has denied any wrongdoing.

July 29 – O’Shae Sibley, 28, a professional dancer who had worked with Beyonce, was stabbed to death on the forecourt of a petrol station in Brooklyn, New York while dancing to her music. Mr Sibley was voguing while he and friends filled up at a petrol station when men approached and told them to stop. The men began using homophobic slurs and Mr Sibley confronted them, according to video of the altercation. Beyonce posted on her website: “Rest in Power O’Shae Sibley”. Dmitriy Popov, 17, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. At least one witness told reporters some of the teens had objected to the dancers’ behavior because they were Muslim. But the family and lawyer of Popov said he is actually a Russian Orthodox Christian who wears a cross and goes to church.

July 29 – Amy Wilson, 27, died when the VW Tiguan she was in collided with a Mercedes C-Class in New Carron Road in Falkirk after an “altercation”. Police Scotland said they were treating it as a murder. A 39-year-old man, who was driving the Tiguan, suffered minor injuries. There was a road rage altercation earlier in Foundry Street. Anthony Davidson, 30, from London, faces 10 charges including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and attempting to defeat the ends of justice. Andrew Gregoire, 27, who was arrested in London, made no plea or declaration to 12 charges including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and attempting to defeat the ends of justice. Steven Hornsby, 53, who was arrested in Essex, also made no plea or declaration to charges of conspiracy and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

July 29 – Sean Day, 29, drowned in the river Wye in Hereford after falling from the Victoria Bridge. Three men were arrested on suspicion of murder but nobody has been charged.

July 28 – Stefan Balaban, 19, was stabbed to death in Edgware, north London, around 1am. Five boys, four aged 16 and one aged 17, have been charged with murder and await trial.

July 25 – Kyle Zybilowicz, 29, was killed at a flat in Dumbreck Court in the south side of Glasgow. A 33-year-old man was arrested.

July 24 – Fabrice Chiappe, 38, was shot dead as he returned to his home located in the Vazzio district of Ajaccio, Corsica, at 6.30am. Well-known in the Corsican underworld, he was convicted in 2014 in a case of narcotics, weapons and explosives.

July 24 – Ann Blackwood, 71, was attacked at Crofton Cemetery in Lychgate Green, Stubbington, Hampshire. Martin Suter, 66, from Lee-on-the-Solent, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 23 – Charlie Cosser, 16, stabbed multiple times during an attack in Warnham, West Sussex in the early hours. He died in hospital on July 25. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 22 – Kiena Dawes, 23, from Fleetwood, was found dead on the railway line near Barnacre, Lancashire, shortly after she was reported missing. On June 3, 2024, Ryan Wellings, 30, from Bispham, Blackpool, was charged with manslaughter, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He awaits trial.

July 21 – Eddie King Muthemba Kinuthia, 19, known as EK, was stabbed in St Paul’s, Bristol. Two young men were arrested and bailed.

July 20 – Sharon Gordon, 58, was beaten to death with a hammer at her home in Dudley, West Midlands. She was found slumped at the bottom of the stairs with severe head injuries. Peter Norgrove, 43, a builder from Sedgley, pleaded guilty to murder on the eve of his trial in Dec 2023 and was jailed for life at Wolverhampton Crown Court. He met Mrs Gordon through mutual friends at the same church they both attended. Norgrove was building an extension at her home which had taken several months and thrown up a number of problems.

July 17 – Milton Hurlington, 42, was stabbed to death in Wembley, NW London. Wael Farroukh, 18, was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defence. He was convicted of possession of an offensive weapon. The trial heard Hurlington, who was homeless, was drunk and aggressive.

July 16 – Ibrahim Pertek, 52, is thought to have been assaulted during a robbery in an alley next to Wood Green library in Enfield, north London, at about 1.10am. He died three weeks later in hospital.

July 14 – Claudyo Jauad Lafayette, 17, was stabbed to death in Kilburn, north west London. A 17-year-old boy was also injured but survived. A woman, in her early 20s, received hospital treatment for an injury to her hand. The case remains unsolved and the police made a fresh appeal in July 2024. His mother Yzakia Jauad said: “I know whatever I say or do will not bring my son back, but I am pleading for your help to get the justice my son deserves. A £20,000 reward was offered, which expires in October 2024.

July 15 – Joseph Riches, 16, was stabbed in the street in Stourbridge, West Midlands. Dray Simmonds and Joshua Edgington, both 19, were jailed for life (21 years) and Corey Burkitt and Leroy Robinson, both 16, were convicted of murder and jailed for life (15 years). West Midlands Police said that for reasons only known to themselves, Joseph and his friends were “intent on causing trouble” with another group of teens. It was said Joseph saw the group and ran up to them at the bottom of the High Street, attacking two of them with a screwdriver before trying to get in a car with his friends. But he was unable to and ran along Coventry Street as the other group chased him. Police said that one member of the group had pulled a machete from his clothing and three of them caught up with Joseph and pushed him into a hedge and stabbed him. He was found in the car which had been abandoned almost six miles away in Orchard Close, Rowley Regis. Simmonds inflicted the fatal wounds but all four were convicted of joint enterprise.

July 13 – Emiliano Hasanpapaj, 22, was stabbed during a fight in Palmers Green, north London just before midnight.

July 9 – Rahaan Ahmed Amin, 16, was stabbed in the heart in West Ham, east London. A 16-year-old boy was charged with Rahaan’s murder and possessing a bladed article and awaits trial.

July 8 – Bodhan Vandzhura, 49, was stabbed in Pinner Road, north Harrow.  Abdul Khan, 25, has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon and awaits trial.

July 6 – Michael “Mosca” (Fly) Torres, 59, a Mexican Mafia member who oversaw gangs in the San Fernando Valley and controlled drug and extortion rackets in the Los Angeles County jails, was stabbed to death in California state prison, Sacramento. Torres was serving 133 years to life for attempted murder, conspiracy, weapons offenses and witness tampering. Ray Martinez, 49, and Juan Angel Martinez, 47. who are not related, and are both serving life in prison for murder and other crimes, have been charged with murder. Ray Martinez is a Mexican Mafia member nicknamed “Cisco,” according to law enforcement sources. After serving 16 years for manslaughter, Torres was released in the early 2000s. He then became the Mexican Mafia’s “sanctioned tax collector” in the San Fernando Valley, a prosecutor wrote in a bail motion.

July 3 – Armaan Kadeer, 18, was shot dead on a canal towpath in Nechells, Birmingham. Four men were arrested on suspicion of murder.

July 3 – Andre Salmon, 18, was shot dead in Haringey, north London. Reagan Konin, 18, has been charged with murder, possession of a firearm, possession of an offensive weapon in a private place, possession with intent to supply class A drugs and affray. He awaits trial.

June 2023

June 30 – Isabella Wheildon, two, was found dead in a temporary housing unit in Birmingham. Scott Jeff and his girlfriend Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, 22, have been charged with murder and await trial.

June 29 – Leonardo Reid, 15, and Shekaj Klevi, 23, were stabbed to death while making a music video in Archway, Islington, north London. Abel Chunda, 27, has been charged with murder and the attempted murder of Abdullah Abdiullahi, 28. It is alleged that Chunda arrived at the scene of a music video shoot as part of a group of people carrying “large knives” who went on to attack the victims. He is due to go on trial on 28 May 2024.

June 29 – Fiona Holm, 48, went missing from Hither Green, south-east London, since going to an off-licence. Carl Cooper, 65, has been charged with her murder. He is also accused of murdering Naomi Hunte, 41, who was found stabbed to death in Plumstead, south-east London, in February 2022. Searches are continuing to find Ms Holm’s body at addresses and open areas in south-east London. Cooper knew both women.

June 29 – Ashley Day, 20, a talented footballer who had trials with Newport County and was celebrating getting into university, was stabbed to death at a rented apartment in Digbeth, Birmingham. Mr Day had rented the flat for a party and advertised it on social media. Gurveer Bhandal, 19, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 13 years for manslaughter. The trial heard Mr Day decided to throw everyone out after neighbours complained of noise from the party in the early hours of the morning.

June 26 – Kyle Knowles, 32, a chef, was stabbed to death on a tram near Highbury Vale stop in Basford, Nottingham at 11am as other passengers watched in horror. A 24-year-old man was arrested.

June 25 – Rohan Trotman, 26, was stabbed in Peckham, south London. Mr Trotman died in hospital at 9.30am the following day. Yusuf Kallon, 19, was charged with murder and has also been charged with two counts of robbery, possession of a bladed article and possession of cannabis.

June 23 – Victor Lee, 17, was found in the water in a canal under Scrubs Lane, near Willesden Junction. Three boys – aged 14, 15 and 17 – have been charged with murder and robbery of a bicycle and rucksack. They face trial in May 2024.

June 23 – Owen Fairclough, 21, was found dead on a country path near Risley Lane, Breaston, Derbyshire. Jack Towell, 21, from Nottingham, and David Oswald, 30, from Birmingham, have pleaded not guilty to his murder and having an offensive weapon and will go on trial in Jan 2024. Co-defendant Jason Hill was not asked to enter pleas.

June 21 – Nelly Akomah, 76, was killed at her home in Thornton Heath, south London. Hugo Da Silva Pires, 28, has been charged with murder, burglary and fraud, while Catia Feliciano, 31, is accused of fraud and perverting the course of justice. The pair were arrested at Stansted Airport two days later.

June 20 – Sarah Henshaw, 31, was strangled with a dressing cord at her home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, and was then dumped by the A617 near Chesterfield. Her boyfriend Darren Hall, 36, was jailed for life (16 years). Sarah’s mother said Hall was “a monster who committed the most evil crime a person can do.”

June 19 – Khaled Saleh, 17, was stabbed to death in Paddington Green, west London. A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

June 18 – Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, president of the Guru Nanak gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, was shot dead outside the temple. His New York lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannunwho said he was in “good spirits” despite being warned his life was in danger by someone with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Nijjar and his lawyer were leaders of a campaign for Khalistan — the separate Sikh nation some want created in India’s Punjab state. They had been organising a referendum on the issue. Karan Brar, age 22, Kamal Preet Singh, age 22, and Karan Preet Singh, age 28, have been charged with first degree murder and await trial. They were Indian nationals living in Edmonton, Canada. The killing led to a huge diplomatic crisis as Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” suggesting Indian officials were behind the murder. India denied it and expelled several Canadian diplomats.

June 16 – Aravind Sasikumar, 38, was stabbed to death in the early hours of the morning at his home in Camberwell, south London. Salman Salim, 25, has been charged with murder. The victim was originally from Kerala, India, and his younger brother, Sekhar Sasikumar, 30, who lives in Northampton, said “he loved this country,” and was close to getting his UK citizenship.

June 16 – Daniel Piedra Garcia, 52, an Uber driver, was shot dead as he drove a passenger to the Speaking Rock casino in Mission Valley, El Paso, Texas. Phoebe Copas, 48, from Kentucky, has been charged with murder. She claimed she saw signs to Juarez, Mexico, panicked and thought she was being kidnapped and taken over the border. She awaits trial.

June 15 – Clayton Doerman, 7, Hunter Doerman, 4, and Chase Doerman, 3, were shot dead at their home in Monroe Township, about 75 miles west of Columbus, Ohio. Their father Chad Doerman, 32, has been charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping and felonious assault. Clermont County’s chief prosecutor of Municipal Court, David Gast, said Doerman lined his sons up and executed them with a rifle. At one point, one of the boys tried to flee into a nearby field but Doerman “hunted” his son down and brought him back to their home before killing him.

June 14 – Eva Liu, 21, from Naperville, Illinois, died after being thrown 165ft down a ravine during a day trip to Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. Her friend Kelsey Chang, 22, survived after she was also pushed. Both had graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May. Liu studied Computer Science and Chang studied Computer Engineering. A 30-year-old US tourist has been charged with murder and attempted murder. All three had been staying at the budget Seibel Hotel in the centre of Munich, 50 miles from the castle, which was said to have inspired Disney’s Cinderella castle. They had travelled by coach to Neuschwanstein with other tourists.

June 13 – Usmaan Mahmood, 20, was stabbed in Thornton Heath Recreation Ground, south London around 4pm. Joshua Munoz, 19, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

June 13 – Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, Barnaby Webber, 19, and Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death in Nottingham. Valdo Calocane, 31, aka Adam Mendes, has been charged with murder. The University of Nottingham students were stabbed on Ilkeston Road around 4am as they walked home from a nightclub. Mr Coates was found dead with knife injuries on Magdala Road after his van was stolen an hour later. Mr Calocane, a mechanical engineering graduate, is also charged with three counts of attempted murder after a van was used to drive at pedestrians in Milton Street.

June 13 – Tejaswini Kontham, 27, from Hyderabad, India, was stabbed to death at a house – believed to be a shared house – in Wembley, NW London. Another woman, aged 28, survived. Ms Kontham’s father told a local TV channel in Hyderabad, India that Ms Kontham had travelled to London three years ago to study for her master’s degree at the University of Greenwich. He said she came home for a month in August last year and was supposed to come back again for her wedding. Keven Antonio Lourenco De Morais, 23, a Brazilian national, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

June 12 – Monika Wlodarczyk, 35, was stabbed in a flat in Hounslow, west London. Her children Maja Wlodarczyk, 11 and Dawid Wlodarczyk, three, were also found dead along with their father Michal Wlodarczyk, 39. He stabbed himself in the neck. The Met said it was called by Maja’s school on 16 June “since they and her friends were concerned she had not attended school since 12 June, and family members had not replied to messages”.

June 11 – Ethan John, 7, was stabbed more than 20 times and his sister Elizabeth, 11, suffered fatal brain damage after being stabbed in their home in Stoke-on-Trent. Their mother, Veronique John, was later found unfit to plea and a trial of facts at Nottingham Crown Court found she had committed the crime and also stabbed the children’s father, Nathan John, at a nearby car wash. He survived. She was given an indefinite hospital order. The trial heard that after the stabbings she returned home, dialled 999 and told the operator: “I am calling to report I just killed my two kids.” She told the operator: “If you have a gun shoot me. I am not a monster – he was going to take them from me.” The court heard John was boiling with rage after being arrested for assaulting her husband while suspecting him of having an affair. She later told interviewing officers: “I didn’t want my husband to get them”. She told police: “It’s something I was thinking about for a long time – just kill myself and the kids. Unless you guys are offering me the death penalty I have nothing else to say.

June 10 – Mikey Roynon, 16, from Kingswood in Bristol, was stabbed to death at a house party in Weston, Bath, Somerset. A 15-year-old boy from Dorset and a 16-year-old boy from Wiltshire have been charged with his murder and are due to go on trial on 4 December 2023. They are also charged with having a bladed article – described as a 10in (26cm) Rambo knife – in a public place. Mikey was an aspiring drill rapper known as YM and was a friend of Takayo Nembhard, aka TKorStretch, who was murdered at Notting Hill Carnival in August 2022.

June 10 – Solaine Thornton, 11, was shot dead as she played on a swing in the back garden of her family’s home in the village of Saint-Herbot, north of Quimper in Brittany. Her parents, Adrian and Rachel Thornton, were also hurt and were taken to hospital. The girl and her eight-year-old sister were playing on a swing as their parents tended the barbecue, when a neighbour began firing at them with a shotgun through a hedge. The neighbour, a 71-year-old Dutch national, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

June 9 – Josh Bashford, 33, and his wife Chloe Bashford, 30, were found by police at a house in Newhaven, East Sussex. Derek Martin, 64, also known as Derek Glenn, from Brighton, has been charged with two counts of murder and awaits trial.

June 9 – Felecia Cadore, 29, was stabbed at a house in Croydon, south London. Hussain Haron, 22, was charged with attempted murder. Ms Cadore died on 14 June and the prosecution amended the charge to murder. Haron, who is originally from Sudan, is expected to face trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

June 7 – Emil Lahaziel, 39, an Israeli citizen who lived in Miami with his wife and five children, was shot dead outside a house in the Hollywood Hills, near Los Angeles during a “crazy poker game”. Lahaziel was said to have been shot dead by a man he was speaking to outside the house. Actor Adam DeVine and his wife, Chloe Bridges, witnessed the incident from their home across the street. Lahaziel, a wealthy roofing contractor, flashed his wealth with images of private jets and sparkling blue poolside shots posted across Instagram.

June 6 – Jailyn Candelario, 16 months old, died at her home in Cudell, Cleveland, Ohio after being left alone for 10 days. Her mother, Kristel Candelario, 31, has been charged with murder and felonious assault. Her daughter was unresponsive when she returned home from a vacation in Detroit, Michigan, and Puerto Rico, so she called 911. Candelario’s daughter was found with dirty blankets in a play pen on a liner soiled with urine and faeces. She was extremely dehydrated at the time of death.

June 6 – Francesco “Chit” Del Balso, 53, a leading member of the Montreal mafia, was shot dead in broad daylight in West Island, Montreal. Del Balso was arrested as part of the Operation Colisée sweep of the Montreal Mafia in 2006. He was convicted of gangsterism and conspiracy to import cocaine. He was released in 2016, then ordered back into prison over concerns for his safety. Parole board documents at the time described him as “next on an execution list.” Del Balso was released again in 2018. He was arrested in September 2022 by police in Laval, Quebec, in connection to threats and extortion against the leaders of a local religious community. In March 2023 the Sûreté du Québec searched his home along with the homes of three influential members of the Hells Angels as part of an investigation into drug trafficking.

June 2 – Chloe Mitchell, 21, went missing late at night and her remains were discovered in Ballymena, County Antrim, a week later. Brandon Rainey, 26, has been charged with murder. A barrister for the defendant said his client has “acute mental health difficulties”. Ryan Johnston Gordon, 34, has been charged with assisting an offender.

June 1 – Ion Radiu, 46, a Romanian national, was stabbed to death in a car park in Croydon, south London. Kiiran Hibbert-Gordon, 23, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 2023

May 31 – Debra Cantrell, 58, was found dead at a house in Plymouth, Devon. Callum Thomas, 32, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 30 – Emily Sanderson, 48, was killed at a house in Hillsborough, Sheffield. Her boyfriend, Mark Nicholls, 43, was charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 28 – Thomas Barton, 30, was stabbed to death in Ryde, Isle of Wight. Cameron Baker, 28, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder at Winchester Crown Court. A second man, Rio Scott, 28, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter. Barton, 30, had seen the defendants with his ex-girlfriend, Sammi Creed, outside a bar in Ryde on the previous evening. He said Miss Creed – who had split with Mr Barton two months earlier – was holding Baker’s hand, which she later told police was because he was drunk. A row broke out and Barton was killed.

May 28 – Roy Deeley-Price, 48, was attacked in Wolverhampton after withdrawing £10 from a cashpoint at a garage. He was repeatedly stomped on his head. Carl Ellitts, 26, was jailed for life (27 years). The court heard Ellitts stopped the attack briefly to try and buy a sandwich using his victim’s bank card. Ellitts was convicted of three separate robberies, assault with intention to rob and four counts of raping of two women, all of which happened during a four-day “rampage”. Ellitts, a drug addict and alcoholic, returned to Mr Deeley-Price’s body four times in the space of 11 minutes to continue his assault, kicking and stamping on his head at least 12 times, at one point using both his feet, before he was dragged away by a friend.

May 28 – Amarpreet (Chucky) Samra, 28, was shot dead on Fraser Street in south Vancouver, British Columbia. He had been on the dance floor with other wedding guests less than 30 minutes before he was shot in the early hours of the morning. He was a member of the United Nations gang. The killers are believed to have been from the Brothers Keepers gang and dumped a burning vehicle in Surrey.

May 26 – Fiona Robinson, 37, died of multiple injuries at a house in Chorley, Lancashire. Jason Gowan, 26, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 25 – Mohammed Iqbal, 17, was stabbed to death in Crookes, Sheffield. Peshawa Ghaffour, 29, from Walkley, Sheffield, has been charged with murder, possession of a firearm on arrest, possession of a bladed article, being in possession of an offensive weapon when in a private place, and assault by beating. He awaits trial.

May 23 – Margaret Craig, 71, was killed and then dismembered with a chainsaw at a house in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Her daughter Candace Craig, 45, was found guilty in Oct 2024 of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and tampering with evidence and disposing of a body in an unauthorized place.  Her mother had confronted her for committing credit card fraud and was choked to death when she threatened to turn in her daughter to the police Candace Craig then roped in one of her own three children, 19-year-old daughter Salia Hardy, to dispose of the body. Hardy pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact, and testified that her mother cooked chicken on a grill in the garden to cover up the smell.

May 23 – Lucas Sutton, 22, was chased and stabbed behind the Pawson Arms pub in Croydon, south London. Keahn Williams, 19, and a 16-year-old boy have been charged with murder and await trial.

May 23 – Peter Sisson, 60, was found dead in the shower in a locked bathroom at his home in Wandsworth, south London. He failed to turn up for work and his husband raised concerns over his welfare. Paul Mendes, 27, a former lodger, has been charged with murder and awaits trial in April 2024.

May 21 – Warren Burns, 37, was punched, kicked in the head and stamped on at a house in Fallowfield, Manchester. Ryan White, 29, was convicted of murder after a trial at Manchester Crown Court and jailed for life (17 years). His cousin Damian White, 34, was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 11 years. Greater Manchester Police said they received a 999 call after a group of men broke into Mr Burns’ house where he was with his partner and baby son. The trial heard the Whites had a grudge against Burns which dated back five years. In 2018, Mr Burns had been on a night out with friends when Ryan’s brother, Noel White, was killed. The man accused of murdering Noel White was acquitted following a trial, police said. The White family felt Burns’ witness account had contributed to the man being found not guilty. A “verbal altercation” between members of the White family and members of Burns’ family at a festival at Platt Fields Park in Fallowfield on 20 May was the “catalyst” for Ryan White and Damian White to go looking for Mr Burns.

May 19 – Mackaya Bradley-Brun, 6, was drowned at a house on St Helena Island, South Carolina. Her eight-year-old sister survived after their 16-year-old sister woke up. The children’s mother, Jamie Bradley-Burn, 37, has been charged with murder. Brun tried to grab a deputy’s gun as she was arrested and officers shocked her with a Taser to take her into custody. She is understood to have mental health problems.

May 18 – Danielle Davidson, 33, was stabbed to death at her home in Leith, near Edinburgh. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 18 – Sean O’Neill, 30, was stabbed to death in Hayes, west London. Shakil McCrea, 26, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 15 – Katie Higton, 27, and her 25-year-old boyfriend Steven Harnett, were stabbed to death at a house in Dalton, Huddersfield. Higton’s former partner, Marcus Osbourne, 34, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. West Yorkshire Police has referred itself to the IOPC because it had prior dealings with Ms Higton.

May 10 – Alex Josephs, 29, crashed his BMW into parked cars in Ladywell, Lewisham, SE London after being stabbed. Ahmed Chakile Gonladieu, 25, was charged with murder and went on trial in July 2024. The trial at the Old Bailey heard Gonladieu lost his temper after Mr Josephs ran over his mountain bike. He allegedly stabbed him through the open car window and fled. Witnesses say as he fled into a park, he allegedly re-sheathed the knife and shouted: “They take me for a pussyhole.”

May 9 – Anna Jones, 44, was killed at her home in Petersfield, Hampshire. Her daughter Bronwyn Jones, 25, was charged with murder. In Dec 2023 Jones – who wants to be known as Anarlin Jones and self-identifies as male, pleaded not guilty to murdering their mother but admitted manslaughter by means of diminished responsibility. Trial is due at Portsmouth Crown Court on April 10, 2024.

May 8 – Adam Abdul-Basit, 19, was attacked with a machete in Sheffield. Thomas Hardiman and Xander Howarth, who were both 17 at the time, were jailed for life (19 years each). Sheffield Crown Court heard Hardiman and Howarth Hardiman were on “bad terms” with Abdul-Basit over drug dealing and had “harboured an intent” to attack him.

May 7 – Cameron Bailey, 17, who was from Sussex, was stabbed to death in the centre of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Scott Cordice, aged 29 and Aaron Pattinson, aged 32, both from High Wycombe, and Philip Solomon, aged 37, have been charged with murder, grievous bodily harm with intent and conspiracy to commit robbery. Marlon Cato, aged 49, was charged with one count of assisting an offender. They await trial at Reading Crown Court.

May 6 – Ben Moncrieff, 18, was stabbed to death around 3am in the centre of Bath, Somerset. A 15-year-old boy from south London has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 5 – Sebastian Zon, 27, was stabbed to death in Hackney, east London, around 11pm. Zbigniew Galek, 52, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 5 – Renell Charles, 16, was stabbed to death in Walthamstow, NE London. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 5 – Wazabakana Elenda Jordan Kukabu, 18 – known as Jordan Kukabu – from Romford, Essex, was stabbed to death near Dagenham Heathway tube station in east London. Another man, aged in his 20s, was also taken to hospital with a stab injury. Michael Tommy-Mgagba, 20, and three teenagers aged 15, 16, and 17 have been convicted of murder and will be sentenced in October 2024. Jordan’s uncle, Michel Pongo, a Labour councillor in  Barking and Dagenham, warned people not to get involved in gangs to or quit “before it is too late”. At a council meeting on May 17 Mr Pongo told the chamber his family was unable to bury Jordan in the borough due to threats that have been made to his cousin.

May 5 – Eight people were shot dead after midnight near the village of Dubona, 37 miles south of Belgrade, Serbia. The gunman, identified by the initials UB, opened fire from a moving car. President Aleksander Vucic pledged the “practical disarmament” of the country, as he announced a list of new security measures intended to improve gun control. It followed a massacre two days earlier.

May 3 – Ana Božović, 12, and eight other students, were shot dead at Vladislav Ribnikar Model Elementary School in Vracar, Belgrade, Serbia. Dragan Vlahović, 55, a security guard was also killed. The gunman, a 13-year-old boy, was arrested but is below the age of criminal responsibility (14) and is unlikely to face any charges. Serbia’s President Alexander Vučić has pledged to introduce a law to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 12.

May 1 – Johanita Dogbey, 31, was stabbed to death in Stockwell Park Walk, in Brixton, just after 4pm on a Bank Holiday Monday after being approached from behind by a stranger. Ms Dogbey – was the founder of a charity that helped people suffering with sickle cell disease and a devout Christian who ‘wanted to make the world a better place’ – had just returned from a shopping trip in central London. Mohamed Nur, 33, was jailed for life (32 years) for murder in May 2024. He was also convicted of injuring two other members of the public two days before and having offensive weapons made from scissor blades and broken mirror glass. Nur, who came to the UK from Somalia in 1993, became addicted to drugs and was homeless from December 2022, the court heard. At the time of the attacks, he was living in accommodation for vulnerable adults in Vauxhall, south London, and had previous convictions for possession of cannabis, a firearm, ammunition and blades. He was not mentally ill.

April 2023

April 30 – Suma Begum, 24, was reported missing from her home in Orchard Place, Tower Hamlets. Her body was later found in the Thames at Thamesmead after a call from a member of the public. Her husband, Aminan Rahman, 45, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

April 30 – Michael Allen, 32, was stabbed to death near the Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin, Cornwall. Jake Hill, 24, has been charged with murder, three counts of attempted murder and two counts of section 18 causing grievous bodily harm with intent and awaits trial.

April 27 –  David Breaux, 50, a homeless man known as The Compassion Guy, was stabbed to death and found on a bench in Davis, California. Carlos Reales Dominguez, 20, a student at the nearby University of California, has been charged with murder. He is also accused of stabbing to death Karim Abou Najm, a UC Davis student who was cycling home after collecting an award. Dominguez is also charged with the attempted murder of Kimberlee Guillory.

April 26 – Ronique Thomas, 33, was stabbed to death in Kings Heath, Birmingham, in the early hours of the morning after he spotted his stolen e-bike.  Terrell Boyce, 18, was jailed for life for murder at Birmingham Crown Court. He was also found guilty of robbery and possession of a bladed article. Nathaniel Daly, 21, was convicted of manslaughter, robbery and possession of a bladed article. Kody Stephenson, 20, was convicted of robbery.

April 26 – Darren Augustine, 44, from Ealing, was stabbed to death at a house in Brentwick Gardens, Brentford, west London at 5.15am. Seven men and three women, aged from mid-teens to early 60s, who were in the house at the time were originally arrested on suspicion of murder but later released. A 28-year-old man was released on police bail until August 2023. In June 2023 the police announced that Augustine had been trying to burgle the property with another man when he was stabbed. They appealed to the public for help in finding the man and released a photo of him on a bus.

April 26 – Elise Mason, 37, was killed at her home in Chelmsford, Essex. Her boyfriend Mark Donovan, 38, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

April 26 – Human remains were discovered near Little Nomanshill car park, between Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire. Police said they were “not ancient” but have not been able to identify the victim yet.

April 25 – Marelle Sturrock, 35, was murdered at her home in Glasgow, Scotland. She was heavily pregnant. The body of her partner, David Yates, 36, was later found at Mugdock Country Park near Glasgow. He is believed to have committed suicide.

April 24 – John Hackett, 36, was attacked in Snowhill recreation ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He died at home the following day. A girl and two boys all aged 15 admitted manslaughter in Jan 2024 at a hearing at Warwick Crown Court in Leamington Spa. It is understood a video of the attack circulated on social media.

April 23 – Kwabena “KP” Osei-Poku, 19, a digital marketing student from Peterborough, was stabbed near the University of Northampton’s Waterside Campus in Northampton. Melvin Lebaga-Idubor, 19 from Barking, east London, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder and possession of an offensive weapon. Ogechi Eke, 19, from Enfield, was acquitted of murder. Antonio Huian, 18, from Northampton, was given a suspended prison sentence for perverting the course of justice. Zhanae Forbes-Coleman, 19, from Edmonton, north London, was acquitted of perverting the course of justice. The trial in Oct 2023 heard the killing was a dispute between drug dealers on the campus and Kwabena was killed after being robbed of a bag of cannabis worth £1,000. All of those on trial were students at the university. KP had been suspended or excluded by the university in November or December 2022, but had been allowed back in February 2023.

April 20 – Tshiamo Rabanye, six, and Nqobizitha Zulu, five, were abducted while playing at Thokoza park in Rockville, Soweto, South Africa. Their mutilated bodies were found 1.4km apart, in Rockville and White City by residents after a nearly 24-hour search. Their noses, lips and genitals had been removed. Nqobile Ndlovu, 50, and her lover Mthunzi Musawenkozi Zulu, 39, have been charged with murder and await trial. Ndlovu was reportedly one of the children’s grandmothers. It is thought they were killed so their parts could be used for black magic potions.  

April 18 – Kelvin Ward, 50, was stabbed to death after an incident in Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham. Tyrone Hollywood, 17, and Leighton Williams, 28, were found guilty of murder at Coventry Crown Court and were jailed for life. Aaron Coates, 18, was convicted of manslaughter. All were also found guilty of conspiracy to murder Mr Ward’s son, who was the actual target. Rusharn Williams-Reid, 18, was also convicted of conspiracy to murder Mr Ward’s teenage son. The jury saw CCTV of the gang chasing both men and heard the attackers had shouted “kill” amid chase scenes near a KFC takeaway restaurant.

April 15 – Filipe Oliveira, 20, was stabbed to death in Tulse Hill, south London. Caudel Haughton, 19, from Bellingham, SE London, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

April 15 – Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18, Marsiah Collins, 19, Shaunkivia “Keke” Smith, 17, and Corbin Holston, 17, were shot dead at a 16^th birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama. Dowdell’s sister Alexis said she told him before he died: “Don’t give up on me. You’re going to make it. You’re strong.” Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, Willie George Brown Jr, 19, Johnny Letron Brown, 20, and a 15-year-old have been charged with reckless murder.

April 15 – Atiq Ahmed, 60, a former MP with the Samajwadi Party, who had convicted of kidnapping and facing murder and assault charges, was shot dead live on TV, along with his brother Ashraf Ahmed.  They were in police custody outside a hospital in Prayagraj (Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh, India, when three men fired more than 20 rounds of bullets at them from close range as they took questions from reporters. Police officer Ramit Sharma said the three assailants came on motorcycles posing as journalists, and were carrying camera equipment, a microphone bearing the logo of a television network and fake journalist IDs. They have been identified as Lavlesh Tiwari, 22, Mohit Puraney, 23, and Arun Kumar Maurya, 18. The men reportedly told police they had been following the Ahmed brothers for two days, since they came into custody, and wanted to carry out the killings to gain notoriety. “We wanted to kill Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf with the aim of completely wiping off the Atiq-Ashraf gang and making a name for ourselves,” the men are quoted as telling police in the report filed in the case. Police said they were investigating further but did not clarify if they were looking into a sectarian motive for the killing. Atiq Ahmed, his brother and their wider family were notorious gansters in the Uttar Pradesh criminal underworld, accused of running a crime syndicate embroiled in murder and extortion, and the former politician had more than 100 different cases filed against him, including assault and murder. He was jailed for life in 2019 after being convicted of orchestrating a kidnapping while in prison. The Ahmed brothers had been in police custody relating to the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal, who had been a key witness in the case of another killing they were implicated in.

April 14 – Tyler McDermott, 17, was shot in the head in a street in Tottenham, north London. Six men from south London have been charged with murder and await trial. They are Rhys Antwi, 19, from Streatham, Damaris McBeth, 19, from Cheshunt, Alfred Cocker, 20, Tyrese Barnett, 19, Leo Reid, 19, and Tyrese Matthews, 20.

April 10 – Chima Osuji, 17, was fatally stabbed in Chingford, north east London. Two boys, both aged 16, have been charged with murder and await trial.

April 9 – Guy Malbec, 51, a disabled former barrister who was living rough, was beaten to death on the street in Canterbury, Kent. Sobantu Sibanda, 28, the homeless son of a university lecturer and social worker, was found guilty of murder and jailed for life. Gavin Houghton, Keith Hall and Airidas Sakalauskas were acquitted of murder and manslaughter. They were alleged by the prosecution to be Sibanda’s “henchmen” and had allegedly “participated in and encouraged” the violent attack. All four men admitted an offence of perverting the course of justice in relation to “cleaning up” the scene and deleting phone messages. Mr Malbec, who relied on a wheelchair walking frame and stick due to a leg injury he sustained while living in Israel, was beaten to death with his own wooden gavel and laptop.

April 9 – Abdullah Hassan, 25, was shot in Gleadless Valley, Sheffield, at 1.30am. Five people have been arrested but nobody has been charged.

April 9 – Stephen Baxter, 61, and his 64-year-old wife Carol Baxter, were killed at their home on Mersea Island in Essex. The couple were directors of Cazsplash, a firm which produces shower mats and bathroom accessories. Luke D’Wit, 33, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

April 5 – Marcia Grant, 60, a grandmother and foster carer, was found seriously injured in Greenhill, Sheffield, after being run over by a car. A 12-year-old boy has been charged with murder and is due to go on trial in August 2023.

April 5 – Gareth Hart, 43, was stabbed to death in Ingoldmells, near Skegness, Lincolnshire. Joseph Malek, 33, from Belper, Derbyshire, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

April 4 – Shou Zou, 22, was stabbed to death in the centre of Coventry at 2.40am. A 20-year-old man was also treated for a shoulder and hand injury. Penqui Sun, 23, has been charged with murder and attempted murder and awaits trial.

April 4 – Oto Carick was shot dead when he went to pick up his son from Meadowbrook preparatory school in St Andrew parish, Jamaica. The gunman fired multiple shots at Carick as he rode a motorbike with his son. The boy, aged about 8, jumped off the motorbike and escaped unscathed.

April 4 – Bob Lee, 43, the founder of Cash App, was stabbed to death as he sat in a car in downtown San Francisco, California. Nima Momeni, 38, a tech entrepreneur from Emeryville, California, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. According to a LinkedIn profile for Mr Momeni, he is a technology consultant and owner of a company called Expand IT, Inc.

April 4 – Tyrese Miller, 22, was shot in the chest at close range with a shotgun in Mitcham, south London. Denzel Kwateng, 21, a drug dealer, was convicted of manslaughter after being acquitted of murder. Kavaun Morrison, 19, and Manuel Paulo, 20, from Tooting; were acquitted of murder and possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Cheick Cisse, 39, from Croydon, and a 17-year-old, who cannot be identified because of his age, were convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Ky-mani Elliott, 21, from Lewisham; and Azariah James-Gulston, 21, from Croydon; were cleared of perverting the course of justice after they were accused of assisting in the destruction of a Toyota car used in the killing. Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC told the trial the attack was in retribution after a man called Prince Miller was stabbed in south London shortly before midnight on 3 April. But Mr Emlyn Jones said it was clear that Tyrese Miller had not been involved in the stabbing and had been enjoying a night out in a pub with friends at the time. He was wrongly targeted. It was the second time Kwateng was acquitted of murder. He had been accused of the murder of Denardo Samuels-Brooks in Streatham, south London, on June 10, 2021. Kwateng was acquitted on the grounds of self-defence.

April 2 – Georgia Blunt, 38, and Ruel Fuller, 42, were shot dead in an abandoned house near Kitson Town, St Catherine parish, Jamaica. Their bodies were found the following day. The pair had been tending cows in nearby fields. Two of the cows were later reported stolen from nearby Naseberry Grove.

April 1 – Sheldon Flanighan, 55, died as a result of the injuries he sustained in a fight outside the Bay Horse pub in Cramlington, Northumberland. He worked for the North East Ambulance Service but was off-duty. Toby Kelly, 37, from Blyth, David Fairclough, 32, from Newbiggin-by-the-sea and Shannon Wooden, 27, of Blyth, have all been charged with murder and attempting to murder another man. They await trial.

March 2023

March 29 – Gary Dunmore, 57, a builder, was shot dead in Bluntisham, Cambridgeshire and his 32-year-old son Joshua Dunmore, also a builder, was killed half an hour later at his home in Sutton, six miles away. Stephen Alderton, 66, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 27 – Beryl Purdy, 86, a church warden, was killed during a burglary at her home in Broomfield, near Bridgwater, Somerset. David Parish, 36, denied murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. The prosecution accepted his plea.

March 26 – Keano Byrne, 25, went missing after he was last seen walking with another man in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of the morning. His body parts were found 12 days later. In Nov 2019 Byrne had been jailed for seven years for possession of drugs and other offences. He had presumably been out of prison only a few days before he was killed.

March 26 – A 26-year-old taxi driver was found hanged from a tree in the Hjälstaviken nature reserve in Sweden. A 15-year-old girl and four teenage brothers were convicted of murder at a court in Uppsala in Nov 2023. The court heard found the driver was killed after he allegedly raped the girl. He was lured to the forest with the promise of sexual favours. He was then overpowered and killed. His taxi was found with the engine on and the meter running. The eldest brother, aged 18 at the time, was given a life sentence. The four others, all minors at the time of the events, were sentenced to between three and four years in a young offenders’ institution. The girl and her boyfriend were found to have not been at the scene but were convicted of aiding and abetting the murder. The prosecution presented text messages between the group as evidence of their involvement. Four days before the taxi driver went missing, the girl texted a friend: “His brothers are going to meet my rapist.”

March 25 – Rushena Senior, 28, a data entry clerk from Kingsvale, Hanover, Jamaica, was shot dead at a wedding in Negril, Jamaica. Two photographers were also injured.

March 23 – Tala Tala, 53, was found with 196 knife wounds in a house in Leicester after being abducted late at night from outside his home.  Daryoush Kholghnik, 34 and Talib Mombeini, 37, who were Iranian asylum seeker, went on trial at Leicester Crown Court in Oct 2023. Prosecutor Mary Prior said that after abducting him they made several calls to Mr Tala’s daughter and a friend demanding £40,000, but it was never paid. One message said: “I cut his ear soon” and another: “He is alive but no more than two hours from now.” Mr Tala’s daughter, Ange, also got a video call with Kholghnik tapping her father’s face with a knife, the trial heard. Ms Pryor said: “Tala Tala offered Kholghnik the opportunity to get rich quick with a fake money scam and that, through greed, both defendants fell for this scam and handed over large sums of money. It is plain that they realised that they had been tricked – they wanted their money back and were prepared to do anything to get it.”

March 23 – Devroy Peart, 37, Tattiana Brown, 21, and Deanna Green, 21, were shot dead while in a Honda car in King Street, Kingston, Jamaica. The assailants were in another car.

March 22 – Rohan “Fred” Shand, 16, died from a single stab wound outside the Cock Hotel in Kingsthorpe, Northampton. A 15-year-old boy was convicted of murder and a 17-year-old was acquitted.

March 21 – David Kelly, 42, was hit by a car in Plymouth. Luke Dann, 36, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 20 – Stefan Stelian Moraru, 44, was killed in Chandos Avenue in Barnet, north London and was found at 6am. Armand Tafa, 39, and Migen Emilova, 35, have been charged with murder and await trial.

March 19 – Trust Gangata, 17, was stabbed to death at a house party in Armley, Leeds. Karl Belinga, 20, and Karlson Ogie, 19, from Bradford, and Paul Mbwasse, 19, from Huddersfield, were jailed for life for murder.  Brandon Paradzai, 20, from Bierley, was jailed for manslaughter. The trial heard the attackers were seeking revenge for an earlier assault on Belinga which Trust was not involved in. Belinga left the party after the assault, prosecutors said, but all four later returned in a car and were wearing masks.

March 19 – Moesha Heath, 23, was shot dead as she got out of her car outside her home in Negril, Jamaica. She was killed by one of three men who came out from behind her home as she arrived. She wanted to be a make-up artist. Her death was the 19^th murder in the parish of Westmoreland alone since the beginning of 2023.

March 19 – Jerald Netto, 62, was stabbed to death in Hanwell, west London, just after midnight. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 12 – Kasey Anderson, 24, was stabbed in the chest and leg at a house in Croxteth, Liverpool. He died in hospital on 31 March. His girlfriend Natalie Bennett, 47, was jailed for life for murder. She had tried to claim he was a drug dealer and had been killed by rivals.

March 11 – Akeem Francis-Kerr, 29, was stabbed to death at Valesha’s nightclub in Walsall, West Midlands. Edward Wilson, 39, from Oldbury, went on trial for murder at Stafford Crown Court in September 2023. Prosecutor Maria Karaiskos KC said it was the crown’s case that Wilson stabbed Akeem on the dancefloor “out of anger, arrogance or jealousy” after returning from the toilet to find Akeem was standing in a recessed area of the club where Wilson had been standing since he arrived at the club an hour before, at around 4am. Ms Karaiskos said Wilson deemed that part of the club as his “area”.

March 10 – Lee Rhoades, 45, was tortured and killed at a flat in Hull. Keeran Edge, 25, was jailed for life (31 years), Amie Kehoe, 23, was jailed for life (28 years) and Lee Hailstone, 33, was jailed for life (16 years) for murder. They were attending a drink and drugs party at Hailstone’s flat when a row broke out between Rhoades and Hailstone and they sided with Hailstone. Toni Hodgson, 31, was jailed for 16 months after admitting perverting the course of justice. She had helped clean up some of the blood in the flat.

March 7 – Michele Rutherford, 54, a care worker, was stabbed to death in supported accommodation in Stirling, Scotland. Kellyanne McNaughton, 33, denied murder but admitted culpable homicide. She had been suffering a mental health episode. Two other carers, Moira McMillan and Victoria Hendry, were also stabbed but survived. McNaughton referred to herself as “demonic”. At the sentencing hearing in Jan 2024 the judge heard that the only secure facility was Carstairs Hospital, which houses men only. McNaughton may have to be transferred to Rampton Hospital in England.

March 5 – Jordan Briscoe, 25, was robbed and stabbed in Tottenham, north London, after being lured to a bogus drugs deal. Karl Black, 43, was jailed for life (27 years), Jahoe Allen, 34, was jailed for life (25 years),  Ayyub Kigozi, 19, was jailed for life (17 years), and Jabir Sitar, 21, was jailed for life (19 years). Christina Manen, 37, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for three years. Vittorio Murro, 25, was arrested in Italy in October 2023 and has been extradited. He still awaits trial.

March 4 – Tony Johnson, 55, died after suffering a head injury in a fight between football fans near The Manchester bar on the Promenade in Blackpool, Lancashire after a goalless draw between Blackpool and Burnley. The murder came almost 50 years after Kevin Olsson, another Blackpool fan, was killed by Bolton fans in another brawl in 1974.

March 3 – Charlotte Wilcock, 31, was kicked, stamped on and stabbed to death as her baby slept upstairs in her home in Blackburn, Lancashire. Anthony Stinson, 31, was jailed for life with a minimum of 24 years and two months. He was a complete stranger. Her 15-month-old daughter remained alone in the property until police were alerted the following day. Stinson told police he had psychosis and had seen the devil when he carried out the attack, which was described as a “total fabrication” by the Crown Prosecution Service. Medical evidence did not back up this concocted story and when detectives searched his phone, they found that he and a friend had made a rap video that described killing someone just an hour before the unprovoked attack.

February 2023

Feb 28 – Neil Canney, 37, was shot dead on the doorstep of his home in Larkfield, Greenock, Scotland at 1.15am. Kieran Meechan, 27, Jack Benson, 22, Dale Russell, 28, and Martin McCusker, 38, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Feb 27 – The remains of a two-month-old baby was found in woods near Brighton. The baby’s mother, Constance Marten, 35, and her boyfriend Mark Gordon, 48, have been charged with gross negligence manslaughter. The couple had been missing since January 5 when they abandoned their car, on fire, next to the M61 in Bolton, near Manchester. Inquiries revealed Marten, who comes from an aristocratic family with royal connections, had given birth recently – possibly one or two days before the incident – and had not been assessed by medical professionals. Gordon had served a sentence in Florida for a sex offence and social services in London had concerns about him being around the child. The couple were living rough in Essex, east London and Sussex during January and February 2023.

Feb 24 – Abby Choi, 28, a socialite and social media influencer, was killed and her dismembered body was found in Hong Kong. Her ex-husband Alex Kwong, Kwong’s brother Anthony and their father Kwong Kau have been charged with murder. Kwong’s mother, 63, has been charged with obstructing the case. Choi’s head was found in a three-storey house in the rural Tai Po district, days after her other body parts were found in the same location – roughly 17 miles from where she was last seen in Kowloon City on Tuesday. A meat slicer and an electric saw were also found at the scene. Hong Kong police told media they believe Choi and her former in-laws had many financial disputes involving “huge sums”.

Feb 22 – TV reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, and a nine-year-old girl, T’Yonna Major,were shot dead in Pine Hills, near Orlando, Florida, close to the scene of a murder that took place hours earlier. A second reporter, Jesse Walden, and the girl’s mother, Nathacha Augustin, 38, were shot and injured by the same gunman, who is also suspected of the other homicide. The journalists were covering the killing of Ms Augustin when the suspect, Keith Moses, 19, returned. Moses is a known gang member with a lengthy criminal history that includes at least eight felony and 11 misdemeanor arrests ranging from gun charges, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft.

Feb 22 – Gerald Wickes, 79, stabbed at a house in Eyres Monsell, Leicester. A complete stranger, Daniel Rounce, 18, was jailed for life (25 years) for murder, possession of bladed article, and assaulting an emergency worker. During the trial Rounce, from Markfield, offered no reason why he killed Mr Wickes at the pensioner’s former partner’s house. But at the sentencing hearing he claimed through his barrister at his sentencing hearing that he had acted out of panic while intending to rob Mr Wickes, after following the victim’s former partner into the house.

Feb 22 – Agnès Lassalle, 54, a teacher at a private Catholic school in St Jean de Luz, south-west France, was stabbed to death in front of a packed class by a 16-year-old pupil who claimed to be ‘possessed by the devil’. The incident happened during a Spanish lesson. The schoolboy – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was charged with premeditated murder and taken into custody.

Feb 20 – Harley Brown, 17, was stabbed to death in Huddersfield. Harley, who was known as Dripzz, had moved to Huddersfield from Deptford, south London in 2020 for a “safe” life after his mother became concerned he was being groomed by older gang members. Two boys admitted murder at Leeds Crown Court. Zak Robinson, 17, was jailed for life (14 years) and a 15-year-old was just for life (10 years). Judge Bobbi Cheema-Grubb KC lifted the order on Robinson but not the younger boy. She said the killing was a “senseless atrocity”. The court heard the killers had been “under the influence of nitrous oxide” on the night of the murder. They bumped into Brown by chance at 3.40am and began chasing him. When the younger boy’s sentence was read out a member of Harley’s group walked out, calling the 10 year tariff a “joke”. That sparked a scuffle between his relatives and friends and those of the killers. Police were needed to restore order.

Feb 18 – Lorna England, 74, was stabbed in the neck and chest as she walked across Ludwell Valley Park in Exeter to buy some flour from a Lidl supermarket. Cameron Davis, 31, was convicted of murder and jailed for life. He had denied murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. The jury concluded Davis stabbed Mrs England to death because he was “angry and upset” rather than affected by a mental illness. A few hours before killing her he threatened to take his own life in a fire unless he was arrested.

Feb 15 – Daneiko Ferguson, 27, was stabbed to death in Harehills, Leeds. Alga Lutondo, 33, and Halgon Randon, 44, were jailed for life (28 and 26 years respectively). The trial heard the killing was in revenge for an earlier dispute. The pair trawled the area on bikes searching for their victim before stabbing him five times. One of the stab wounds severed his femoral artery causing a catastrophic bleed that resulted in his death. He was ound by a passing taxi driver and taken to hospital but died a short time after the attack in the early hours.

Feb 14 – Sarah Brierley, 49, was battered to death with a hammer at her home in Woodhouse, Sheffield. David Scott, 39, was jailed for life (29 years) for murder and robbery. His girlfriend Zoe Clarke, 38, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter and jailed for 42 weeks for theft. Sarah was found laid on her sofa with significant injuries to her head. She was wrapped in a duvet. Traces of rat poison were found near her body. The pair had been living with her at the time of her death and were caught on CCTV footage removing her TV from the house after her death. During the investigation police found a love letter Scott wrote to Clark in which he said: “I can do 20 years, if I know you’re there at the end.” Police also found photographs on a phone shared by Scott and Clark showing Sarah’s body with a plastic bag over her head.

Feb 12 – Andy Wood, 16, stabbed to death in Waterson Vale, a park in Chelmsford, Essex. Elijah Clark, 18, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Feb 11 – Trei Daley, 26, from Bromley, was stabbed to death died near the Colour Factory nightclub in Queen’s Yard, Hackney Wick, east London. Another man, 24, survived. Christopher Appiah-Blay, 35, of Hackney, and Mawien Mawien, 39, from Chadwell Heath, have been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon and awaits trial in Jan 2024.

Feb 11 – Brianna Ghey, 16, a transgender girl, was found with multiple stab wounds on a path in Linear Park, Culcheth, near Warrington, Cheshire. Scarlett Jenkinson, who was 15, was jailed for life (22 years) and Eddie Ratcliffe, 15, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder after a high-profile trial. Brianna was born Brett but had been living as a girl. The judge ruled the killing was partly motivated by transphobic hate. The trial also heard Jenkinson had been the prime mover, having seen snuff movies on the dark web.

Feb 9 – Kai McGinley, 24, from Southwark, was shot dead in Erith, Kent. Charlie Brabon, 18, Anthony Wallder, 20, Connor Brooks, 20, Bradlee Reeve, 33, Kai Osibodu, 23, and Jalees Selby-Gangera, 18, all from Erith and Enriko Spahiu, 20, from Belvedere, have all been charged with murder and attempted murder and are due to go on trial at the Old Bailey in Jan 2024. The getaway car was a Land Rover Freelander. In 2018 McGinley was jailed for 5 years for carrying out a jewellery robbery at a Mappin & Webb shop in St Andrews, Scotland.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/crime/crime-gang-caged-47-years-8093328

Feb 9 – Valentin Cozma, was killed in Stoke-on-Trent. Georgian Constantin, 42, was charged with murder and awaits trial.

Feb 10 – Kiernan Forbes, 35, a rapper known as AKA, and his close friend, the chef and entrepreneur, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, were shot dead as they left the Wish restaurant in Florida Road, Durban, South Africa.The pair were on their way to a nightclub for a performance as part of Forbes’ birthday celebrations. Footage of the shooting went viral on social media. Two brothers, Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande, were arrested in Eswatini and extradited to South Africa in August 2024. They are due to go on trial along with Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, Lindani Ndimande, Siyanda Myeza, Mziwethemba Gwabeni and Lindokuhle Ndimande. They are also linked to the murders of Mntimande Kunene, Nhlanhla Ngcobo and Zamokuhle Mkhwanazi-Ngcobo, which took place in eManzimtoti and Berea in March 2023. AKA was one of the most popular rappers and hip hop performers in South Africa. In Feb 2021 Forbes had got engaged to Nelli Tembe but two months later she fell to her death from a hotel in Cape Town.

Feb 1 – Eunice Dwumfour, 30, a city councilwoman in Sayreville, New Jersey, was shot dead in her car. Police believe she crashed her SUV during the shooting. Ms Dwumfour had been elected to the council in 2021. She was a mother, and worked as a part-time EMT and a business analyst. Victoria Kilpatrick, the mayor of Sayreville, said in a statement that “the fact that she was taken from us by a despicable criminal act makes this incident all the more horrifying.”

Jan 2023

Jan 29 – Colin Prime, 41, a serving police officer, was attacked at a car park in Belfast, Northern Ireland around 3am. He died in hospital on March 5. PSNI insist the killing was not linked to his job.

Jan 28 – Bailey Atkinson, 20, was stabbed to death near Asda in Walsall, West Midlands. A 15-year-old boy and two youths aged 16, were arrested at a hotel in Rhyl, north Wales but have not been charged.

Jan 27 – Holly Newton, 15, was stabbed multiple times in an alleyway next to a pizza shop in Priestpopple in the centre of Hexham, Northumberland. A 17-year-old boy, who was 16 at the time, admitted manslaughter but denied murder. He was later convicted of murder and jailed for life. In Oct 2024 the judge, Sir Nicholas Hilliard, lifted the restriction on naming him. He was identified as Logan McPhail, Holly’s ex-boyfriend. In a police interview shown to jurors at Newcastle Crown Court, McPhail said he had been trying to kill himself. The youth, who has been diagnosed with learning difficulties, told officers he “bumped” into Holly while walking to the bus station, although prosecutors said he followed her for 45 minutes before attacking her. He said his mind went “blank” during the attack, adding: “Normally when my mind goes blank I try to hurt myself, slit my wrists or something, try and kill myself.” The pair met at army cadets in Consett and were in an “on-and-off” relationship for 18 months, which ended days before the killing. Holly’s mother Micala Trussler had arranged a meeting with Northumbria Police to discuss her fears about him for the evening of 27 January, but Holly was killed hours before it could take place.

Jan 26 – Fernando Johnson, 23, a rapper known as Fdot, was stabbed to death by two men as he got out of his BMW car in Rosebank Way in Acton, west London (not far from the A40) at around 2.15am. Fdot was a member of the Shepherds Bush-based 12Anti drill collective and had racked up hundreds of thousands of YouTube views on his music videos. 12Anti’s arch-rivals are the 3^rd, based in the W3 postcode in Acton.

Jan 23 – Gionni Dameron, 18, and Rashad Carr, 16, were shot dead at the Starts Right Here education programme in Des Moines, Iowa. Will Keeps, a former Chicago gang member who moved to Des Moines and later founded a programme to help at-risk youth, was seriously wounded. Preston Walls, 18, and Bravon Tukes, 19, of Des Moines, face two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of criminal gang participation. Tukes and Walls are members of the same gang and committed the shootings “in connection with that gang membership,” police said.

Jan 22 – Neil Shadwick, 63, died after being knocked off his mobility scooter in the car park of a Tesco supermarket in Stroud, Gloucestershire. The scooter was missing. Kimberley Ann Hawkins, 41, was charged with manslaughter in April 2024 and awaits trial.

Jan 22 –  Arsène Salomon Mbani Zogo, a radio journalist, 50, was abducted as he left the Amplitude FM radio station. He was better known as Martinez Zogo. His body was found on an empty plot of land in Ebogo, Yaoundé, Cameroon. The killers fled in a black Toyota Prado. Zogo’s body had a broken right foot, multiple severed fingers and a twisted tongue. Cameroonian police arrested the alleged mastermind of the killing: the Gucci-suited media tycoon Jean-Pierre Amougou Berlinga, owner of the television channel Vision4 TV and the newspaper L’Anecdote, who had been accused of corruption. A police lieutenant colonel called Justin Danwe confessed and incriminated his boss, the DGRE chief, Léopold Maxime Eko Eko. Berlinga, Danwe and Eko Eko await trial.

Jan 22 – Darren Moore, 39, from Newport, was killed in an alley in the centre of Cardiff. Moore, a drag queen, was last been seen at around 5am wearing full face make-up, a luminous green dress, blonde wig, heels and carrying a clutch bag. He ran a company called Blingblingbling and exhibited his jewellery at RuPaul’s annual Dragcon event in London in 2020. As a teenager, and under his previous name of Darren Sewell, he was convicted of four counts of rape on a boy under the age of 16 and sent to a Young Offenders’ Institution for three years. He was banned from having contact with children but in 2011 he was convicted of breaching the order by working as a gymnastics and dance tutor with children in Cardiff. He was sentenced to a three-year sex offender’s treatment programme, a 24-month supervision order, 300 hours unpaid work and a six-month curfew on electronic tag.

Jan 12 – Shane Whitla, 39, was shot several times in Lord Lurgan Park, County Armagh. Joshua Cotter, 29 Jake O’Brien, 27, and Kevin Conway, 25, have been charged with murder. The killing is believed to have been carried out by a gang of drug dealers called The Firm. They are said to have 50 members, be based in Lurgan and sell drugs in County Armagh and County Down. In June 2021 a court was told that murdered crime boss Malcolm McKeown, who was shot dead outside a Waringstown petrol station in August 2019, was locked in a feud with The Firm.

Jan 9 – Firdaous El J was shot dead at the home of a relative in Merksem, a suburb of Antwerp, Belgium. The motive behind the shooting may have been a “settling of scores” between rival gangs, including the Mocro Mafia from the Netherlands. One of the girl’s relatives is said to be Younes El Ballouti, 24, known as “El Magico”, who has been declared a fugitive and convicted of cocaine smuggling. In 2017, police sources said he was kidnapped by rivals only for another family member to negotiate his release at a cost of €5 million.

Jan 4 – Tausha Haight, 40, her 78-year-old mother Gail Earl, and her five children – three girls, 17, 12 and 7, and two boys, 7 and 4 – were shot dead at their home in Enoch City, Utah. Their father Michael Haight, 42, an insurance salesman, shot himself after killing his entire family. He was triggered by his wife suing for divorce in December 2022. US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden also offered their condolences, calling the incident a “tragic shooting”.

Jan 2 – Sean Patterson, 33, was shot 12 times as he sat beside the pool in a villa in Bogie Hill, near Montego Bay, Jamaica. Patterson, a former member of the MDP (Murder Dem Pussies) gang in Shepherds Bush, west London, had travelled to Jamaica with a 29-year-old man from London. Oshane Richards has been arrested in connection with the murder. Jamaica Constabulary’s deputy commissioner Fitz Bailey said it was a “contract killing that emanated from Britain.” In 2008 Patterson, then 18, was jailed for two years for attacking a friend of Kodjo Yenga’s two weeks before the 16-year-old was murdered in Shepherds Bush.

Jan 2 – John Hallissey, 60, was killed at an adult care home in Lansbury Drive, Hayes, west London. Rajinder Pall, 44, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. The property was supported residential accommodation for people with mental health and drugs issues.

2022

December 2022

Dec 30 – Stephanie Hansen, 39, was stabbed to death in Hayes, west London. Her housemate Sheldon Rodrigues, 30, was charged with murder and went on trial in Dec 2023. The trial heard Rodrigues was besotted with Stephanie and was furious when she began seeing a married work colleague. He embarked on a campaign to disrupt the relationship, bought spy devices to he could spy on her and then killed her a few hours after Stephanie’s lover, Celso Cabillan, left the house after a night-time tryst. The trial heard shift worker Rodrigues had been at work at Swissport the night before but was listening in on the couple’s date with a Micromax phone hidden in the living room. He denies murder.

Dec 26 (Boxing Day) – Cody Fisher, 23, was stabbed to death on the dance floor of the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham. He was a non-league footballer and school sport coach. He was attacked just before midnight at an event featuring well-known techno DJ Marco Carola. Kami Carpenter, 21, and Remy Gordon, 22, have been charged with murder and await trial in Jan 2024.

Dec 26 – Emma Lovell, 41, originally from Hasketon, Suffolk, died after confronting intruders at her home in North Lakes, Brisbane, Australia, on Boxing Day night. Her husband Lee Lovell, 43, who was also stabbed, described his wife as the “glue to our family”. Two boys, aged 17, have been charged with murder.

Dec 24 (Christmas Eve) – Elle Edwards, 26, a beautician, died in hospital after being shot in the head at the Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey village, Merseyside. Five men were injured. Connor Chapman, 22, from the Woodchurch estate, was charged with murder and went on trial in June 2023. He denies murder and also denies wounding with intent to cause GBH to three men who were injured – Harry Loughran, Liam Carr and Nicholas Speed – and possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger. Thomas Waring, 20, denies possession of a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender. The trial heard the gunman sprayed the pub entrance with 12 bullets from a military style Skorpion sub-machine gun. Nigel Power, KC, prosecuting, described Ms Edwards as the “wholly innocent” victim of a feud between gangs based in the Woodchurch estate and the Beechwood/Ford estate in Wirral. He said the intended targets were Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, from the Beechwood estate. The trial heard Salkeld was “critically injured” after being shot in the legs and Duffy had wounds which “narrowly missing his testicles”.

Dec 23 – Dave Peck, 51, was killed with a crossbow as he had a quiet drink at The Lamb and Lion pub in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. Alfred Turner, 44, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. CCTV from inside the Lamb and Lion showed Turner entering the pub from the door opposite the bar. He fired the crossbow and hit Mr Peck who was sat on a bar stool opposite the door. Turner was given a life sentence with a section 45A hospital order. This means he will be detained at a mental health facility and if fit will then be sent to prison.

Dec 22 – David Perry, 40, was stabbed to death at a house in Sittingbourne, Kent, at 1.35am. Rohan Daniels, 18, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Dec 20 – Jamaly Samba Baibu, 16, was stabbed to death in Islington, north London. A 16-year-old boy was charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will be sentenced on 17 Nov 2023.

Dec 20 – Andre Foster, 44, was stabbed to death in Willesden, north west London. Liban Ali, 29, has been charged with murder, with drugs offences and possession of a bladed article.

Dec 19 – Reverend Lynval Lewis, the pastor at the Spanish Town Tabernacle and Greater Portmore Tabernacle, was shot several times by a gunman in Portmore, Jamaica. As he came under gunfire, Lewis lost control of the car he was driving, which veered off the roadway and on to a sidewalk, coming to a halt in a clump of small trees.

Dec 18 – Natalie McNally, 32, was stabbed to death at her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. She was 15 weeks pregnant. Police said a 32-year-old man was arrested but released the next day and was no longer a suspect. Police released a CCTV clip of the suspect arriving in her road at 8.52pm and leaving at 9.30pm. But on 1 February Stephen McCullagh, 32, from Lisburn, was charged with murder. He was an audience editor at the Belfast Telegraph. A magistrates court hearing heard Mr McCullagh, who has a YouTube channel, staged a live broadcast on the night of the murder, with footage appearing to show him playing the video game Grand Theft Auto for six hours. It was told the defendant was initially arrested in the wake of the murder but then ruled out as a suspect on the basis of the alleged livestream alibi. McCullagh awaits trial.

Dec 18 – Sabrina Cooper, 68, was killed at her home in Eastbourne, Sussex. Tony King, 60, was jailed for life (22 years). The victim was the niece of late comedian Tommy Cooper. She ran a magic shop until 2017 and was selling her property and was “excited” to start a new chapter in life. Hove crown court was shown footage of King, the day before the murder took place, posting on his TikTok account with 11,000 followers, saying: “Watch out for my next magic trick, it’s going to be amazing.” In an unpublished TikTok video the following day, after the murder took place, he recorded himself saying: “I have just taken a life today.”

Dec 18 – Ken Lee, 59, a homeless man, was killed in downtown Toronto, Ontario, just after midnight. Eight teenage girls have been charged with second-degree murder. Three of the girls were 13, three were 14, and two were 16. They met on social media and congregated in the city’s downtown core, where they were allegedly involved in two fights.

Dec 15 – Ailish Walsh, 28, who was pregnant, was stabbed more than 40 times with a pair of scissors at her home in Hackney, east London. Liam Taylor, 37, has been charged with murder. Walsh, who was 22 weeks pregnant, was pronounced dead at the scene. Judge Mark Lucraft KC set a three-week trial at the Old Bailey from 16 October 2023.

Dec 15 – Anju Asok, 35, an NHS nurse, and her children Jeeva Saju, six, and Janvi Saju, four, were asphyxiated at their home in Kettering, Northamptonshire. Saju Chelavalel, 52, was jailed for life (40 years) for murdering his wife and children. Chelavalel said he believed his wife was having an affair and claimed he lost control while drunk, killing her at around 10pm on 14 December at their ground-floor flat. Chelavalel, originally from Kerala, India, had more than four hours “to reflect on whether to kill his children” before using a dressing gown cord to strangle them in the early hours of the following morning.

Dec 11 – Nicoletta Golisano, 50, Elisabetta Silenzi and Sabina Sperandio were shot dead at a café in Fidene, Rome. The gunman had entered the bar on Sunday shouting “I’ll kill you all” before using his pistol. He was reportedly overpowered by other residents before being detained by police. A 57-year-old man was expected to be charged with murder. The dead women were reportedly members of a residents’ committee and the gunman had a grudge against them. Golisano was a friend of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni.

Dec 10 – Abraham Kallon, 24, died after being stabbed through the window as he sat in a car in Clapham High Street, south London at around 4am. Justice Beckford, 22, has been charged with murder and is due to go on trial in Nov 2023. Abraham and his friend had enjoyed a night and had begun socialising with a group of women. At around 4am, they joined a larger group and while Abraham was sitting in his friend’s car with the passenger window rolled down, he was stabbed.

Dec 7 – Jack Norton, 18, was stabbed to death in Cookie Park, Darlaston, West Midlands. Brandon Price, 19, and a 16-year-old youth who cannot be named for legal reasons, from Walsall, went on trial for murder at Wolverhampton Crown Court in Nov 2023. Jack Norton was also known as Jack Lowe.

Dec 4 – Owen Dunn, 18, was stabbed to death in Swindon. Tyler Hunt, 18, and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of murder by a jury at Bristol Crown Court in Dec 2023 after their defences of self-defence were rejected. The court heard Mr Dunn was cycling to meet his girlfriend when he was attacked by the two balaclava-clad youths wielding machetes.

Dec 1 – Michelle Hanson, 47, was stabbed to death at her home in Pallion, Sunderland. Alexander Carr went on the run to London for 18 days but was caught and was found by police in a tent pitched on a railway embankment near Upper Holloway train station, hiding with a hunting knife. In May 2023 he pleaded guilty to murder at Newcastle crown court and was jailed for life. Carr was a student at the University of Sunderland but had links to London.

November 2022

Nov 30 – Phillip Breach, 59, was attacked in Oxford as he made his way back home from a Co-op shop in Wood Farm Park after buying a newspaper and a chocolate bar as he did every day. He suffered 37 injuries. Liam Jones, 45, was jailed for life (37 years). Jones had been jailed for another man’s murder in 2002 but was released on parole in 2021. Mr Breach, who had five children, suffered brain damage and walked with a limp after he was hit by a car when he was 20. He had a minor altercation with Jones the day before he was attacked.

Nov 28 – Omar Abdullah, 20, was stabbed to death on the Lisson Grove estate in Marylebone, central London. Hamza Elchgar, 18, from Shepherds Bush and Christian Peterkin, 19, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Nov 27 – Brian Andrews and his wife Mary, who were both in their 70s, were killed at their home in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Their son James Andrews, 51-year-old, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Nov 26 – Reece Newcombe, 31, was stabbed to death with a shard of glass during a fight on Richmond Bridge in south west London at 4am. The fight was apparently filmed by someone and shared on social media. Ross Hamilton, 32, from Isleworth, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Nov 26 – Charlie Bartolo, 16, was stabbed to death after his moped was rammed by a car in Abbey Wood, south east London. Kearne Solanke, 16, who also died during the “chaos” of the same incident, was one of the attackers. Hussain Bah, 19, Alagie Jobe, 19, were both jailed for life (25 years) for murder. Jake Debonsu, who was 17 at the time, was jailed for life (17 years) and a boy who was 16 at the time was jailed for life (16 years). Prosecutor William Emlyn-Jones KC said the killers were from the T-Block gang in Thamesmead and the violence was linked to rivalry between them and Abbey Wood. Charlie, who was not involved in gangs, was out riding a brand-new motorbike which his mum had bought him.

Nov 23 – Liam Smith, 38, was sprayed with acid, shot and then dumped in the street covered in “potentially hazardous” substances in Shevington, Wigan, Greater Manchester. His family paid tribute to the 38-year-old as “the life and soul of the party”. Michael Hillier, 38, from Sheffield, and Rachel Fulstow, 37, from York, were both charged with murder and went on trial in July 2023. Both were convicted of murder and jailed for life (30 years). The jury was told Smith, an electrician, was lured out of his home and blasted at close range with a gun by Hillier, who then poured the corrosive liquid, probably sulphuric acid on the face and body of his stricken victim, burning away his flesh. The jury at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester was told Smith had a “brief liaison” with nail technician Fulstow, a one-night stand in a hotel in 2019. The next year she became the partner of Hillier, from Sheffield who was not happy about the fling and was “led to believe she had been raped,” Jason Pitter KC, opening the case for the prosecution, told the jury. Jurors were told prosecution evidence includes CCTV and vehicle recognition footage, mobile telephone tracking and internet searches done by Fulstow before and after the murder. Giving evidence, Hillier said: “We decided jointly between the two of us that we would deal with the matter ourselves and seek justice ourselves and go down the vigilante route.” “It’s not surprising given only 1.6 percent of all reported rapes make it to court,” he said, referring to a widely reported statistic. Hillier told the court: “She (Fulstow) most definitely saw me as kind of like her knight in shining armour.” The victim’s family insisted he was not a rapist and the judge said nobody would ever know what happened on the night of the one-night stand.

Nov 23 – Two men were shot dead in Dawes Hill Road, Coquitlam, British Columbia. One has been named as Ramin Salam, 25. A third victim survived. The shooting was investigated by IHIT and is believed to be linked to ongoing gangland disputes in the greater Vancouver area.

Nov 22 – Bryan Andrews, 79, and his wife Mary Andrews, 76, were killed at their home in Totley, Sheffield. Their son James, 51 – known to relatives as Duncan – admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility and murder charge was dropped. He was ordered to be detained in a psychiatric hospital (Rampton).

Nov 22 – Kyle Hackland, 17, was stabbed to death in broad daylight, around midday, in Withington, Manchester. Three youths were convicted of murder. Yousef Sesay, 18 at the time, from Audenshaw, was jailed for life (22 years), Lewis Ludford, 18, from Gorton, was jailed for life (21 years), Tafari Kosey-Smith, 17, from Stockport, was jailed for life (19 years). Alfie Benson, 17, from Stockport, was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter. The court heard it was a premediated revenge attack after Yousef Sesay was robbed by Kyle’s friend of around £1,000 during a drug deal the day before. Those sentenced drove around the area in a stolen Volkswagen Golf looking to seek revenge when they came across a Mercedes car which they wrongly believed was connected to Kyle’s friend. They smashed the car’s windscreen and a few minutes later found Kyle in a street nearby.

Nov 21 – Lorraine Mills, 63, was stabbed 48 times at her home in Southampton. Richard Shaw, 48, was jailed for life (30 years). Mrs Mills was the mother of his ex-girlfriend. Shaw vowed to “rip the heart out” of his former lover after she split up with him, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Nov 20 – Sarah Albone, 38, was killed in a frenzied attack at her home in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. Her boyfriend Matthew Waddell, 35, was jailed for life (32 years) for murder. He sent text messages from her mobile phone, used her bank card and sold her belongings, the jury at Luton Crown Court heard. The remains of Ms Albone were found in a taped-up bin at her home on 25 February 2023. She had ended her relationship with Waddell in January 2021 because she felt he was emotionally controlling. He would return to her home repeatedly, the court heard, and ignored his bail conditions when he was arrested for harassment. On at least two occasions in the months before her murder, Ms Albone had reported Waddell to police. She reported him for assault in December 2021 and, in a statement, she catalogued his controlling and aggressive behaviour towards her, the court heard.

Nov 20 – Naeemah Drammeh, aged one, and her sister Fatimah Drammeh, three, died in hospital after a fire in Nottingham, while their mother, Fatoumatta Hydara, 28, died two days later. A neighbour, Jamie Barrow, 31, was jailed for life (44 years) for murder. He had admitted the manslaughter of the mother and her children but denied murdering them claiming he thought the flat was empty when he started the fire. The court heard he drank 11 cans of lager and was “in a dark place”. The children’s father Aboubacarr Drammeh, 40, was out of the country at the time of the fire and said the family were planning to start a new life in the US.

Nov 19 – Five people were shot dead at a gay club, Club Q, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Anderson Aldrich has been charged with the murders. He is reportedly non-binary. The attack was halted by two club patrons including Richard Fierro, who told reporters that he took a handgun from Aldrich, hit him with it and pinned him down with help from another person until police arrived. The victims were Raymond Green Vance, 22; Ashley Paugh, 35; Daniel Aston, 28; Kelly Loving, 40; and Derrick Rump, 38.

Nov 18 – Vanesa, 14, was abducted on her way home in Tonneins, in the rural region of Lot-et-Garonne, southern France. Romain Chevrel, 31, was charged with murder and awaits trial. Chevrel lived with his partner and has a one-month-old daughter. He was convicted for sexually assaulting children when he was 15.

Nov 16 – Delano Christie, 31, a shopkeeper, and Jordain Brown, 26, were shot dead I Norwood, St James parish, Jamaica. Four other people, including Christie’s nine-month-old daughter, were also shot in the incident. Shandee Brown has been charged with the murders. In May 2023 he was released on J$800,000 bail with reporting conditions.

Nov 13 – Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were stabbed to death in the middle of the night at a student house in Moscow, Idaho. Bryan Kohberger, 21, a former PhD criminology student, was arrested during a raid on his parents’ home in Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, on December 30, 2022. He has been charged with the murders and awaits trial. His defense has continued to challenge evidence in the case, disputing some methods including investigative genetic genealogy, which investigators used to find Kohberger from DNA left at the crime scene. The DNA was then matched to him through a cheek swab taken while he was in custody, court records say. Xana Kernodle’s mother Cara Northington sought to prevent the demolition of the house in December 2023, claiming it should be forensically preserved until after the trial.

Nov 9 – Gordon Gault, 14, was stabbed to death in Elswick, Newcastle. Benedict Mbala and Daniel Lacerda, both 18, and several other teenagers were charged with murder but all were acquitted. Carlos Neto, 18, of Salford, and Lawson Natty, 18, were convicted of manslaughter. The court heard the killers were from one part of Newcastle and Gault was from Elswick. A drill rap song was linked to the killing. The judge said Neto’s case was that he was acting in self-defence and he reminded the jury of Jason Pitter KC’s comment, defending, that what was said in rap or drill music was not necessarily true, just as Bob Marley and Eric Clapton had not really shot a sheriff.

Nov 5 – Dwelaniyah Robinson, 3, died at a house in Bracken Court, in Ushaw Moor, Durham. Christina Robinson, 28, denies murder and a separate offence of child neglect.

Nov 4 – Gabriel Stoyanov, 21, was stabbed to death in the street in Downham, south east London just after midnight after he got off a bus. Alfie Kibble, 18, from Bexley, south-east London, and a 17-year-old boy were found guilty of his murder and were later jailed for life. A boy who was 14 at the time was convicted of manslaughter. Prosecutor Edward Brown KC told jurors: “He was killed for being little more than drunk and annoying, perhaps very annoying.” The court heard he had flicked the ear of the 17-year-old and punched him in the stomach, but without much force, before being taken off the bus by his friend. The killers went back to their homes and armed themselves before returning and ambushing Gabriel outside a takeaway restaurant.

Nov 1 – Phillip Lewis, 59, known as Scottish Phil, disappeared in November 2022 and his body was discovered in Oakwood Pond in Harlow, Essex, on 31 December 2022. Lee Clark, 52, has been charged with murder.

Nov 1 – Keisha Christodoulou, 32, was stabbed 17 times at her home in Deptford, south London. Her ex-boyfriend Leon Murray, 35, was convicted of murder at Wood Green Crown Court in May 2024. The day before the murder Keisha ended their relationship. After killing her, he changed his clothes and went to pick up their six-year-old daughter from school. On arrival, he told a member of staff that ‘it is done’ and that he had ‘ended’ Keisha. Staff quickly called 999, as did Murray, telling police what he had done.

Oct 2022

Oct 30 – Akeem Bailey, 17, was stabbed in the neck in Ladywood, Birmingham, and died in hospital five days later. Zechariah Nelson, 18, from Aston, was convicted of manslaughter and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 11 years and 109 days. The motive – a row about a mobile phone.

Oct 30 – Lamar Scott, 27, a drill rapper better known as Perm, was shot dead after the car he was in crashed into a moped and a parked car in Railton Road, Brixton, south London. Guilherme Messias Da Silva, 21, a Deliveroo moped rider, was killed by the car. The killer got out of the chasing car and shot Scott after he got out of his car. Scott was the son of Dean Whyte, a boxing promoter and friend of heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte. After Chris Kaba was shot dead by police in September 2022 Perm made a short Snapchat video, during which he offered his sympathies but said Kaba – who belonged to the rival 67 gang – would have died anyway. The 67 took it as a sign of disrespect.

Oct 30 – Givani Espuet, 21, was stabbed to death outside The Aura restaurant and bar in Sudbury, NW London after a fight at a Halloween party at 1.50am. After a trial in November 2023, Kadeem Hibbert, 30, from Wood Green, was found guilty of murder and violent disorder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years. Sahid Kpaka, 27, was jailed for life (17 years) for murder. Courtney Forrester, 26, from Luton, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of ten years for manslaughter, and one-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for violent disorder. Bruce Hutchinson, 30, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter but was jailed for 2 years 9 months for violent disorder. Andre Watson-Browne, 36, from Haringey, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter but jailed for 2 years and 6 months for violent disorder. Firat Tato, 27, was found guilty of violent disorder and sentenced to two years, 11 months’ imprisonment. Omari Knight, 28, was found guilty of violent disorder and sentenced to two years, eight months’ imprisonment. Kyle Peters, 33, pleaded guilty to violent disorder.  Theo Simon, 33, was acquitted. Prosecutor Tony Badenoch KC said Hibbert did the stabbing and Watson-Brown was standing next to the killer. The killers fled the scene leaving behind a hat that was later linked to Forrester.

Oct 30 – Takeoff, 28, a rapper with the group Migos, was shot dead in Houston, Texas. His real name was Kirshnik Khari Ball. Gucci Mane, Kid Cudi, Khalid and Dave posted tributes on social media, while Rick Ross called him a “young legend”. Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, was indicted with murder by a grand jury in May 2023.

Oct 29 – Adrian Keise, 32, was stabbed to death in a fight in Lower Marsh, near Waterloo station in central London. Paul Yusuff, 21, and Matthew Yusuff, 23, were charged with murder. Their friend Moussa Traore, 24, was charged with manslaughter. All three went on trial in 2023 but in Jan 2024 the trial ended in farce when they were “mistakenly” acquitted after a mistake by the jury foreman. A retrial is due to take place on 2 Dec 2024. The original trial heard Mr Keise had spent the evening drinking with friends at the Thirsty Bear pub in nearby Stamford Street but he got into an altercation with the three men near the Cubana Bar in Lower Marsh at 2am.

Oct 25 – Saydi Abu Sheikh, a drill rapper better known as Giddy, 23, and his cousin, Zakariya Jeilani Mohamed, 32, were shot dead in Henley Road, Ilford, east London. A third man, aged 30, survived. Giddy was a member of the Drillford drill gang and is believed to have been targeted by a rival gang. The dead men were also believed to be involved in a Monzo bank fraud. The killers dumped their getaway car in Ronnie Lane in nearby Manor Park. Ayaani Ali Adan, 20, from Barking, Zain Mirza, 20, of Newham, Mahad Gouled, 21, from Enfield, and Chibiuke Ohanweh, 21, from Romford, were all convicted of murder at the Old Bailey in Jan 2024. Zakarie Mohamed, 18 from Kensington, was acquitted of murder but admitted perverting the course of justice. Giddy was a key member of an Ilford gang called Drillford and the killers were from the rival Only Manor (OM) gang from Manor Park

Oct 24 – Deborah Gumbrell, 59, was assaulted at home in Northbourne Close, Shoreham, West Sussex. Her husband James Gumbrell, 64, has been charged with murder and awaits trial at Lewes Crown Court.

Oct 23 – Arshad Sharif, 49, an investigative journalist from Pakistan, was shot dead when the car he was travelling in was fired upon by police after it failed to stop at a checkpoint outside the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. He was accompanied by another Pakistani Khurram Ahmed, who was wounded in the incident. Sharif had gone into exile after receiving death threats in Pakistan for his journalism, in which he exposed corruption in the military.

Oct 22 – Angie White, 45, was strangled and had her throat slashed at her home in Plasmarl, Swansea. Her husband, Daniel White, 36, was jailed for life. Swansea Crown Court heard that White, a labourer, had a long history of domestic violence, including against Mrs White. At the time of the murder, he was on licence from prison after receiving a 10-year extended sentence for rape and assault. Fearful of her husband, Mrs White had recently installed a mortis lock on her bedroom door, which White kicked in after an argument started on WhatsApp. Shortly before 6am, White called police, telling a call handler: “She’s in the house, she’s dead. I’ve strangled her and cut her throat. She’s dead. “We argued and she locked the door and said she wanted me out. “All I wanted to do was take my stuff and leave. I just shut her up, I strangled her, I ran downstairs, and I cut her throat to make sure she was dead.” The trial heard at 3.16am Daniel White’s voice can be heard saying, ‘Alexa stop’. “He then goes back downstairs into the living room and says, ‘Turn on – Alexa’ but what can also be heard is that he is out of breath and these appear to be the moments when, the Crown say, he has gone to get the knife. “He then returns to the bedroom at 3.18am when he says, ‘Alexa, turn on the electric light’, and at 3.19am he says, ‘Alexa, turn off the TV’.

Oct 21 – Aneka Townsend, 35, a social media influencer known as Slickianna, vanished and was later found in the sea at Reading, near Montego Bay, Jamaica. A video of her body in the sea was shared on social media. Rushane “Chizzie” Patterson was later arrested and charged with her murder. He was last seen with her at a restaurant. He was also charged with abducting and assaulting an ex-girlfriend in 2018. In 2017, Patterson was freed of a 2014 murder, rape and abduction charge, relating to an incident

Oct 19 – Darren Ammon, 47, a drug addict, was strangled at his flat in Tower Hamlets, east London. Salieu Seray-Wurie, 25, was later charged with murder. He admitted manslaughter on the second day of the trial. Opening the case for the prosecution, Jacqueline Carey KC said the killing appeared to have been motivated by an argument over a bank card. She said Seray-Wurie, a drug addict, killed Mr Ammon, then stole and sold his TV for £15.

Oct 16 – Zeqja Lumturi, 27, was stabbed in Leytonstone, east London. Sabajet Shuti, 30, was arrested in Sweden and extradited. He faces trial for murder, violent disorder and possession of a knife. Both are believed to be of Albanian origin.

Oct 15 – Koray Alpergin, 43, vanished after being abducted outside his home in Ebony Crescent, Oakwood, north London. He was a DJ and owner of Bizim FM. His body was found the following day near Oakwood Hill industrial estate in Loughton, Essex. Ali Kavak, 25, from Tottenham, Steffan Gordon, 33, from Northolt, Junior Kettle, 31, from Islington, Tejean Kennedy from Cricklewood, and Samuel Owusu-Opoku were all charged with murder, kidnap and false imprisonment. Erdogan Ulcay, 55, from Camden was charged with perverting the course of justice. They all went on trial in the autumn of 2023. The trial heard Alpergin and his 33-year-old girlfriend, Gozde Dalbudak, were abducted and bundled into a van which drove to the Stadium Lounge in Tottenham. There Alpergin was tortured and murdered. She survived the incident and was found unharmed. She has since returned to Turkey and refused to testify at the trial.

Oct 14 – Lola Daviet, 12, was raped and tortured and her body left in a courtyard near her home in northeast Paris, France. She had been bound, her face covered in tape, and had a knife slit on her throat. An autopsy revealed she had been tortured and sexually abused. Cryptically, the numbers 1 and 0 were scrawled on her chest. Dhabia B, 24, an Algerian woman who arrived in France in 2016 on a student visa, has been charged with murder. It is believed she had “serious psychological problems” and had overstated her visa. The killing became a cause celebre with the French far-right.

Oct 9 – Trong Minh Nguyen, 39, the former leader of the Fresh Off the Boat (FOB) gang, was shot dead outside his home in Langdon, near Calgary, Alberta. His sister-in-law was also wounded in the shooting. The FOB gang has been engaged in a turf war with rival gang FOB Killers that resulted in at least 25 deaths. In 2018, Nguyen was convicted of conspiracy to murder Vinh Tung Truong, a rival gang member, in 2012, first at a cemetery and then at the Calgary Courts Centre. Nguyen was sentenced to 10½ years in prison but was released in 2021. At one of his last parole hearings he was warned: “File information notes you currently have a ‘hit’ on your life. You have shown you will use violence and/or retaliate without hesitation and it is a definite possibility you may have to deal with this hit on you one way or another.”

Oct 9 – Rebecca Steer, 22, died when a Volvo car mounted a footpath outside a takeaway in Oswestry, Shropshire. Stephen McHugh, 28, went on trial for murder at Stafford Crown Court in April 2023. The court was told McHugh denied the murder of pedestrian Rebecca Steer but admitted her manslaughter, after she was dragged under his car. McHugh has admitted assault causing injury to Kyle Roberts, who was also hit by his car, but denies attempting to cause him grievous bodily harm with intent. Prosecutor Kevin Hegarty KC said McHugh got into an altercation at 2.45am. He stopped in the road and “exchanged words” with a group of people near the Grill Out takeaway before driving his car aggressively towards them, killing Miss Steer. McHugh, the jury heard, had been to a local football match on Saturday October 8, before visiting two pubs and a nightclub. He was arrested on October 10 in Gobowen, Shropshire, and claimed he “didn’t mean to hit anyone”.

Oct 7 – Diana Dafter, 36, was stabbed to death at her home in Northampton. Her husband Phillip Dafter, 33, a former soldier, was found at Euston station in London with multiple self-inflicted stab wounds. He was also drunk. He denied manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but was convicted of murder and jailed for life (19 years). The couple were both from Malawi. Diana, who was a student nurse at the University of Northampton and worked as a carer at St Andrew’s Hospital, has been described as a “lovely person, who got on well with everybody around her,” “caring” and “always smiling.” Dafter said he had been “driven” to killing his wife following an argument about their car being MOT’d and described it as a “moment of madness.” The trial heard he had been unfaithful to her before and she was angry that he had been texting a younger woman in Malawi.

Oct 3 – Tomasz Oleszak, 14, was found with a stab wound on the Springwell Estate in Gateshead. Leighton Amies, who was 14 at the time, was convicted of murder, attempted wounding with intent and having a bladed article in a public place and was jailed for life (12 years). The judge said Amies had shouted “I’ve wetted your boy” at a group of teenagers after he had stabbed Tomasz and the judge said this was done “triumphantly”. A victim impact statement from Tomasz’s mother, Kamila Wisniewska, was read out in court. In it she paid tribute to her “kind, loving and sporty” older son, who was born in Poland and who moved with his family to Gateshead in 2012.

Oct 2 – Haji Choudhary Rab Nawaz, 52, died after an attack in Coventry linked to a family feud. His brother was also hurt but survived. Adam Razaaq, 21, Hasnian Razaaq, 24, and Hasham Razaaq, 23, all from Halesowen, were convicted of murder, along with Jenaid Mahmood, 19, and Faisal Mohammed, 30, from Birmingham after a seven-week trial at Warwick Crown Court. All were later jailed for life. Mr Nawaz and his brother had been followed to their nearby parked car after the funeral at a mosque and attacked by the group, who were armed with weapons.

Oct 2 – Sean Fox, 42, was shot dead by two masked men who walked into Donegal Celtic Football Club on the Suffolk Road in Belfast on a Sunday afternoon. Police said the two gunmen fired 20 bullets at Fox and stood over him as he collapsed. A CCTV clip showed the men, one wearing a blue hoodie and the other in a white hoodie, calmly walking into the club. Detectives said they are following several lines of inquiry, including Fox’s friendship with another murder victim Jim Donegan, who was shot dead outside a school in Belfast in December 2018. Fox was a member of the so-called ‘Marbella Crew’ of high-profile drug dealers. Police say the same two gunman killed Mark Hall, 31, who was shot dead in a brutal gun attack at his family home in Rodney Drive on Saturday 18 December 2021.

September 2022

Sep 30 – Kane Moses, 19, a rapper also known as T1 from N15 gang, was stabbed to death in Tottenham High Road. Khamani Guthrie 18, was jailed for life (18 years) in July 2023. Guthrie was reportedly known as Demz and was a member of the NPK gang from Northumberland Park.

Sep 30 – Karla Xiomara Zelaya Godoy, 36, went missing in Peru. Her body was later found in Carabayllo, an hour’s drive from Lima. Her boyfriend, Jorge Alfredo Minaya Garay, 46, flew to Chile and then on to England, where he was arrested in October. The couple lived together in Dartford, Kent.Karla had arrived in Peru in September with Garay. They travelled to Machu Picchu and other tourist places before returning to Lima to be introduced to the family of her Peruvian partner. On September 22, Karla spoke with her mother by phone, asked about her 8-year-old daughter and confirmed that on September 23 they would return to Europe, where they live, but they did not. Karla worked at an HMRC lorry depot in Ebbsfleet.

Sep 29 – Reece Radford, 26, from Hillsborough, was stabbed to death in the centre of Sheffield. Louis James, 47, and Dereck Owusu, 40, were jailed for life. James got minimum of 25 years and Owusu got 15 years. Sheffield Crown Court heard the defendants were “angry” Mr Radford shouted racist remarks and confronted Owusu after Owusu punched a teenage girl. The court heard James, from Sheffield, and Owusu, from Rotherham, were talking and drinking with the 17-year-old girl at a bus stop in Arundel Gate when Mr Radford passed by with a group of friends. A violent brawl erupted after Mr Radford saw Owusu striking the teenager to the ground and stepped in to punch him. After killing Radford, Owusu then stole his wallet and removed his own belt, which he “swung in a threatening manner” towards witnesses before fleeing.

Sep 28 – Damilola Oloruntola, 28, was stabbed to death in Woolwich, south London. Solomon Bamidele, 25, from Sutton-at-Hone, Kent, was arrested at an address in Harlow, Essex and charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon. Mohammed Osman, 21, from Greenwich, has also been charged with murder. They went on trial at the Old Bailey in July 2023. The trial was told the killing was a turf war over drugs. The knife was allegedly hidden inside an umbrella.

Sep 28 – Maya Chappell, 2, was shaken to death at her home in Shotton Colliery, County Durham. Her mother’s boyfriend, Michael Daymond, 27, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder at Teesside Crown Court. Maya’s mother, Dana Carr, 24, was jailed for nine years for causing or allowing Maya’s death. She had ignored her family’s concerns about Daymond. Maya’s father, James Chappell, said her life had been stolen by a “monster and coward”.

Sep 26 – Fuaad Xuseen, 45, was stabbed in Sparkbrook, Birmingham. Mohammed Adam, 45, from Birmingham, was convicted of murder and jailed for life. The trial heard an argument first broke out between Adam, who was drunk, and staff at the Relax Cafe after he approached and pestered a woman who had been trying to enjoy a night out. He was asked to leave but refused and was eventually escorted outside. Xuseen went to talk to him but was stabbed.

Sep 24 – Shakira Spencer, 35, was found dead in a bunkbed at her home in Holbeck Road, Hanwell, west London. Shaun Pendlebury, 25, from Ealing, Ashana Studholme, 37, from Harrow, and Lisa Richardson, 43, from Northolt, have all been charged with murder and await trial.

Sep 22 – Richard Hopley, 43, was stabbed and then crashed his car in Metchley Lane, Birmingham. Nicholas Stallard, 41, and Paul Hayles, 63, were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob. Stallard was jailed for 13 years and Hayles 10 years. Mr Hopley was acting as a drug runner driving a dealer around in a VW Passat. They were asked to go to Underwood Close in Harborne where four men, including Hayles, Stallard and a rival dealer, were waiting. The jury was told Mr Hopley was stabbed by the rival dealer who had got in his car but became involved in a struggle as he tried to get out. The two defendants ran towards the car with Stallard dragged along the ground as the vehicle drove away. Mr Hopley reached Metchley Lane where he crashed. The trial was told the actual killer had fled to Pakistan.

Sep 21 – Khayri McLean, 15, was stabbed outside North Huddersfield Trust School in Huddersfield and died in hospital. Jovani Harriott, who was 16 at the time, and Jakele Pusey, who was 15, were later convicted of murder and were jailed for life. Harriott must service at least 18 years and Pusey a minimum of 16. The killers were from a gang called the Fartown Boys.

Sep 18 – Andrew Gardner was stabbed in Alexandra Road, Birmingham. Lesean Williams, 19, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Sep 18 – Adam Clapham, 31, was tied up, tortured, and attacked with a machete and doused with boiling water at a house in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, over a £300 drug debt. Five people were found guilty of murder. Arbab Yusuf, 24, was jailed for life (39 years), Robert Crookes, 31, was jailed for life (37 years), Kieron Millar, 30, was jailed for life (30 years), Muhammad Ashraf, 18, was jailed for life (28 years) and a 17-year-old boy was jailed for life (21 years). Lynette Myers, 39, of Hounsfield Crescent, Rotherham, was jailed for at least 12 years for causing grievous bodily harm and false imprisonment. Mr Clapham and a second man were imprisoned by six gang members and then beaten, stripped and forced to perform sex acts on each other in a five-hour ordeal before being left for dead. The second victim, who suffered more than 50 injuries but survived and escaped, told a sentencing hearing how his attackers laughed as they filmed the “horrific” violence on mobile phones. Yusuf was the ringleader. He ran a drugs business from the homes of addicts and instigated the violence after £300 went missing from a crack house Clapham was responsible for.

Sep 17 – Jill Barclay, 47, was attacked and burned alive as she walked home from the Spider’s Web pub in Aberdeen. Her body was found in a street in Dyce. Rhys Bennett, 23, was jailed for life after admitting murder. The judge described his crimes as “wicked and medieval in their barbarity”. Ms Barclay was walking home and Bennett, a complete stranger from Ballingry in Fife, followed her and attacked her in the grounds of an empty property at Farburn Gatehouse.

Sep 12 – PnB Rock, 30, a rapper (real name Rakim Allen), was shot dead at a Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles. Freddie Lee Trone, 40, and his 17-year-old son have been charged with murder, two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. Trone’s wife Shauntel has also been arrested and charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact. PnB, who was from Philadelphia, rose to fame with the release of his 2016 hit Selfish and had collaborated with artists including Ed Sheeran. He was having lunch with his girlfriend Stephanie Sibounheuang on the day of the shooting when a gunman approached the pair, demanded they hand over valuables shortly before he opened fire, removed items from the victim then fled in a waiting getaway car. A grisly video showing PnB Rock covered in blood but still moving was posted on social media. It also emerged that Sibounheuang had posted a message on Instagram when they arrived at Roscoe’s in which they are wearing expensive watches and jewellery. This may have tipped off Trone and his son.

Sep 9 – Peter Marechau, 65, was killed after being punched during a parking dispute at Abbey Industrial Estate in Alperton, NW London. Abdelaziz Maaroufi, 26, was jailed for five-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for manslaughter.

Sep 8 – Jillu Nash, 43, and her daughter Louise Nash, 12, were found dead at home in Great Waldingfield in Suffolk. Peter Nash, 46, was jailed for life (40 years) for murder. The trial heard Jillu had been unfaithful.

Sep 8 – Cameron Lindley, 22, was stabbed 19 times in the garden of his mother’s home in Betws, near Ammanford, Wales. His brother Tyler, who was 19 at the time, was jailed for life (18 years) at Swansea Crown Court in June 2023 after pleading guilty to murder. The court heard Tyler felt Cameron was “the golden boy” who got most of their mother’s love. The brothers were put on the child protection register when they were young and were subsequently placed together with foster parents. He said throughout Tyler’s childhood he exhibited “problematic behaviour”. The court heard Tyler’s antisocial and aggressive behaviour continued into his teens and progressed to the point where the foster parents needed a respite break from him, and in January 2018 the siblings were separated when Tyler was moved to a new foster family in Port Talbot. By 2022 Tyler was living in a hostel in Neath and Cameron – by then in his second year at university – was splitting his time between living in student accommodation and living with his mother. On the day of the murder there was a family gathering at the mother’s house. Cameron, Tyler, and their mother had dinner together and watched the news of the Queen’s death on the television. The mum’s young granddaughter was asleep upstairs. Tyler then selected the largest knife from the knife block in the kitchen, “sniggered” and apologised to Cameron, and then lunged at his brother with the blade. He then chased him into the garden and stabbed him. Tyler told police “the voices made me do it” and that he wanted to kill his brother but didn’t want him to suffer, and started talking about Cameron and “black magic voodoo shit”.

Sep 7 – Susan Hawkey, 71, was killed at her home in Neasden, north west London. Her body was not found until Sep 26, when a neighbour contacted police, expressing concern. The pensioner’s badly decomposed body under a duvet. Her hands had been bound behind her back with fabric and parcel tape. More parcel tape may have been wrapped around her head in a bid to gag her. Xyaire Howard, 22, and Chelsea Grant, 27, have been charged with murder and two charges of fraud in relation to the use of the victim’s bank card in the days after her death. Between September 7 and 27, there were 143 successful transactions totalling more than £14,000. They are due to go on trial at the Old Bailey on 4 September 2023.

September – Padma, 52, from Dharmapuram district in Tamil Nadu, and Rosli, 49, from Thrissur district, were tortured and killed as human sacrifices in Cochin city, Kerala, India. Bhagaval Singh, an ayurvedic “healer”, his wife Laila, and Mohammed Shafi, an “occult practitioner” from Idukki district, have been charged with murder and await trial.

Sep 6 – Caragh Eaton, 28, died of a fractured skull after falling into the road as she tried to stop her boyfriend driving away in his Range Rover from her home in Barrow-upon-Soar, Leicestershire. Ian Curson, 42, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter. The prosecution alleged he fractured her skull with a ratchet, a pistol or its magazine as she tried to stop him driving away. During the trial, the jury was told by Mr Curson that he and Miss Eaton had been arguing about a man – Rob Booth – who she had been spending time with while they were briefly separated in August 2022. He said she had lied to him about the amount of contact they had and also told Curson that Mr Booth was gay, which she admitted was not true. Giving evidence to the jury, Mr Booth admitted he was infatuated with Miss Eaton and that he understood Miss Eaton and Mr Curson were in an “on-again-and-off-again” relationship. He said he lent her his car and £2,000 during the time she and Mr Curson were temporarily separated.

Sep 5 – Shea Gordon, 17, was stabbed during a brawl involving dozens of people in Tower Hamlets, east London shortly after midnight. A second teenager survived. Abdul Yaro, 19, and Kavian Vaughans, 18, were both jailed for life (21 years) for murder following a trial at the Old Bailey in 2023. Dainnan Witter-Cameron, 18, and Giovanni Addae-Johnson, 18, were both jailed for 8 years for manslaughter. Yaro was recorded speaking about his plans to attack Shea with an associate who was in prison, the jury was told.

Sep 4 – Lisa Cash, 18, and her eight-year-old twin siblings Christy and Chelsea Cawley, were stabbed to death at a flat in Tallaght, Dublin. Their brother, Andy Cash, 24, was jailed for life for murder in April 2024.

Sep 4 – Maximillian Kusi-Owusu, 29, a rapper known as M Lo, was shot dead in Kensington High Street, West Kensington, London. Unsolved.

Sep 4 – Ten people were killed in various locations in the remote indigenous James Smith Cree Nation community and nearby Weldon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Damien Sanderson, 31, and his brother Myles Sanderson went on the run. Damien was found stabbed to death a few days before Myles was arrested. He died in custody after going into “medical distress”. The victims included Bonnie Goodvoice-Burns, 48, and her son Gregory “Jonesy” Burns, 28, and Gloria Burns, a 62-year-old addictions counsellor. Myles Sanderson is believed to have suffered drug issues.

August 2022

Aug 29 – Takayo Nembhard, 21, a rapper from Bristol known by his rap name TKorStretch, was stabbed to death at Notting Hill Carnival, west London. The incident was one of seven stabbings over the two days. He was stabbed in Ladbroke Grove, beneath the Westway. Unsolved.

Aug 22 – Ian Rawle, 72, was stabbed to death at his home in Braunton, Devon. His wife, Christine Rawle, 69, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Mrs Rawle is a horse trainer who specialises in hypnotism and has been dubbed a “horse whisperer”, who has featured in publications such as Horse & Hound for her work in the equine world.

Aug 22 – Olivia Pratt-Korbel, nine, was shot dead at her home in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, at 10pm. She was shot in the chest and died in hospital. Her mother Cheryl suffered a gunshot wound to the wrist. The gunman had been chasing a convicted drug dealer and burglar, 35-year-old Joseph Nee down Kingsheath Avenue. The man forced his way into the house when Cheryl unwittingly opened the door. The man himself was shot but survived and his friends took him away in a black Audi and delivered him to hospital. Thomas Cashman, from Grenadier Drive, West Derby, was jailed for life for the murder of Olivia, the attempted murder of her mother and Nee, and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Paul Russell, 40, from Snowberry Road, West Derby, was jailed for 22 months after pleading guilty to assisting an offender. The court heard Russell would change his name after coming out of prison to protect him from underworld threats.

Aug 22 – Karen Dempsey, 55, was stabbed to death outside the Brambles pub in Kirkby, Merseyside. Her son, Jamie Dempsey, 32, has been charged with murder, possession of a bladed article, wounding with intent and affray.

Aug 21 – Rico Burton, 31, was stabbed in the neck at 3am while on a night out in Goose Green, Altrincham, Manchester. He was the cousin of Tyson Fury, who mentioned the killing on Instagram and called for longer sentences for “idiots” who carry knives. The killing took place on the night of Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, which was shown on TV in many pubs. Liam O’Prey, 21, was convicted of murder in July 2023. Relatives of Mr Burton who packed the public gallery shouted “yes” as the guilty verdict was delivered. He was later jailed for life.

Aug 21 – Ashley Dale, 28, was shot in her back garden in Old Swan, Liverpool, just after midnight. She died in hospital. Detective Chief Supt Mark Kameen said she was “an innocent member of the public” who had been “callously and thoughtlessly shot”. Ms Dale worked for Knowsley Council and had recently been promoted. She was the half-sister of Lewis Dunne, 16, who was shot dead in 2015 in a case of mistaken identity. James Witham, 40, from Huyton, and Joseph Peers, 28, from Roby, have been charged with murder and possession of a firearm with intent. Kallum Radford, 25, has been charged with assisting an offender. Ian Fitzgibbon was extradited from Spain and will also go on trial in October 2023.

Aug 20 – Daria Dugina, 29, a political commentator, was killed when a bomb blew up her Toyota Land Cruiser near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy, west of Moscow, at around 9.3op. Her father was the Russian political commentator and nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin, who was supposed to have been travelling in the same car. He followed behind in another car and was seen, distraught, on video shown on TV in Russia. The Russian government has accused the Ukrainian secret service of carrying out the bombing. Dugin had encouraged Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine in Feb 2022.

Aug 19 – Thomas Waugh, 20, was stabbed in Tonbridge, Kent, while trying to prevent his friends from being robbed. Rocco Mustafa, 18, was jailed for life (19 years) for murder while Reece Willis, 17, was jailed for life (14 years) after they fatally stabbed Mr Waugh in a car park. Mustafa and Willis approached Mr Waugh and two friends, who were sat on a bench at Tonbridge Racecourse Park, threatening them and demanding their mobile phones.

Aug 19 – Carl Ball, 51, was hit over the head with a plank of wood at a house on the Duffryn estate in Newport, Gwent. Andrew Southwood, 39, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder. Ball had previous convictions for the rape of a woman and the sexual abuse of a child.

Aug 19 – Saviay’a Robinson, 24, was shot dead in Los Angeles, California. He was in a car with his cousin, rapper Quando Rondo (real name Tyquian Bowman) who was the actual target. In Nov 2024 rival rapper Lil Durk, 32, whose real name is Durk Banks, was charged with murder, using, carrying, and discharging firearms, including a machine gun, in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death. Also accused are Kavon London Grant, 28, a.k.a. “Cuz” and “Vonnie,” of Atlanta, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, 33, a.k.a. “DeDe,” of Chicago, Keith Jones, 33, a.k.a. “Flacka,” of Gary, Indiana, David Brian Lindsey, 33, a.k.a. “Browneyez,” of Addison, Illinois; and Asa Houston, 36, a.k.a. “Boogie,” of Chicago. They are allegedly associated with Lil Durk’s Only The Family (OTF) label. The FBI said text messages between Lil Durk and one of the alleged hitmen read, “Don’t book no flights under no names involved wit [sic] me,” according to the complaint. Lil Durk also flew to California with Grant on a private plane on August 18, 2022. The FBI later received a tip that Lil Durk had booked two international flights: a one-way flight from Miami to Dubai connecting through Doha, Qatar, scheduled to depart the evening of October 24, 2024, and another one-way flight from Fort Lauderdale to Switzerland, connecting through New Jersey, also scheduled to leave that night. Lil Durk did not board either flight and the FBI learned he was on a private plane departing from Miami to Italy that night. He was arrested at the Miami airport. In a separate lawsuit filed in Nov 2024, Lil Durk is accused of being a part of the August 2020 gang-related shooting that killed rapper FBG Duck. FBG Duck, whose real name was Carlton Weekly, was shot in the Gold Coast by a group of masked men as he waited to enter the Dolce & Gabbana store.

Aug 16 – Tommy O’Halloran, 87, was stabbed as he rode his mobility scooter along Western Avenue (A40) in Greenford, west London at 4pm. Lee Byer, 44, from Allenby Road, Southall, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. O’Halloran was a well-known eccentric figure around the Greenford area. He used to play his accordion outside Greenford station and collect money for the Ukraine conflict. He was originally from Ireland.

Aug 16 – Khadidja O, 23, an Algeria-born beauty blogger, was killed and her body left in the boot of a Mercedes car in Ingolstadt, Germany. Sharaban K, 23, a German-Iraqi beautician from Munich, and her Kosovan boyfriend Sheqir K, 23, were charged with murder. The case is known as the Doppelganger case. Prosecutors allege Sharaban wanted to fake her own death and get away from her parents so she found a lookalike on Instagram, befriended her and offered to meet her to share cosmetics. After killing her the pair then lifted the victim on the backseat of their Mercedes and drove to Ingolstadt, parking the car in a quiet residential area by the banks of the Danube, where it was discovered by Sharaban K’s parents shortly before midnight.

Aug 16 – Sam Rimmer, 22, was shot dead in Dingle, Liverpool at 11.40pm. Two men in dark clothing fled the scene on electric bikes. Unsolved.

Aug 15 – Aziza Bennis, 58, a dinner lady, was stabbed to death at a flat in Boddington Gardens, Acton, west London. Her daughter, Hanna Bennis, 21, was charged with murder but she admitted manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, on the basis her mental function was impaired and the murder charge was dropped. Hanaa had told psychiatrists she had been abused by her mother for many years. Police found evidence of drug and alcohol abuse in the home. Police were called to reports of a loud altercation between the mother and daughter following the escalation of a row about custody of Hanaa’s child.

Aug 15 – Il Sung, 58, was stabbed to death at a Korean restaurant just off Oxford Street in Soho, central London. Li Hunan, 60, a Chinese national, has been charged with murder. The pair were both chefs and it is alleged they had argued about the way the victim was preparing food with the defendant querying his skill as a chef. The defendant allegedly used a knife he was using to prepare food to swing out at the victim, who had a knife sharpener.

Aug 14 – Stephen Goodman, 60, was killed in a fight in the centre of Dagenham, east London, at 5am. Connor Coveley, 23, has been charged with murder.

Aug 13 – Kacey Boothe, 25, was shot in Forest Rise, Walthamstow, north east London shortly before 9.30pm and taken to hospital by car, where he died. Police say people at a party at a nearby community centre may have seen what happened and have urged witnesses to come forward. A Twitter user told local MP Stella Creasy the event was a first birthday party. Ka-Amni Brightly-Donaldson, 22, from Enfield, has been charged with murder, possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition, Jeffrey Gyimah, 20, has been charged with murder and unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition, Kammar Henry-Richards, 24, and Kadeem Brightly-Barnes, 30, from Romford, were also charged with murder. They await trial in 2023.

Aug 10 – John MacKinnon, 47, was shot dead at a house in Teangue, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Rowena MacDonald, 32, was earlier stabbed eight miles away in Tarskavaig. John Don Mackenzie and Fay Mackenzie, both aged 63, were injured in a shooting in Dornie, on the mainland. Rowena’s husband Finlay MacDonald, 39, has been charged with murder and attempted murder. Mr MacKinnon was his sister’s husband. The local MP described it as an “awful day”.

Aug 7 – Abdul Rahman, 59, was beaten to death in the basement of a shop in Norwood junction, south London and left in the doorway of a nearby Aldi supermarket. Vijay Pethuru 23, Darren Parchment, 20, and Agash Jeyanandam, 23, were charged with murder went on trial in July 2023. The trial heard Jeyanandam, the owner of Counter News, killed Rahman after a customer complained about him having spoken to her teenage daughter while he had his hands in his pants. Defence counsel Alison Morgan KC told the jury: “The CCTV shows that Mr Rahman, the man who died, left the shop at one point in the evening and began to follow a young girl. That young girl had been with her friend but then was isolated on her own. The overwhelming inference from what Mr Rahman, the man who died, was doing was that he was deriving sexual gratification from following and chasing that young girl.” The jury heard Jeyanandam told his girlfriend, Sarveswari Selvaseelen, the next morning he was so angry he took Rahman to the basement of his shop and beat him with a rod-shaped weapon. Jeyanandam was acquitted.

Aug 7 – Billy Pearson, 26, was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver in the churchyard of Chesterfield Parish Church in Derbyshire, famously known as the Crooked Spire. Melusi Madaweni, 30, was jailed for life (25years) at Derby Crown Court. The court heard one of Mr Pearson’s friends accused Madaweni of selling them fake drugs, which later turned into an altercation which saw Madaweni kicked.

Aug 6 – Ghulam Sadiq, 18, was stabbed in the street in Leytonstone, east London. Emadh Miah, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was jailed for life (19 years) for murder. The court heard the murder weapon was a 22 inch zombie knife and Miah had travelled down from Birmingham to attack Sadiq. The trial judge, Christine Laing KC, raged about such weapons being available and told jurors: “All I can do is encourage you to write to your MP and say, ‘Why is it these can be so readily purchased. Knife crime is becoming the scourge of our society but at the moment people can get weapons like that — it’s really quite shocking.” In April 2023 the government announced it would be banning zombie knives and other types of non-work machetes.

Aug 4 – Deshaun James-Tuitt, 15, was stabbed to death at Highbury Fields in Islington, north London during a confrontation between two groups of youths. He was known to friends as Huntz. Six boys, aged between 15 and 17, were charged with murder in July 2023 and await trial.

Aug 2 – Shane Frye, 14, from Paterson, New Jersey, shot dead in the Rockaways, Queens, New York. Detectives were investigating if the killing was connected to a shooting on a nearby block the night before. In that incident an 18-year-old boy was shot in the face and hand. Frye and his older brother lived with their father, after their mother died.

Aug 2 – Simon Wilkinson, 50, was beaten to death with a bag full of five tins of Pokemon cards in a “ferocious and brutal” attack outside his flat in Sheffield. He was also punched and stamped on. Andrew Hague, 31, his neighbour, was jailed for life (17 years) after being insulted. Hague suffered from a psychotic disorder, most likely schizophrenia, which was exacerbated by cannabis use, and had stopped taking his medication before the killing, the court heard.

July 2022

July 31 – Charley Bates, 16, was stabbed to death in Radstock, near Bath, Somerset. Joshua Delbono, 18, from Frome, was convicted of murder and jailed for life (21 years). The court heard that an argument broke out between two groups of youths.

July 30 – Thomas Parker, 24, was hit on the head with a horseshoe on the platform at Reading station just before midnight after a row on a train. Kirkpatrick Virgo, 42, from Slough, was convicted of murder and jailed for life (21 years). trial. Virgo had five previous convictions for crimes such as drink-driving, and on another occasion he was found with crack cocaine and heroin. The row on the train began when Thomas’s older brother Craig Parker, 27, told one of Virgo’s friends to turn the music down on a boombox at about 11pm. The two groups shouted at each other before the altercation was ended by off-duty police officers. Virgo then followed the brothers when the train arrived at Reading. Virgo claimed he was racially abused.

July 29 – Kathleen John, 39, fell from a block of flats in Wembley, NW London. Leonidas Georgalla 50, from Harrow, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 29 -Alika Ogochukwu, a Nigerian beggar, was assaulted on the street and strangled in Civitanova in Marche, Italy. Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo, 32, from Campania has been charged with murder and theft. A video of the assault was uploaded onto social media, with many observers questioning why the person filming the apparently racist attack had not intervened.

July 28 – Lilia Valutyte, nine, was stabbed as she played with her younger sister in the street in Fountain Lane, Boston, Lincolnshire. Deividas Skebas, 22, a Lithuanian national, was charged with murder but was found mentally unfit for trial. A trial of issue found he had committed the act and he was given an indefinite hospital order. Lilia’s family were also Lithuanian but Skebas was a stranger.

July 27 – Learoy Venner, 53, was beaten over the head in Anfield, Liverpool. Kevin Spaine, 43, was jailed for life (18 years) for murder. Spaine had admitted manslaughter. Spaine was a former child actor who delivered a famous line in a milk advert in the 1980s. He said the iconic catchphrase: “Accrington Stanley? Who are they?” in a commercial by the Milk Marketing Board.

July 27 – Victor Hamilton, 63, was killed in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Mario Menezes, 33, from Portadown, and Mamadu Saido Djalo, 29, from Belfast, were charged with murder and await trial.

July 25 – Two homeless people died in Langley, just outside Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The gunman, Jordan Goggin, 28, then shot himself. Goggin went to several locations in the city and township of Langley during the night and shot a total of four people. Two died, a third remains in critical condition, and one man suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the rampage. Several people mentioned on social media that YouTuber Joe Rogan had suggested killing homeless people a few days earlier.

July 24 – Meninder Dhaliwal, a prominent member of the Brothers Keepers gang, was shot dead, along with his friend Satindera Gill, in broad daylight outside the Sundial Hotel in Whistler, British Columbia. Tanvir Khakh, 20, and Gursimran Sahota, 24, were later apprehended and charged with murder. The getaway was found torched in Squamish. The killers are allegedly linked to Vancouver’s rival United Nations gang. Sahota was charged in 2019 in three drugstore robberies in Surrey and Delta, along with the UN’s Karman Grewal. Grewal was shot to death at Vancouver airport on May 9, 2021, in a targeted hit believed to be one of several in retaliation for the murder of Dhaliwal’s brother Harb at Vancouver’s Coal Harbour on April 17, 2021.

July 24 – Dawid Such, 19, was stabbed in the back and abdomen in Southampton, Hampshire. Ken Mulangala, 20, Jordan Matthews, 20, and Donovan Thomas, 35, have been charged with murder and Billy McIntyre, 23, has been charged with assisting an offender. The killing is believed to have been linked to a dispute over drugs. Police investigating the murder shot a man in the hand while arresting him in King’s Road, Chelsea, a few days after the killing.

July 24 – Sam Brown, 28, was shot dead at a party in Cheney Row Park, Walthamstow, NE London. Kyle Kemp, 26, from Mitcham, south London, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 24 – Lauren Jade Howe, 26, was beaten to death at a house in Baildon, Bradford. Her boyfriend Charlie Booth, 27, was jailed for life (15 years). For murder. She suffered injuries so severe they would usually be seen in victims of a car crash, Leeds Crown Court heard. The court heard Booth was very possessive and was angry because Ms Howe had gone out without him on the night before the attack and he had made “countless efforts to locate and contact her”.

July 24 – Camilo Palacio, 23, was shot dead on Wood Green High Road in north London. Devonte Jackson, 27, from Hornsey, and a 16-year-old boy have appeared before Highbury magistrates, charged with arson, assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice. Milan Kaleja, 30, from Margate, and Mohamed Ahmed Ali, 24, from Hornsey, have also been charged with assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice. As yet nobody has been charged with the murder.

July 23 – Wayne Phillips, 58, was stabbed to death at the Star and Scorpion pub in Uxbridge Road, west Ealing, west London. Timothy Simon, 59, from north London, was jailed for life for murder at Isleworth Crown Court in April 2023. During trial the court heard how Wayne and two female companions had arrived at the pub for a birthday party. They brought presents from the boot of their car and entered the pub greeting people at the entrance. Within minutes of arrival at the venue Wayne was approached by Simon and the men fought briefly before Wayne collapsed having been stabbed in the chest.

July 22 – Madison Wright, 30, was wearing a pink top, black trousers and flip flops when she was last seen alive in Basildon, Essex. Her car, a black Vauxhall Astra, was found four days later in Brackendale Avenue. Her body was later found in Wat Tyler Country Park. Her boyfriend Garry Bennett, 36, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder. While in custody, messages were found on his phone indicating Madison had felt controlled within their relationship and wanted to leave him.

July 22 – Amber Culley, 43, and Mimi Kates, 49, were shot dead in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Eric Shestalo, 50, who is believed to have been romantically involved with one of the women, was named as a suspect but he was found dead four days later in Bridal Falls, having apparently committed suicide.

July 19 – Daneche Tison, 26, shot outside a block of flats in Queens Park, north west London at around 2am. Seven men, aged between 21 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of murder and have been released under investigation. Police released a CCTV image of the prime suspect.

July 18 – Mamadou T, 38, was shot dead at a shisha bar in east Paris. Four others were injured. One gunman escaped – but was later arrested in Lyons – but the other, aged 16, was overpowered by customers. Detectives found links between a gun courier and the suspects in the shisha bar attack and concluded the killing was not a score-settling between rival gangs but a targeted murder by a network that had already accepted contracts. The gang was divided into hitmen, reconnaissance operatives and couriers. In March 2023 police rounded up nine suspects aged between 18 and 20 in the Paris suburbs, Brittany, eastern France and the southern towns of Nice and Nîmes. They have been charged with murder, attempted murder, being in an organised gang and possession of military weapons and munitions.

July 17 – Frankie Fitzgerald, 25, was found dead, with his throat slit, in a house in Havant, Hampshire. Shaye Groves, 26, from Havant, was jailed for life (23 years) for murder. The pair shared a mutual interest in BDSM and a camera was set up in Groves’ bedroom at her home in Havant, Hampshire, to record them having sex. Groves had framed pictures of serial killers on her walls, collected books about gangsters, including the notorious prisoner Charles Bronson, and watched true crime documentaries, Winchester Crown Court heard. Lauren White, 26, from Portsmouth, was charged under Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act for failing to comply with a section 49 notice to disclose the key to protected information.

July 17 – Marc Ash, 57, was stabbed to death at a house in Elliot’s Town, New Tredegar, South Wales. Rebecca Press, 31, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder. The trial at Cardiff Crown Court heard she had been drinking heavily and using drugs, including ecstasy and benzodiazepines, on the day of the killing. Press initially denied murder but changed her plea during her trial. Ash was her mother’s best friend. On the day of the murder, Press, had arrived to spend the weekend at her mother’s flat after splitting up with her boyfriend, Ashley Allan, after he discovered she had been having an affair. She left a voicemail message for her Allan, in which she said: “Ash it’s really bad. It’s really f****** bad. I’ve just stabbed someone and killed them. I’ve just murdered someone, please phone me now. F*** (screams). I’ve just murdered someone.”

July 16 – Samantha Murphy, 37, was stabbed in the leg and bled to death at a house in Margate, Kent. Her boyfriend Thomas Allen, 38, was jailed for life (27 years) for murder. The trial heard the pair had spent the evening with some neighbours drinking. They returned home, where he became violent towards her. She fled back to the neighbours’ house. He kicked a hole through the front door and then stabbed her through the hole. Kelsie Murphy, 26, from Ramsgate, was charged with assisting an offender but those charges were dropped. When Allen was about to be sentenced he lashed out and told the judge to “get on with it” and give him a life sentence.

July 14 – Ripudaman Singh Malik, 75, a Sikh businessman, was shot dead outside his business, Papillon Eastern Imports, in Surrey, British Columbia. Tanner Fox, 21, from Abbotsford, and Jose Lopez, 23, from New Westminster, were charged with murder and both pleaded guilty in October 2024, on the eve of their trial. Lopez attacked Fox during that hearing. Who hired them is not clear but it may have been the Indian government. Malik was acquitted, along with Ajaib Singh Bagri, in 2005 of carrying out the Air India bombing. A third man, Inderjit Singh Reyat, was jailed for five years after admitting helping to build the bomb but said he had no idea of the target. On June 23, 1985, Air India flight 182, carrying 329 people, including 268 Canadian citizens and 24 Indian nationals, flew from Toronto and stopped in Montreal from where it was en route to London and then onwards to its final destination, Mumbai. The plane was flying 31,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean when a suitcase bomb exploded in the front cargo, killing all on board. Another bomb was meant to be planted in an Air India flight scheduled to take off from Japan but it exploded at Tokyo’s Narita airport killing two baggage handlers.

July 13 – Keith Ford, 40, a self-employed gardener from Urmston, Manchester, was hit by a train at Gronant, near Prestatyn, north Wales. A 47-year-old man from Manchester was arrested on suspicion of murder but never charged.

July 11 – Margaret Barnes, 71, a retired factory worker from Birmingham, was dragged out of a house in Barmouth, Gwynedd, before being kicked and stamped to death. David Redfern, 46, was jailed for life (14 years) for murder. The trial heard he told his partner: “I didn’t mean to kill her”, jurors heard. His partner said: “You could have just escorted her out. It’s an old lady.” Barnes was also heard apologising to Mr Redfern on CCTV, which was shown to Caernarfon Crown Court. The court heard she had mistaken Redfern’s home for a B&B where she was staying and had gone to sleep in their bed. She suffered broken ribs and damage to her liver and died in the street. The court heard that the atmosphere changed when Mr Redfern called the police, and his fiancée spotted that Ms Barnes had seemingly put the ashes of their dead dog, Jake, into her bag. Redfern told the court he and his fiancée, Nikki Learoyd-Lewis had been out drinking on the evening of 10 July. He had had six or seven pints and a gin and tonic, and they had returned home and fallen asleep watching Antiques Roadshow on catch-up, he said. But when they headed to bed, they found their bedroom door locked. After gaining access to the room with the spare key, they saw Ms Barnes in their bed, her clothes “strewn around the room” and her false teeth on the dressing table. Redfern said in his evidence: “There was a lady lying in our bed, drinking and smoking.

July 11 – Lauie Michael Tagaloa, 24, died after he was stabbed in the neck during a fight at Fortitude Valley train station in Brisbane, Australia around 4am. Footage of the horrific incident was uploaded onto social media and showed Tagaloa collapsing and bleeding heavily after a young man from another group stabbed him as he and his friends confronted them. Seyram Kwami Djentuh, 20, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 9 – Timothy Reynolds, 48, was shot dead after confronting a group of youths who had been washing cars at traffic lights in the Inner Harbour, Baltimore, Maryland. A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Eyewitnesses said an enraged Reynolds, armed with a baseball bat, left his car and ran across eight lanes of traffic to confront three “squeegee” workers after an altercation. But a larger group surrounded him and hit him with a rock, before he was shot. Some social media users said squeegee mobs in Baltimore were out of control and were involved in crime towards motorists.

July 6 – Khurram Butt, 57, was stabbed to death at the junction of Cowley Road and The Greenway in Uxbridge, Middlesex. Khalid Khan, 49, from Frayslea, Uxbridge, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

July 4 – Seven people were shot dead during a US Independence Day celebration in Highland Park, Illinois. Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III, 21, has been charged with seven counts of first degree murder. Crimo, is accused of firing 70 bullets from a high-powered rifle down on to the crowd and disguising himself as a woman so he could escape alongside fleeing victims.He apparently also considered carrying out a second massacre in Wisconsin but did not go through with it. The victims were Katherine Goldstein, 64, Irina McCarthy, 35 and her husband Kevin McCarthy, 37, Stephen Straus, 88, Jacquelyn “Jacki” Sundheim, 63, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, who was from Morelos, Mexico, and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, from Waukegan.

July 2 – Thomas Campbell, 38, a drug dealer, was tortured and killed at his home in Mossley, Greater Manchester. His ex-wife Coleen Campbell, 38, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 13 years. Stephen Cleworth, 38, was also acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years. Reece Steven, 29, was convicted of murder and conspiracy to rob and jailed for life (37 years). They went on trial at Bolton Crown Court in Jan 2023. The jury heard three men lay in wait at Mr Campbell’s home and tortured him. The alleged mastermind of the attack was John Belfield, 28, who is not before the court and is thought to have fled the country. He is said to have plotted to rob Campbell at his home after seeing a Manchester Evening News article about Campbell and his ex-wife’s ‘wealthy lifestyle’. The trial has heard Belfield befriended Mrs Campbell on Instagram and eventually met her. Jurors were told Belfield had tried to get in touch with Cleworth during the day, but was unsuccessful. After messages went unanswered, Mr Belfield texted him saying: “Yoooo this is what I mean about you mate, you can’t even work with you bro.” The jury has heard Cleworth was unavailable because he was ‘on a bender’ at a ‘swinger’s club’ in Rochdale. “Stephen Cleworth’s unavailability clearly presented a problem for John Belfield,” Nicholas de la Poer KC, prosecuting, said in his opening speech.

July 1 – Hina Bashir, 21, a student from Pakistan, was smothered with a face mask at a flat in Ilford, east London, and dumped in a suitcase in undergrowth by an industrial estate in Upminster, near the M25. Muhammad Arslan, 27, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder. Ms Bashir was studying at Coventry University’s London campus at the time of her death, having travelled to the UK from Pakistan in Nov 2021. The pair grew up in the same village in Pakistan and the defendant followed Ms Bashir to the UK months after she came to study in November 2021. He claimed he had only meant to quieten her after he confronted her over naked photographs of her that he had been sent. The prosecution rejected his explanation as “elaborate and concocted” and asserted he had killed her out of anger and jealousy. Judge Richard Marks told Arslan: “I am satisfied that your unrequited feelings for Hina boiled over and resulted in you taking hold of a facemask and forcing it into the back of her mouth which led to her collapse and ultimately to her death from asphyxiation.”

June 2022

Jun 30 – Captain Ralph Frasure, Deputy William Petry and dog handler Jacob Chaffins were shot dead after attending a domestic confrontation at a house in Allen, eastern Kentucky. K9 Drago, one of the dogs that Mr Chaffins handled, also died. Capt Frasure had been with the Prestonsburg, Kentucky, Police Department for 39 years. The department said he had served “with honour and glory up until the last second”. Lance Storz, 49, has been charged with 20 counts, including first degree murder. The shooting continued for nearly three hours before Storz was taken into custody, having surrendered after negotiations involving members of his family. Storz had a .308-caliber rifle and AR-15 assault rifles. Many civil rights groups pointed out to the fact that Storz -who was white – was arrested unhurt, while a young black man, Jayland Walker, had been shot multiple times by police in Akron, Ohio, after being stopped for a traffic violation.

June 29 – Ronan Kanda, 16, was stabbed near his home in Wolverhampton after he visited a friend’s house to buy a PlayStation controller in June 2022. Prabjeet Veadhesa, 17, was jailed for life (18 years) and Sukhman Shergill was jailed for life (16 years). Before passing sentence at Wolverhampton Crown Court, the judge, Mr Justice Choudhury, lifted reporting restrictions on naming the teenagers. The trial heard Veadhesa was owed money by Ronan’s friend – who was not named – but when he went to confront him he saw Ronan leaving the house and assumed he was the boy who owed him money. Earlier in the day, Veadhesa had collected a ninja sword set and a large machete from a local post office after buying them online using a fake name.

June 25 – Karamjeet Singh Reel, 31, a drug dealer, was stabbed to death outside his flat in Staines Road, Hounslow, west London. Wesley Angel, 32, from Brentford, was jailed for life (25 years) for murder and conspiracy to rob. His brother Nathan Angel, 23, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob and jailed for 9 years. Bobby Dunleavy, 26, was jailed for 10 years for manslaughter and conspiracy to rob. Police found £25,000 in cash and a large quantity of cocaine. Reel was targeted by the Angel brothers for the stash.

June 25 – David Toulson, 40, died after being held in a “guillotine chokehold” in a flat in Salford, Manchester. James Johnson, 29, an off-duty prison officer, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter. Johnson claimed he was forced to hold Toulson in the chokehold because he feared he was going to be ‘raped or sexually assaulted’ by Toulson, who was gay. The pair, and some female friends, returned to the flat after a ‘debauched’ celebration for Toulson’s 40^th birthday. The first day of his trial at Manchester Crown Court heard Johnson claims he acted in ‘self-defence’ after Mr Toulson ‘started dragging him towards the bedroom’ when he was being sick in the toilet. In the first of two 999 calls made by Mr Johnson, the court heard he said: “Someone tried to rape me and I’ve killed them”, adding in a second: “I think I’ve killed my friend.”

June 25 – Somaiya Begum, 20, was last seen at her home in Binnie Street, Bradford, West Yorkshire. Her body was discovered near Fitzwilliam Street a few days later. A metal spike was embedded in her back, which had penetrated her lung. Her uncle, Mohammed Taroos Khan, 52, was jailed for life (25 years) for murder. Ms Begum, a student at Leeds Beckett University, was subject to a Forced Marriage Protection Order at the time of her death due to attempts by her father to force her to marry a cousin “by threat of violence”. After attacking Miss Begum at another uncle’s home, Khan was seen on CCTV dragging her body from his car and dumping it on waste ground. An 81-year-old woman arrested in connection with the death was released on bail.

June 23 – Zara Aleena, 35, was found dying in the street in Gants Hill, Ilford, east London at 2.44am. She had been bludgeoned over the head as she walked home from a night out. Jordan McSweeney, 29, admitted murder and was jailed for life (38 years). Zara was one of several women he followed after he was thrown out of a pub for being drunk. A report by the Inspectorate of Probation, published in Jan 2023, said McSweeney should have been perceived as a high-risk offender when he was released from prison days before he murdered Aleena. The Chief Inspector of Probation, Justin Russell, said: “Jordan McSweeney should have been considered a high risk of serious harm offender. If he had, more urgent action would have been taken to recall him to prison, after he missed his supervision appointments on release from custody.”

June 21 – Sakunthala Francis, 89, was killed at a house in Thornton Heath, south London. Her grandson Verushan Manoharan, 31, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

June 20 – Nathaniel “Natty” Wardle, 43, was stabbed to death in Wallsend, Tyneside. Mohammed Rabani, 19, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 12 years for manslaughter. Robbie Battista, was found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter but admitted being in possession of a knife and was given a suspended sentence. Newcastle Crown Court heard that Rabani, Battista and a third youth, known as BHV, had turned up looking for someone else for a “straightener” when Wardle returned home to Holy Cross, Wallsend. Within seconds of his arrival, Rabani stabbed Wardle fatally in the chest and he died at the scene in his front garden. BHV, who was 17, walked free during the trial after the judge ruled he had no case to answer.

June 20 – Kimesha Wright, 31; and her children Kimanda Smith, 15; Shara-Lee Smith, 10; Rafaella Smith, five; and 23-month-old Kishawn Henry, were stabbed to death in Cocoa Piece district, Clarendon, Jamaica. Kimesha’s cousin, Rushane ‘Jett’ Barnett pleaded guilty to five counts of murder when he appeared in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston in July. The killings are alleged to have occurred between the night of June 20 and the early morning of June 21. The victims were reportedly found with stab wounds and their throats slashed. Barnett claimed his cousin, who ran a shop, had disrespected him in the days before the murder.

June 18 – Ali Baygoren, 17, was stabbed to death in Tottenham, north London, A 15-year-old boy was convicted of murder and faces a life sentence. The jury was not told that on 23 May, four weeks before the murder, the defendant had been made the subject of a knife prevention order banning him from carrying a knife in a public place, entering an exclusion zone in Haringey, and preventing him from being with certain named individuals. Mr Dawes told the court that in a separate incident, on 6 August 2021, the defendant had stabbed a 14-year-old boy, leaving a knife buried in the teenager’s chest. The boy survived following emergency treatment at the scene and then at the Royal London Hospital. The defendant was arrested the following morning. After being interviewed by police he was bailed pending further inquiries and released from the police station

June 18 – Mikey Harrison, 11, was found dead in Shipley Country Park, near Heanor, Derbyshire. His father, Michael Harrison, 41, from Mapperley, Nottingham, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder and engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour against a woman, between January 1, 2021 and July 1, 2022. He admitted causing Mikey’s death but denies murder and faces trial in January 2023. He initially claimed Mikey suffered the injuries when he fell out of a tree in the park. Mikey was under-nourished and only weighed 3st 11lbs at the time of the attack. Judge Shaun Smith KC said Harrison had hit and punched Mikey “many times”, including one blow that was “so hard it lacerated his liver”.

June 13 – The body of Subere Badade, 28, was found on fire in Belvue Park, Northolt, Middlesex. Samuel Stewart, 35, and David Pilgrim, 32, both from Northolt, were acquitted of murder but both were convicted of manslaughter at Isleworth Crown Court in May 2023. They both claimed Badade had refused to leave a property and died during a struggle.

June 11 – Adnan Saleh, 28, was stabbed in Paddington, west London. He suffered catastrophic damage to his brain due to severe blood loss and was in a coma until he died on 29 November 2022. After a trial in May 2023 Steven Woods, 27, was jailed for life (22 years), Majid Kebire, 22, was jailed for life (22 years) and Fadel Dabbous, 19, was jailed for life (18 years). All three were from the Lisson Grove estate. The court heard that a week prior to the attack, Adnan had received messages on Snapchat which alleged he was present during the stabbing of another man. Judge John Hillen said the link between the defendants and Mr Saleh was a long-established gang called the Lisson Green Men. He said: “In my judgment an internal gang dispute, and consequential punishment of one side by the other, forms the background to this murder.”He told the defendants: “I am satisfied so that I am sure that none of the three of you were the instigators, the prime planners or the directors of this violent attack upon Adnan Saleh.“All three of you were treated as expendable useful idiots by a senior or seniors, elders as they are called, of the Lisson Green Gang.”

June 9 – Jakub Szymanski, 15, was stabbed to death at a house in the Miles Platting area of Manchester. His mother, Katarzyna Bastek, 40, was also treated for serious stab wounds. Her ex-partner, Suleman Altaf, 44, was jailed for life (30 years) for murder and attempted murder. At his trial, jurors heard that after the killing Mr Altaf was seen fleeing the area before getting a taxi to Slough and then driving to the South Coast. He was later picked up by lifeguards from the RNLI as he tried to cross the English Channel.

June 6 – Jennifer Andrews, 32, was beaten to death at her home in Leeds. Her former boyfriend, Rawden Ibbitson, 32, was jailed for life (29 years) in May 2023. The court heard Jennifer’s body was found inside her home with 90 separate injuries which included extensive abrasions to her head, neck and body, a fractured jaw, bruising to her head with a bleed to the brain, 13 bite marks on her face, breast, abdomen, thigh and forearm. The court heard Ibbitson had become “fixated” with her. Ibbitson referred himself to the psychiatric services in January 2022 after telling staff he had taken an overdose. On January 5, he sent Jennifer a text saying: “I can’t block out my feelings about you, it’s hard for me not to come over and see you.” When Ibbitson was sentenced a court order prohibiting anyone identifying Jennifer was put in place – despite her already having been named by West Yorkshire Police following her murder. At the time, Jennifer’s family also provided a photograph and tributes to be used by the press, meaning her name and image was already out in the public domain prior to the order being made. Judge Tom Bayliss said the “horse had already bolted” but the order was still put in. Leeds Live challenged it and it was lifted a month later.

June 3 – Lamar Jackson, 32, a rapper better known as Hypo, was stabbed to death at a party in Woodford Green, east London. Laurie John-Phillip, 32, from Enfield, north London, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter at an Old Bailey trial in Aug 2023. John-Phillip, nicknamed ‘Bigga’ due to his height and build, was working as a security guard at the party. He claimed self-defence. Hypo’s tracks included Flex On My X, First Night and No L’s. He was the former boyfriend of pop star Emeli Sande.

June 1 – Dr Antonella Castelvedere, 52, a lecturer at the University of Suffolk, was killed at her home in Colchester, Essex. Her husband, an economics lecturer, Ertan Ersoy, 50, has been charged with murder. Dr Castelvedere was from Brescia in Italy and left behind a young daughter. He will go on trial in Oct 2023.

June 1 – Devon Jensen-Wallace, 25, was stabbed on the Stonebridge estate in north-west London. Jamal Grant, 31, and his father Elvis Grant, 51, were found guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice and jailed for life. Jamal’s brother, Lamar Grant, 25, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and perverting the course of justice.  The court had heard there was a history between the victim and Jamal Grant over an incident in 2018. In 2019 Mr Jensen-Wallace moved away but on the day of the killing he had returned to the estate where the Grants lived to visit a friend.

May or June – Kyran Durnin, 6, was last seen alive after his last day at St Nicholas’s Monastery National School in Dundalk, Republic of Ireland. But he was only reported missing from his home in Drogheda, in Aug 2024, along with his mother, Dayla Durnin, 24, who has since been located. The Commissioner of the Garda, Drew Harris, described the case as “extraordinary” and said he has never seen one like it in his 40-year career. Ireland’s Child and Family Agency, Tusla, said it had raised a “significant concern” around the missing child to gardai in August. The case has become a major political cause celebre. Nobody has been charged. It appears the family were planning to relocate to Northern Ireland, so when Kyran did not return to the school the following September, no immediate concerns arose.

May 2022

May 29 – Sidhu Moose Wala, 28, a prominent Punjabi singer and rapper, was shot dead in his car in Jawaharke village in Mansa district, Punjab, India. Hours after his assassination, Canada-based gangster Satinder Singh alias Goldy Brar claimed took to social media and claimed the responsibility for his murder. Goldy Brar is considered to be a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The killing was allegedly to avenge the murder of Vicky Middukhera, an Akali leader, in 2021. Sidhu Moose Wala was born Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu and his death has made him “India’s Tupac”.

May 27 – Nicholas Sutin, 55, a homeless man, was attacked and killed in North Finchley, north London. Jermaine Myers, 37, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given a hospital order. Nicholas, who was sleeping rough, had been on a bench near the Tally Ho pub when he was approached by Myers who was armed with a knife. Myers stabbed Nicholas twice before picking up a concrete slab and striking him across the head, causing catastrophic injuries.

May 27 – Kerry Owen, 35, was found dead on a country lane in Hopwood, Worcestershire. Her boyfriend Alan Edney, 30, from Birmingham, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder at Worcester Crown Court.

May 27 – Zane Smart, 15, was stabbed to death during a prearranged fight in Reapers Walk, Pendeford, Wolverhampton. A 16-year-old – who was not named for legal reasons – was acquitted of murder in Jan 2023 but was jailed for 6 years for manslaughter. The trial heard the defendant was “irate” when Zane rode a bike near to where they would go on to clash.

May 24 – Aranit Lleshi, 32, from Tottenham, north London, was stabbed during a brawl in Bloomfield Road, Brislington, Bristol. Radian Lika, 36, and Brikel Palaj, 33, were both convicted of murder after a seven-week trial at Bristol Crown Court and jailed for life (20 years). Nikola Palaj, 29, was convicted of the manslaughter of Mr Lleshi and was sentenced to five years in prison. Kastriot Mhillaj, 35, admitted a charge of violent disorder and was jailed for 18 weeks. Rinush Behari 33, of Woolwich, London was acquitted of murder and violent disorder. Sadik Lleshi was acquitted of any involvement in the violent disorder that led to his sibling’s death. A murder charge against him was dropped during the trial. The trial heard cannabis was being grown in a rented house close to the scene of the fight. Lleshi and his brother Sadik were preparing to harvest £95,000 worth of cannabis when they were attacked by a rival gang of Albanians, also from London. After scoping out the property, Lika and Brikel Palaj drove to a nearby Sainsbury’s and bought four kitchen knives before returning. This was yet another cannabis farm murder.

May 20 – Eli Hart, six, was shot dead at his home in Orono, near Minneapolis, Minnesota. His mother, Julissa Thaler, was jailed for life without the possibility of parole in Feb 2023. Thaler called the judge “garbage” as she was sentenced. “I’m innocent. F*** you all. You’re garbage. That is all, your honour,” she said. She had been granted full custody of the child ten days previously after splitting with Eli’s father, Tory Hart. Police pulled her over after receiving reports of an individual driving without a tyre and with a destroyed back window. When they conducted a traffic stop, police found Thaler had flesh pieces on her and there was blood in her car. She claimed the blood was from a tampon and the flesh was from a deer that she had purchased from a butcher. After about half an hour, police escorted Thaler home. They later found the body of Eli in the trunk next to a shotgun. The child’s father, Tory Hart, had made several complaints regarding the mother’s previous drug use and mental health issues.

May 20 – David Faraj, a millionaire businessman, was shot dead in his car, which crashed into a roundabout in Örebro, Sweden.

May 10 – Aaisha Hasan, 32, was stabbed 26 times at her home in Canning Town, east London. Her husband Asim Hasan, 34, a traffic warden, was jailed for life (21 years) in Aug 2023. The trial heard she had refused to accept him taking another partner. He told the court he had joined a Muslim dating app just days before the killing and that their relationship broke down because he wanted two wives. Their two children, both aged under 10, were waiting to be taken to school when Hasan killed her.

May 18 – Rebecca Contois, 24, went missing and her body was dumped in a dumpster in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also known as Crane River, located on the western shore of Lake Manitoba. Jeremy Skibicki, 35, was charged in Dec 2022 with her murder and three more counts of first-degree murder. Morgan Beatrice Harris, 39, was killed on or around May 1, while Marcedes Myran, 26, was killed on or around May 4. Both women were members of Long Plain First Nation, in south central Manitoba, but were living in Winnipeg. The fourth woman is believed to have been an Indigenous woman in her mid-20s. It’s believed she was killed on or around March 15.

May 17 – Ania Jedrkowiak, 21, was stabbed to death in an alleyway near Church Gardens, south Ealing, west London. Her former boyfriend Dennis Akpomedaye, 29, from Newport, Gwent, Wales, was jailed for life (29 years) for murder. The trial at Kingston Crown Court heard Akpomedaye, who was wearing a mask, suddenly attacked Jedrkowiak as she and her new boyfriend Jack Maskell took a shortcut behind a church just after midnight. Prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, said Jedrkowiak was stabbed 40 times and one wound was so deep it gave the impression he may have been trying to “decapitate” her. The jury—who took just 45 minutes to find Akpomedaye guilty—heard Akpomedaye had left a voice note a week before the killing on an app called Stereo in which, apparently talking to himself, he said, “Thing is if you’re going to find her, kill her, stab her, monster.”

May 14 – Ten people, all of them African-Americans, were gunned down at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York. They were Roberta A. Drury, 32, who had moved to Buffalo to be with her brother, who had had a bone marrow transplant, Margus D. Morrison, 52, Andre Mackneil, 53, Aaron Salter, 55, a retired police officer who was working as a security guard in Top Friendly Mart grocery store, Geraldine Talley, 62, Celestine Chaney, 65, a devoted grandmother, Heyward Patterson, 67, a dedicated church-goer who drove people to and from the supermarket, Katherine Massey, 72, a community activist with a “beautiful soul”, according to her sister, Pearl Young, 77, who dedicated her Saturdays to working in a soup kitchen, and Ruth Whitfield, 86, who had just been to visit her husband in a care home. Payton Gendron, 18, from Conklin, New York, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Gendron is a white supremacist who drove 200 miles to Buffalo and live streamed the attack on the gaming app Twitch.

May 13 – Lisa Fraser, 52, was discovered dead at a house on Military Road in Pembroke Dock, Wales. Matthew Harris,41, from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, was charged with her murder and threats to kill, robbery and criminal damage to a property in Neyland, Pembrokeshire. A few days later he hanged himself in his cell in Long Lartin prison.

May 12 – Carlo Giannini, 34, an Italian pizza chef, was stabbed to death in Manor Fields Park, Sheffield. Carlo had moved from Italy to Northern Europe to work in restaurants and that he opened his own pizzeria in Germany before travelling to the UK. Two teenagers were arrested.

May 12 – David Crawford, 59, a member of the Cornwall-based Red Chiefs Motorcycle Club, was killed when his Kawasaki motorbike was hit by a van on the A38 on-slip road at the St Budeaux junction in Plymouth. The Red Chiefs are affiliated to the Hells Angels. Benjamin Parry, Thomas Pawley and Chad Brading were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. Parry was jailed for 12 years and Pawley and Brading both got four years. They are members of the rival Bandidos gang. The trial heard Pawley presented a prepared statement in which he confirmed he was a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club and that he knew Parry through this group. He admitted he was in the company “of another male who I do not wish to name at this time” in his Mercedes car – although he later lets slip that it was Brading. He said he and the other man had gone up to the Hoe area as it was one of the Plymouth Bike Nights in that area, before then going to the Marsh Mills area. There they saw the Red Chiefs Motorcycle Club members, who he described as a “rival gang”. He confirmed the saw them heading towards the Tamar Bridge, with all but one going over the bridge into Cornwall and solitary rider turning around and heading east on the A38. He said that the person he was with “wanted to talk to him about not wearing colours in Plymouth”.

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/van-driver-didnt-intend-harm-7812221

May 11 – Olsi Kuka, 30, was stabbed to death at a flat in Barnet High Road, Whetstone, north London, around 3am. His cousin, Alush Kaka, survived. Ozan Seran, 27, Bulent Bakir, 26, Santana Thompson, 20, Daige Ramsey, 24, and Reuben Bernard, 18, went on trial accused of murder and robbery in April 2023. The trial heard Kuka was a drug dealer and the gang searched the flat for drugs and money before fleeing in two Mercedes cars.

May 11 – Moriah “Mo” Wilson, 25, a rising star in the gravel and mountain bike racing scene, was shot and killed inside a house in Austin, Texas. She was in Texas preparing for Gravel Locos, where she was favoured to win. Kaitlin Armstrong has been charged with murder. Armstrong had gone on the run after the shooting and was captured in June in Costa Rica. Armstrong was the estranged girlfriend of another pro gravel cyclist, Colin Strickland. Strickland and Wilson allegedly had a brief romantic relationship in 2021, while Strickland and his live-in girlfriend, Armstrong, were on a break. The motive was therefore jealousy. Armstrong denies murder.

May – Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and her sister Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were found dead in separate beds at a house in the Sydney suburb of Canterbury on June 7. Police, who were called to the property for a welfare check, said the women are believed to have died in early May. The sisters were from Saudi Arabia and had arrived in Australia in 2017. The police cannot tell how they died. It was later reported one or both sisters may have been gay or queer and feared persecution in Saudi Arabia and also that they were heavily in debt and may have committed suicide together.

May 7 – Four Vietnamese nationals died in a fire in Bismark House Mill in Oldham, Greater Manchester. Their bodies were only discovered in July when the mill was being demolished. They were later identified as Uoc Van Nguyen, 31, Cuong Van Chu, 39, who arrived in the UK in June 2019, Duong Van Nguyen, 29, who arrived in the UK in 2021, and Nam Thanh Lee, 21, who arrived in the UK in January 2022. A murder investigation was only launched in August 2022.

May 7 – Liam Maloney, 30, was attacked in the street in Niddrie Marischal Road in east Edinburgh and died a few days later in hospital. Ryan McCabe, 48, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

May 6 – Ryan Watson, 24, was hit by a Ford Fiesta Zetec car in Rode Heath, Cheshire. His girlfriend, Alice Wood, 22, has been charged with murder and awaits trial at Chester Crown Court in December 2023.

May 1 – Jamie Kelly, from Leeds, was attacked outside the Vintage Rock Bar in Doncaster at around 9.40pm on the Sunday night before the May Bank Holiday. He died at the scene. A 40-year-old man from Worksop, a 26-year-old man from Nottingham and a 33-year-old man from Doncaster were arrested on suspicion of murder after they were arrested on suspicion of Section 18 assault at the scene.

April 2022

April – Katlego Bereng Mpholo, 30, went missing from his home in Bloemfontein, South Africa. But in April 2023 it was revealed he had been murdered and his body had been set on fire in a cell in Magaung prison, with the authorities being tricked into believing it was the body of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester, who had actually escaped from prison in May 2022. Bester was serving time for the rape and murder in 2011 of his former girlfriend, Nomfundo Tyhulu. He was dubbed The Facebook Rapist. In April 2023 Bester was arrested in Tanzania, where he had fled with his lover Nandipha Magudumana, a celebrity doctor and social media influencer. The couple were extradited back to South Africa and await trial along with several other people, including Senohe Matsoara, who worked for G4S who ran the prison, and Magudumana’s father. This is of course a huge case in South Africa.

April 29 – Mark Franklin, 58, died of head injuries at a house in Norwich. Stephen Grimwood, 63, from Shipfield, Norwich, was jailed for life (18 years) for murder. The trial heard the pair were friends but the motive was money.

Apr 28 – Michael Ugwa, 29, from Rainham, east London, was fatally stabbed at a food court in Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock, Essex. Muhammad Khan, 21, from Ilford, was convicted of murder and affray and jailed for life (27 years). Brandon Lutchmunsing, 19, from Dagenham, east London, was jailed for 13 years for manslaughter. Judge Samantha Leigh said the murder was “over a throwaway flirtatious comment” Ugwa had made towards Lutchmunsing’s girlfriend, Shannon Weston. Weston, 21, of Canewdon, Essex, was found guilty of three counts of assisting an offender, which she had denied. She was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Apr 25 – Samantha Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Drummonds, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill’s husband Denton Burke, 68, were stabbed to death at their home in Delaford Road, Bermondsey, south London. Samantha’s boyfriend, Joshua Jacques, 28, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility but the CPS rejected his plea. He was convicted of murder and jailed for life (46 years) on March 1, 2024. The prosecution proved he had “transient psychotic disorder” due to consumption of large amounts of strong cannabis. There is a link between cannabis with high THC levels and cannabis. The court also heard Ms Hill had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 but had concluded chemotherapy sessions the day before she was murdered. She was killed despite “beating cancer”.

Apr 22 – Katie Kenyon, 33, from Padiham, was seen getting into a Ford Transit in Burnley at about 9.30am. Her body was found 10 days later in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire. Andrew Burfield, 50, was jailed for life (32 years) for murder after he changed his plea to guilty during his trial. Burfield’s trial at Preston Crown Court was told he had initially denied any knowledge of Ms Kenyon’s disappearance. He subsequently revealed to police that he had taken her to Gisburn Forest in the Forest of Bowland for a picnic and had “accidentally” killed her. Burfield claimed Ms Kenyon had “bet” him he could not hit a drinks can with an axe that he was using to chop wood. But a post mortem report pointed out she had suffered several other injuries so his story did not pan out.

April 10 – Aidan Moffitt, 42, an auctioneer and Fine Gael activist, was killed and mutilated in Cartron Heights, Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Michael Snee, 58, a retired healthcare worker, was murdered two days later. Yousef Palani, 23, an Iraqi refugee, admitted both murders at Dublin Central Criminal Court in Aug 2023. He also admitted causing serious harm to a third man, Anthony Burke, on April 9. He was later jailed for life. It is thought there may have been a homophobic motive.

April 9 – Mattias Tamer, 21, was shot dead when he visited his brother’s grave in a cemetery in Södertälje, Sweden. The brother, and two of his uncles, had been murdered in Södertälje’s gang conflict.

Apr 3 – James Whelan, 29, was shot dead in Finglas, west Dublin. Whelan has been named in court as being a member of an organised crime gang and is believed to have been killed by a gangster nicknamed Mr Flashy. Whelan was a relative of Ireland’s first convicted gangland killer ‘Cotton Eye’ Joe Delaney.

March 2022

Mar 28 – Fredrik Andersson, 54, a security guard, is shot dead as he trains at Delta Gym in Vasastan in central Stockholm, Sweden. Andersson intervened when the shooter tried to attack a famous Bandidos man and the background to it is suspected to be a conflict between the motorcycle gang and the criminal Bro network.

March 24 – Yasmin Begum, 40, was stabbed to death at a house in Bethnal Green, east London. Her estranged husband Quyum Miah, 40, from Homerton, was jailed for life (33 years) for murder, theft and two counts of fraud by false representation. School staff called police after Yasmin did not arrive to pick up her two children from primary school. Ms Begum was found collapsed inside her home on Globe Road after concerned school staff knocked at her home when she failed to collect her children. The trial heard her husband, a drug addict, killed her and stole her jewellery and bank card. He withdrew £800 to pay for drugs while the children were at school.

Mar 20 – Linus Bergh, 36, was shot dead in a biker clubhouse in Lidköping, Sweden. He had previously been a member of the Hells Angels but was expelled and then applied to join the rival Satudarah biker gang.

March 19 – Imran Isat, 30, was stabbed at his flat in Ilford, east London. Salah’din Kerbouba, 27, from Barkingside, Ronnie Haydon, 31, from Camden, Dwain Morrison, 33, from Harold Hill, Paul Higgins, 36, from Hornchurch, and Dominic Diop, 33, were charged with murder and went on trial in Nov 2022. At a retrial in July 2023 Morrison was convicted of murder and later jailed for life (33 years). Kerbouba, Haydon, Higgins and Diop were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. They were all jailed for life (16 years minimum). Kerbouba and Haydon were also found guilty of robbery while Higgins and Diop had pleaded guilty to robbery. The gang attacked Isat as he was in the living room of his home watching television with a couple of friends. On hearing the noise Mr Isat went to the living room door to try and keep the men out, but he couldn’t close it. The gang burst through the front door and one of the men, who was holding a large knife, managed to stab Mr Isat through the gap as he held the door closed, forcing him backwards. The robbers forced their way in armed with knives and machetes, they were shouting “where’s the stuff?” Mr Isat said something like “don’t hurt me – take what you want”, but one of the robbers stabbed him, while another struck one of his friends on the head with the flat blade of a knife. One of the robbers then shouted “we’ve found it”, and “let’s go” and they then ran from the scene. It is thought they took a stash of drugs.

March 19 – Sabita Thanwani, 19, a student, was stabbed in the neck at her university accommodation in Clerkenwell, central London. Her Tunisian boyfriend Maher Maaroufe, 23, was charged with murder but when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility the plea was accepted by the prosecution. The court heard Ms Thanwani was found with a serious neck injury lying under blankets and a duvet on the floor. Maaroufe was found by police asleep under a tarpaulin in a garden shed. He head-butted a police officer while being arrested. He was given an indefinite hospital order in Jan 2024. He who was suffering from schizoaffective disorder at the time.

March 19 – Mirko Naramcic, 31, was stabbed in Richmond, SW London and died after driving himself to a hospital A&E department. Two other men survived. Leone Davies, 18, from Twickenham, and Justin Romano, 19, from Kingston, were convicted of murder and later jailed for life. Steve Collis, 28, from Richmond, Kaia Davies, 20, from Kingston, Alfie McGilvary, 29, from Richmond, and Karlos Collins, 20, from Kingston, were all acquitted of murder and manslaughter. A 17-year-old girl has been charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to this investigation.

March 15 – Paul Hawkesford-Barnes, 57, was beaten to death with a guitar at his mother’s home in Coventry. His brother, Steven Barnes, 64, admitted manslaughter and was jailed. Their 90-year-old mother, who was suffering with dementia, was found with facial injuries. She has since died, but not as a result of her injuries. The brothers had rowed over their mother’s care.

March 14 – Tyler Hurley, 16, was stabbed to death with a zombie knife on a 173 bus in Chadwell Heath, east London. Carlton Tanueh, 18, was jailed for life for murder (26 years) and two counts of being in possession of an offensive weapon. In the weeks prior to the killing, Tyler and his friends had uploaded a music video to YouTube mocking a number of Tanueh’s friends.

Mar 12 – Thomas Roberts, 21, was stabbed to death outside a Subway diner in Bournemouth, Dorset. Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai, an Afghan asylum seeker who believed he was 16, has been charged with murder. The court has ruled he is actually 21 years old. Abdulrahimzai arrived in the country in December 2019. His given age initially gave him the right to anonymity in the courts as a minor but these reporting restrictions have now been lifted by the judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, following an age determination hearing. Abdulrahimzai was moved from Feltham Young Offender Institution to an adult prison. He was convicted of murder and jailed for life (29 years) in Jan 2023. After he was convicted, the jury were told Abdulrahimzai had been convicted in absentia in Serbia of the murder of two fellow migrants who were shot dead with a Kalashnikov rifle in August 2018 after a dispute about people-trafficking. It has also emerged that he was convicted of a drugs offence in Italy but was given a non-custodial sentence. The Home Office ordered a full investigation into the case.

March 8 – Ian Kirwan, 53, an AI engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, was stabbed outside an Asda supermarket in Redditch, Worcestershire. A 15-year-old boy was convicted of murder after a trial at Worcester Crown Court. Two youths aged 14 and one of 16 were cleared of killing Mr Kirwan, but were found guilty of violent disorder. A fifth, 16, was cleared on all counts. The jury heard the killer was part of a masked gang from Birmingham that came down on the train and “terrorised” people.

March 7 – A 15-year-old boy was killed in a drive-by shooting outside a school in Des Moines, Iowa. Two young women, one 16 and one 18, were also shot and remain in critical condition. Six teenagers have been charged with murder. They are Octavio Lopez, 17, of Des Moines, Nyang Chamdual, 14, Manuel Buezo, 16, Romero Perdomo, 16, Alex Perdomo, and Henry Valladares-Amaya, 17 .

March 6 – På Ängö was shot dead in Kalmar, Sweden. The murder was linked to a gang war in the town.

March 5 – Gary Ruby, 73, was found encased in concrete in a bathtub at his home in Hawaii. His boyfriend, Juan Tejedor Baron, 23, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. He has previously admitted to killing Ruby after finding out he was HIV-positive in February, telling officers he strangled him and hid his body in a bathtub

Mar 3 – Clive Warrington, 67, and his ex-wife Valerie, 73, were killed at their homes in Bourton-on-the-Water and Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Their son, William Warrington, from Cheltenham, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was sent to Broadmoor.  Warrington had been detained under the Mental Health Act after being arrested on February 17 when he attacked his housemate with a knife. He was taken to the Wotton Lawn psychiatric unit in Gloucester. But he left there on March 1, took a taxi to his mother’s home, killed her and then took her car to Cheltenham and killed his  father.

March 1 – A nine-month-old boy, Harlow Collinge, was killed in a village in Hapton, Lancashire. Karen Foster, 61, has been charged with murder. She is also charged with a separate Section 47 assault on a one-year-old girl in Hapton on March 22, 2019. She is not related to either child and the two children are not related to one another.

February 2022

Feb 27 – Susan Leyden, 68, was killed and dismembered at an apartment in Brooklyn, New York. Harvey Marcelin, 83, a transgender woman, has been charged with murder. Marcelin had previous convictions for murdering women in 1963 and 1983. He once told a parole board he “had a problem with women”.

Feb 25 – John Jones, 36, was shot in the chest at his home in Norton, near Stourbridge, West Midlands. He was known locally as one of the ‘Gummy Twins’. His younger brother Sebastian was stabbed but survived the attack. Ravi Talware, 32, Kevin Waldron, 41, Scott Garrington  51, and three youths went on trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court for murder in June 2023. At the trial the jury was shown a cache of weapons recovered following the shooting, including a gun cartridge magazine, a shortened dark brown single-load shotgun, an imitation Glock air pistol, two large knives and a black bag. All six defendants deny murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, wounding and possessing firearms. Talware, Waldron and Garrington, 51, also deny perverting the course of justice.

Feb 25 – Clair Ablewhite, 47, was stabbed in the neck and chest at her home in Colston Bassett, Nottinghamshire. Her former boyfriend John Jessop, 26, was jailed for life (17 years) in Jan 2023. Jessop cycled around 17 miles from his home in Newark and was caught on CCTV before entering her home. Nottingham Crown Court was told he had been in a brief relationship with Ms Ablewhite and was unable to handle the rejection when she broke up with him over the age gap.

Feb 24 – Valerie Freer, 68, was killed on the driveway at her home in Whittington, Staffordshire. Alexander Verdu Munoz, 26, an Argentinian national, was charged with murder, two counts of aggravated burglary, one count of burglary, possession of a bladed article and dangerous driving. But he died in custody in HMP Strangeways in May 2022.

Feb 23 – Shad Thyrion, 24, was killed and dismembered at an apartment in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Taylor Schabusiness, 25, has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and sexual assault and is due to go on trial in May 2023. Schabusiness supposedly decapitated her partner while having sex on meth. According to police Schabusiness admitted giving oral sex and using a sex toy on her victim after he was dead. She attacked her own lawyer, Quinn Jolly of Green Bay, in court in Feb 2023 when a judge said a delay of her trial was needed.

Feb 19 – Kalman Tal, 66, died at Fitzgerald Park in Innisfail, northern Queensland, Australia after his leg was sawed off. John Yalu, 36, a farm worker from Vanuatu, has been charged with murder. Police said the two men were known to each other and the older man had agreed to have his leg amputated. Kalman Tal died of a cardiac arrest due to extreme blood loss outside a seafood takeaway shop after his lower left leg was sawn off in a park. He suffered from body dysmorphia and had asked Yalu to cut his leg off.

Feb 18 – Muhamoud Mohamed Mahdi, 28, who lived in Finchley Road, was stabbed to death in Burnt Oak, north London. Christian Adom Kuta-Dankwa, 18, from Rayners Lane, was jailed for life (13 years) for murder. A 16-year-old boy from Harrow was acquitted of murder and manslaughter. Kuta-Dankwa admitted in court his friend had been dealing cannabis just before Mahdi approached them, which was likely the cause of the dispute.

Feb 18 – Christopher Hughes, 37, from Wigan, vanished in Skelmersdale, Lancashire. His body was found four days later by a man walking his dog. He had been abducted off the street and stabbed 90 times. The trial heard his killers wrongly believed he had raped a teenage girl. Curtis Balbas, 30, pleaded guilty to murder on the eve of the trial.  Khalil Awla, 49, from Wigan, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years. Erion Voja, 21, from London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years. Razgar Mohammed, 41, from Wigan, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years. Alan Jaf, 52, from Wigan, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years. Dean O’Neill-Davey, 30, from Wigan, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years. Erland Spahiu, 34, from Skelmersdale, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years. Martin Smith, 34, from Wigan, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 33 years. Curtis Balbas, 31, from Wigan, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 34 years. Alongside the sentences for murder, all eight were also given concurrent sentences for kidnap. Andrius Uzkuraitis, 27, from Wigan, was also sentenced to six years in prison for assisting an offender.

Feb 15 – Stephen Wallis, 50, a former soldier, was found dead at his flat in Fulham, west London. Gary Curran, 52, was originally charged with murder but the charge was dropped. He was instead convicted of GBH and jailed for a year. The pair were drug addicts and had fallen out over money or drugs. Stephen had become addicted after receiving life changing injuries while serving in the Gulf War.

Feb 14 – Naomi Hunte, 41, was stabbed to death at her home in Woolwich, south east London. A 63-year-old man has been charged with her murder and that of Fiona Holm (see June 2023).

Feb 13 – Keith Green, 40, was stabbed at a house in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Mark Meadows, 24, from Banbury, was jailed for life (23 years) and his friend Travis Gorton, 19, from Hook Norton, was jailed for life (17 years) for murder. Green’s partner, Louise Grieve, 38, was jailed for eight years for manslaughter. A teenage girl who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also convicted of manslaughter. The trial heard Grieve and Meadows had struck up a sexual relationship in 2021 which led to heated arguments between the men.

Feb 11 – Ahmednur Nuur, 16, was stabbed in the back as he ran away from a fight near Milton Keynes College in Milton Keynes. Justice Will-Mamah, 19, from Bletchley, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 11 years for manslaughter at Luton Crown Court. Will-Mamah became involved in the fight with Ahmednur’s group and the victim was described as “the weakest link”. Will-Mamah was struck on the forehead with a piece of concrete and was recorded on a resident’s CCTV going after the group. Ahmednur, who did not throw the concrete, was running away when he was stabbed in the left side of his back and he later collapsed and died.

Feb 11 – Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin and Saqib Hussain, both 21, died when their car was forced off the A46 near Leicester. Mahek Bukhari, 23, a TikTok influencer from Stoke-on-Trent, her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 45, Mohammed Patel, 20, from Leicester, Natasha Akhtar, 21, from Birmingham, Raees Jamal, 21, from Loughborough, Rekan Karwan, 28, Sanaf Gulammustafa, 22, and Ameer Jamal, 27, all from, Leicester, deny murder and went on trial at Leicester Crown Court in Oct 2022. On the first day of the trial at Leicester Crown Court, the jury was told Mr Hussain had been threatening to send explicit videos and images of his lover to her husband after she broke off their three-year affair. The court was told the mother and daughter plotted with six others to set up Mr Hussain by getting him to meet them in a Leicester car park under false pretences. The trial collapsed and a retrial is due in 2023.

Feb 9 – Saul Murray, 33, was killed at his flat in Luton, Bedfordshire, after having been drugged with the sedative GHB. Ikem Affia, 31, was jailed for life (25 years). Affia was seen wearing a Moncler coat – worth more than £1,000 – that was one of only 69 sold in the UK. It had been stolen from Murray. Cleon Brown, 29, from Hackney, was jailed for 11 years for manslaughter. Surpreet Dhillon, 36, was jailed for 10 years for manslaughter. Temidawo Awe, 21, from Gillingham, was jailed for 10 years for manslaughter. The trial heard Dhillon contacted Murray on Instagram shortly after he posted pictures of himself posing with fake Rolex watches. She then messaged him on WhatsApp. Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC told jurors Dhillon and Awe – who were honeytraps – met the victim outside his flat, shared brandy with him inside and performed some sort of sexual act before giving him GHB “to knock him out”. Murray was a plasterer but was portraying a life of wealth on Instagram which was not the reality. It got him killed.

Feb 8 – Bartosz Wyrzykowski, 21, was killed with a machete during an attack in Eltham, SE London. A boy who was 16 at the time of the attack was arrested in Feb 2022 at Heathrow airport – he was on his way to Ghana – convicted of murder and jailed for life (17 years). Yusuf Aydin, 21, Jack Davies, 19, and Benedict Paul, 18, were all convicted of manslaughter. Aydin got 12 years, Davies 11 years and Paul nine years.

Feb 7 – Donovan Allen, 18, was stabbed to death at a block of flats, Ayley Croft, Enfield, north London. Timothy Adeoye, 18, was jailed for life (23 years) for murder, attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon and threatening a person with a blade in a public place. The trial heard Adeoye – known as T-Trapz – wore a skull mask popularised by the Call of Duty video game. Prosecutors said there was no evidence Adeoye had “any issue” with Mr Allen, only with a friend he was with.

Feb 6 – Katy Harris, 52, a teacher, was stabbed to death at her home in Littleover, Derby. Her husband Conrad Iyayi, 46, was jailed for life (18 years) after admitting murder two days into his trial. Their 10-year-old son Theo was upstairs at the time. After his arrest Iyayi told officers that he could not remember what had happened after he had taken drugs he purchased on the dark web.

Feb 6 – Jayquan McKenley, 18, a drill rapper known as Chii Wvtzz, was shot dead outside an Airbnb in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York which had been converted into a recording studio. The Mayor of New York broke down as he talked about his death. He said: “I didn’t know Jayquan, but his death hit me hard because the more I found out about Jayquan’s story, the more I saw how many times he had been failed by a system that is supposed to help boys like him.” Adams then organised a summit of drill artists to discuss the genre’s links to gang violence in New York.

Feb 4 – Jimi “Slice” Sandhu, an Indian-born gangster from British Columbia, was shot dead in the car park of his rented beachfront villa on Rawai beach in Muang district, Phuket, Thailand. The alleged killers were Matthew Dupre and Gene Lahrkamp, both ex-soldiers from Canada. Lahrkamp, 36, died in a plane crash in Ontario in April 2022. Dupre was arrested on 28 Feb 2022 in Edmonton, Canada and faces extradition to Thailand.  Sandhu, who had been a member of the United Nations gang in Canada, was once charged with second-degree murder in 2014, in the death of Red Scorpion gangster Matt Campbell, who had been stabbed in the neck at a car rental business. Sandhu was deported to India in 2016 but in 2018 was charged with supplying ketamine. Sandhu had been travelling in and out of Phuket since 2016. At the time of his death, he was also wanted in India for trafficking, had just been banned from Malaysia, and had spent stretches of time in Vietnam. It is believed the killing was ordered by the Wolf Pack — a coalition made up of some Red Scorpions, some Hells Angels and some Independent Soldiers.

https://vancouversun.com/feature/murder-in-phuket-bc-gang-conflict-moves-overseas

Feb 2 – Tahjay Dobson, 22, a drill rapper known as Tdott Woo, was shot dead in Brooklyn, New York, just hours after signing a record contract. His death came five days after another Brooklyn rapper, Nasir Fisher, 22, aka Nas Blixky, was shot in the head and critically injured. Unsolved.

Feb 1 – Campus Police Officer John Painter and Campus Safety Officer JJ Jefferson were shot dead at Bridgewater College in Virginia, US. Multiple law enforcement agencies arrived on the campus of Bridgewater College around 1:20 pm (1820 GMT) in response to active shooter reports. Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, was later apprehended. He had a “non-life-threatening gunshot wound” which is believed to have been self-inflicted.

Feb 1 – Ashley Wadsworth, 19, was stabbed to death at a house in Tennyson Road, Chelmsford, Essex. Her boyfriend Jack Sepple, 23, was jailed for life (23 years) at Chelmsford Crown Court. Miss Wadsworth, from Vernon, British Columbia, moved to Chelmsford on a six-month tourist Visa. On the morning Miss Wadsworth was murdered she had frantically knocked on a neighbour’s door. She told the neighbour of an argument the couple had just had about Miss Wadsworth looking at a picture of a naked female on her phone, which led to Sepple beating her up. She also said that Sepple had threatened to kill her. The neighbour spoke with Sepple who apologised, and Miss Wadsworth went back. She was killed soon afterwards. Sepple then video called his sister as he lay in bed with the body.

January 2022

Jan 31 – Andrew McDiarmid, 64, was stabbed to death at his home in Heswall on the Wirral. He was a retired detective inspector who had served with Merseyside Police for 30 years. A 21-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene has been detained under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital for assessment.

Jan 31 – Two German police officers, a 24-year-old female trainee and a 29-year-old inspector, were shot dead as they manned a roadblock on a rural road in Ulmet, near the Kusel district of western Rhineland-Palatinate state.  Andreas Schmitt, 38, who ran a game business, has been arrested and charged with murder. Police found 22 deer carcasses in his car. He is suspected of illegal deer hunting.

Jan 31 – A huge brawl broke out between between inmates belonging to MS13 and the Mexican Mafia aka La Eme in US Federal Penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas. Two inmates were killed – Guillermo Riojas, a 54-year-old who had been sentenced for violent crimes using a firearm, and Andrew Pineda, 34, who was said to be a member of the Mexican Mafia.

Jan 30 – Social media influencer Cristina Vita Aranda, 29, was shot at a music festival in Asuncion, Paraguay. Her husband was Paraguayan footballer Ivan Torres, who played for Club Olimpia. She was shot on Sunday when the couple were attending a music festival called Ja’umina Fest in Paraguayan capital Asuncion where gunfire broke out. Authorities said that the attackers were looking for José Luis Bogado Quevedo , alias “Kuré“, an alleged drug trafficker with an international arrest warrant.

Jan 30 – Alan Szelugowski, 17, was stabbed in Clowes Park, Broughton, near Salford, Greater Manchester. His body was discovered by a man walking his dog. A 17-year-old boy was jailed for life for murder. The trial heard Alan was killed after a row over a cannabis debt.

Jan 28 – Marena Shaban, 41, suffered multiple stab wounds at the apartment block in Bordesley Green, Birmingham. Mohammed Arfan, 42, was jailed for life (22 years). A witness described the attacker as having an afro but it is believed Arfan was wearing a wig.

Jan 28 – A former leader of the X-Team, a sub-group of the Bandidos motorbike gang, was shot dead in Linkoping, Sweden.

Jan 27 – Jamie Gilbey, 20, vanished from his home in Crystal Palace, south London, and was found dead in a lake in South Norwood six weeks later. He had been wanted for robbery. Dejour Jones, 24, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Jan 25 – David-Mario Lazar, 5, was stabbed to death at his home in Earlsdon, Coventry. Elena Anghel, 50, was charged with murder in Jan 2023 and was detained in a secure mental health facility pending her trial in June 2023. In a statement issued two days after the fatal incident, David-Mario’s parents, Cristina and Dorinel, said: “Our son, he was the most beautiful child in the world.”

Jan 23 – Lauren Malt, 19, was run over twice by a car in West Winch, Norfolk. Her father Nigel Malt, 44, was jailed for life (19 years) for murder but later had his tariff increased to 22 years. The jury heard Malt, was estranged from his wife and children and had been given bail with conditions not to turn up at their home or his wife’s workplace after she reported him for assault in April 2021. Prosecutor, Andrew Jackson, told jurors that while awaiting trial for that charge, Malt turned up at his wife and children’s home in Leete Way on 23 January, argued with his daughter and threatened her boyfriend, Arthur Marnell, with a crowbar. Mr Jackson said that after Malt “failed in his bid to inflict violence” on his daughter’s boyfriend, she told him to go home and “he was totally consumed with anger”. He reversed his car over his daughter then stopped and drove forward over her body.

Jan 23 – Vishal Gohel, 44, was found dead, with gaffer tape on his face, at his flat in Bushey, Hertfordshire. Six people were charged for murder. They are Tevin Leslie, 21, from south-east London, his cousin Sakeen Gordon, 20, of Uxbridge Road, Ealing, and Brandon Browne, 21, from Rochester, Kent, Georgia Bruce-Annan, 20, Faith Hoppie, 21, and Tianna Edwards-Hancock, 18, all from Barking. Their first trial at St Albans Crown Court in July 2022 collapsed due to the barristers’ strike. The second trial, in the spring of 2023, heard Gohel had been in touch with Bruce-Annan on Craigslist and was promised a sexual liaison with the women before three men burst into the property. Prosecutor Charlotte Newell QC said: “The female defendants created a honeytrap. They promised him a sexual liaison that never happened.” Leslie admitted manslaughter and conspiracy to rob and Bruce-Annan changed her plea to guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to rob during the trial.

Jan 22 – Kennie Carter, 16, was stabbed to death in Stretford, Manchester.  Eight teenagers have been arrested and bailed. The stabbing took place shortly after a Man Utd v West Ham game at nearby Old Trafford.

Jan 21 – Robert James Dinh and Thomas Cherukara, both Canadians, were shot dead at the Xcaret Hotel between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, Quintana Roo state, Mexico. A Canadian woman, Ceara Jessica Sahadee Yari, 29, was wounded. Dinh was part of a Vietnamese crime syndicate operating in Canada and the United States, according to news reports. He was suspected of money laundering, using a false identity and other criminal activities, and was thought to be the right hand man to the gang’s leader Cong Dinh. Cherukara was suspected of a long list of criminal activities including drug trafficking, robbery, weapons possession and using a false identity, but it is not clear whether he belonged to the same organisation. Two people have been arrested, one is from Mexico City and the other is Canadian, and it seems that the crime was planned from Canada. In May 2022, the alleged mastermind of the hit, identified only as Oscar Ivan N, was arrested.

Jan 20 – Daniel Thompson, 19, was shot and killed in the car park of Whataburger in Hollister, north west Houston, Texas. Darius Sims has been charged with murder. Footage of the shooting went viral on social media. According to Sims’ family, Thompson, who may have been off work on the day of the shooting, was called to the restaurant by his brother to confront Sims, who showed up with his 5-year-old daughter. The family claims Thompson punched Sims and may have also hit his daughter in the process inside the restaurant.

Jan 15 – Freda Walker, 86, was tortured and killed at her home in Langwith Junction, Derbyshire. Her husband Ken, 88, a former district councillor, survived. Vasile Culea, 33, was jailed for life (34 years) for murder. Mr Walker had previously taken out £30,000 for home improvements and hidden it in various places around the house. It was not clear how Culea came to learn of this money. In his evidence, he said he went to find the home after hearing two strangers talking about a “wealthy house” in the area. He was more than £11,000 in debt, and had gambled away £280 at various betting shops on the day he attacked the pair.

Jan 14 – Michael Bastable, 56, was robbed, knocked to the ground and stamped on in an alleyway at the end of Shelbourne Road, Bournemouth. Hayden Johnson, 28, and his brother Damien Johnson, 30, admitted manslaughter and were both jailed for 22 years. Dominic MacDonald, 30, admitted manslaughter and was jailed for 18 years.

Jan 12 – Ashling Murphy, 23, an Irish school teacher, was attacked while out running along a canal near Tullamore, County Offaly. Jozef Puska, 31, a Slovak national, from Mucklagh in County Offaly, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Large crowds gathered in the village of Mountbolus, Co Offaly, and outside St Brigid’s Church, where her funeral was held. Mourners included the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, and the taoiseach, Micheál Martin. Vigils were also held across Ireland and the world to remember Murphy, and to call for a change in tackling gender-based violence.

Jan 10 – A 27-year-old man who was part of the Headshotligan gang from Tensta, was shot dead in Jakobsberg, Stockholm, Sweden. The man was acquitted of a murder in Jakobsberg in 2019.

Jan 4 – Dariusz Wolosz, 46, was stabbed to death in High Street, Yiewsley, west London, just after midnight. Harley-Dee Thompson, 27, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Jan 3 – Aidan Mann, 28, a tattoo artist known as Zen Black, was stabbed 14 times in the street in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. His neighbour Barry Donnelly, 38, admitted manslaughter pleading diminished responsibility. He was given an indeterminate custodial sentence at Belfast Crown Court in July 2023. The judge said Donnelly must serve at least nine years in prison before he is eligible to be considered for release. Donnelly had been “actively psychotic” at the time of the attack. He also pleaded guilty to the offences of possession of offensive weapons and assault occasioning actual bodily harm relating to a previous attack on a mother and son in June 2021.

Jan 2 – Adam Anderson, 22, was run over by a car in a car park in Greenock, Scotland. Jordan Cunningham, 27, was jailed for 9 years for culpable homicide.

Jan 2 – Paul Wakefield, 65, was beaten and stabbed to death with a broken battle at his home in Folkestone, Kent. Shane Myles, 31, was jailed for life (22 years) and Kayleigh Halliday, 36, was jailed for life (21 years) at Maidstone Crown Court after being convicted of murder. The killers both had traces of Mr Wakefield’s blood on their shoes, and Myles was in possession of the victim’s bankcard. Halliday and Myles both tried to blame each other for the murder but Halliday changed her plea to guilty during the trial. The jury was told that the pair were seen at Folkestone West Station holding hands, caressing, laughing and walking with their arms around each other after the incident.

2021

Dec 4 – Xhovan Pepaj, 25, was stabbed to death at a house in Caley Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent which had been converted into a cannabis grow. Pepaj, who was guarding it, was stabbed upstairs after being locked in with the killers. Kelvin Amoako, 19, Ciaran Stewart, 19, and Bartosz Malawski, 28, were convicted of murder and jailed for life. Stewart – who had rung 999 and begged the police to come and help after an Albanian gang turned up and threatened them with a gun – was given a 26 year tariff. Amoako and Malawski got 22 years each. Nathan Rainforth, 22, Donte Simpson-Palmer, 19, and Ray Renda, 22, were convicted of manslaughter at a trial in a super-court in Loughborough in Feb 2023. Rainforth was jailed for 7 and a half years, Simpson-Palmer for 6 years. At a second trial at Lewes Crown Court (sitting in Brighton) in August 2023, Fabian Szymula, 20, from South Ockenden, Essex, Nathan Turner, 28, from Brentwood; Zach Cutting, 23, from Waltham Abbey; Glen Hough, 51, of Brentwood and Jonathan Hedges, 25, were acquitted of manslaughter (the murder charges having been dropped). All five were convicted of conspiracy to rob and will be sentenced in October 2023. The trial heard the gang arrived from Essex at 3am, determined to steal cannabis plants. Pepaj rang his Albanian accomplices, who arrived at the house as he was locked in upstairs with Stewart, Amoako and Malawski. Stewart rang 999, convinced the Albanians had a gun and were going to kill them.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12394243/999-operator-listened-gang-cannabis-factory-stabbed-Albanian-man-death.html

Dec 4 – Shane Thompson, 32, a carpenter, was stabbed numerous times at a house in Bartley Green, Birmingham. His workmate, Robert Goodwin, 32, was convicted of murder and was jailed for life in April 2023. The pair had spent the day working with his victim when the pair headed to the pub. The pair for some reason then returned to the home of Thompson’s girlfriend, Sophie. Goodwin then attacked him for some reason and chased him up the stairs. Sophie found Shane’s body on her bloodied bed. The court heard Sophie knew Shane had a cocaine habit that affected their relationship.

Dec 1 – Amandeep “Mickey” Singh Johal, 37, was stabbed to death in Rainham, Essex. A woman suffered a wrist injury. A 14-year-old boy was charged with murder. He went on trial at Southwark Crown Court from 7 June 2022 – to 17 June 2022. The jury deliberated for two days before returning a not guilty verdict on all counts.

November 2021

Nov 28 – Claire Inglis, 28, was beaten and strangled at her home in Stirling, Scotland. She sustained 76 injuries in the fatal attack, which left her with bleeding inside her skull and extensive injuries to her neck. Her boyfriend Chris McGowan, 28, was jailed for life (23 years) at the High Court in Edinburgh. He also burned her with a lighter and jammed a wet wipe down her throat. McGowan had 40 previous convictions, mostly for breaches of the peace and breaches of bail, as well as three convictions for assault. He killed her a few weeks after being released from jail.

Nov 27 – Fernanda Assis, 31, and her father Joanilson Souza De Assis, 61, were stabbed to death at home in Wood Green, north London. Fernanda’s boyfriend Achilleas Costa, 54, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given an indefinite hospital order. The court heard Costa suffered from “paranoid schizophrenia” and that cannabis use had been a “contributor” to his illness. At the time of the murders he believed Fernanda and her father had been replaced by “replicas”. Costa was apprehended by police after he was seen “behaving strangely” on the pavement outside a Wetherspoons pub in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, early on the morning of November 28. Police were called after Costa was seen “muttering” to himself, and was “kneeling to pray”.

Nov 26 – Amber Gibson, 16, vanished from her home in Hamilton, Scotland and her body was found in woods at Cadzow Glen a few days later. Her brother Connor Gibson, 19, was convicted of murder, sex offences and attempting to pervert the course of justice and was jailed for life in September 2023. Stephen Corrigan – who was unknown to both Amber and Connor Gibson – has been convicted of interfering with her body. The court heard Corrigan found her body, but rather than alert police, he inappropriately touched her and then concealed her remains. It later emerged that Gibson’s father, Peter Gibson, was jailed for 10 years for sexual abuse.

Nov 25 – Peshang Sleman, 22, a barber, was killed in Somercotes, Derby, during a brawl by men using knives, knuckle dusters, baseball bats, a cosh and other weapons. His brother Ibrahim Takmary survived. Five men went on trial at Leicester Crown Court in Feb 2023. They are Danyaal Panahi, Herish Zandi,Mohammed Rasulli, Sam Mohazeri, of and Mohamad Shekak. The trial heard there was a feud between two Kurdish barbers’ shops, SR Barbers and Pro Barbers.

Nov 25 – Ava White, 12, was stabbed in the neck in the centre of Liverpool while celebrating the switching on of the city’s Christmas lights about 8.40pm. She was with a group of her friends. A 14-year-old boy was jailed for life (13 years) for murder. Ava was with friends near the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool city centre when they were approached by a group of boys. A verbal argument followed after one of the boys filmed them, which he later shared on Snapchat. Ava told the boy to stop filming and delete the video and after the argument continued, Ava was stabbed in the neck on School Lane before making her way to nearby Church Alley.

Nov 25 – Malak Adabzadeh, 47, was stabbed to death at her home in Stoneycroft, Liverpool. Her husband Mohammad Ureza Azizi, 57, was jailed for life (16 years) for murder. The victim was Iranian.

Nov 24 – Rishmeet Singh, 16, was stabbed to death in Southall, west London. Vanushan Balakrishnan, 18, and Ilyas Suleiman, 18, both from Hillingdon, were jailed for life for murder. The trial heard Rishmeet came to the UK in October 2019 with his mother and grandmother from Jalalabad in Afghanistan, seeking asylum. His father was killed by the Taliban six months prior to that, and shortly after they tried to kidnap Rishmeet, forcing the family to flee to the UK. The court heard that at 9pm Rishmeet left his friends in a park in Southall and was walking home when his killers started running towards him. He ran back towards his friends and shouted ‘run, run.’ When Balakrishnan was arrested police recovered a notebook containing lyrics that he had written, with some describing unique features of Rishmeet’s murder, including Rishmeet running and tripping over. Further lyrics were also found on his mobile phone. Four days after the murder Balakrishnan wrote a note on his phone saying: “Saw news statement it says a good yute but he was out with paigions [enemies.]” “Stupid media it was a glide not for some stupid s*** he wears” A ‘glide’ is entering gang territory with the intention of using violence against a rival gang. However, the court heard that Rishmeet was not in a gang and the defendants were mistaken in their choice of target.

Nov 21 – June Fox-Roberts, 65, was attacked and then dismembered with an axe at her home in Llantwit Fardre, near Pontypridd, south Wales. Luke Deeley, 26, a university student, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was detained indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital. Newport Crown Court heard Deeley entered the house through an unlocked door. He was a complete stranger who was living rough in a nearby container in a scrapyard. While in the house he dyed his hair blond in a bathroom sink. He left the body parts, including the head, in a number of bags, including a Cinderella Christmas bag in the lounge. Mrs Fox-Roberts’ body was discovered later by one of her daughters and a family friend who had become concerned they could not contact her. The court heard Deeley had previously been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and had for periods stopped taking his prescribed medication. In September 2021, he enrolled at the University of South Wales and moved into shared student accommodation in the Roath area of Cardiff. The murder featured in an ITV documentary called Code Blue in July 2023.

Nov 21 – Jennifer Chapple, 33, and her husband Stephen Chapple, 36, were stabbed to death at their home in Norton Fitzwarren, near Taunton, Somerset. Collin Reeves, 34, a neighbour and former soldier, was jailed for life (38 years) for murder. The Chapple’s two young children were upstairs at the time of the killing. There had been tensions between neighbours over parking in the cul-de-sac where they lived. During the trial, the court was told the neighbours’ rows escalated to the point both Reeves’ wife Kayley and Mrs Chapple had told their friends they were anxious about bumping into each other on the school run. On the night of the killing, Reeves climbed a fence and entered the Chapple house via their back door.

Nov 20 – Bobbi-Anne McLeod, 18, vanished from a bus stop on the Leigham estate in Plymouth, Devon. Her body was later found on the beach at Bovisand. Cody Ackland, 24, an indie rock musician, from Southway, Plymouth, was jailed for life (30 years) for murder. He was obsessed with serial killers.

Nov 18 – Jermaine Cools, 14, was stabbed to death in a fight near West Croydon railway station in south London. In May 2023 Marques Walker, who was 16 at the time of the attack, was jailed for life (19 years) after admitting murder. He became the first juvenile to be sentenced on television in England and Wales, following a successful legal challenge by several media outlets, which was supported by the victim’s parents. Judge Sarah Munro KC imposed a concurrent sentence for an attack on a fellow inmate which left him with brain damage. At the time of the killing Walker, then 16, was on bail for two offences of carrying a knife. A third charge of possessing a knife was dropped after a decision was made, in February 2022, that Walker had been a “victim of modern slavery” because of his involvement in a county lines drug gang in Welwyn Garden City. In January, on the eve of his trial, Walker pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a knife. He has also pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent after attacking a fellow inmate while on remand at Feltham young offenders’ institution in west London in July 2022.

Nov 14 – Alexandra Morgan, 34, from Sissinghurst, was last seen at a petrol station near Cranbrook in East Sussex. Mark Brown, 41, was charged with murdering her and also Leah Ware, 33, who vanished from Hastings in May 2021. Neither body has been found. Brown, from St Leonards, was jailed for life (49 years) for murder. The court heard Mr Brown had been having a relationship with Ms Ware, from Hastings, after he first met her as a client through the escort site Adult Work in 2018. Jurors have heard he went on to put her up at a caravan at premises he rented at Little Bridge Farm near Hastings and the prosecution claim he murdered her in May 2021 and disposed of the body. Mr Brown is also accused of murdering Miss Morgan, a single mother of two children who was a sex worker. Giving evidence Brown spoke of Ms Ware’s drug habits, as she was a regular user of marijuana, crack cocaine and heroin. He said he had bought her marijuana a few times but only purchased cocaine and heroin for her once. At this point Brown broke down crying in the stand and said this happened “on the day we lost the baby” – referring to a termination Ms Ware went through with on February 21 2020. Brown and Ware took the cocaine and heroin together on that date “for the pain”.

Nov 12 – Kieron Moore, 20, was stabbed to death in Aylestone, Leicester, Mason Mills, 25, from Wigston, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder in Feb 2023.

Nov 12 – Ali Abucar Ali, 20, was stabbed to death in Brentford, west London. Norris Henry, 37, was charged with murder and also with the attempted murder of an 82-year-old woman who survived. But he was found to be unfit for trial. He was found to have carried out the crime and was detained under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and a Section 41 Restriction Order was imposed. Henry had paranoid schizophrenia.

Nov 10 – Anton O’Connor, 31, was stabbed to death after being lured to the Poets Corner pub in The Meadows, Nottingham. Several people were convicted of murder. Leonard Ward, 41, from Carlton, Nottingham, was jailed for life (32 years), Michael McGuire, 34, was jailed for life (32 years), Michael Mingoes, 19, from Manchester, was jailed for life (28 years), Joseph Boscombe, 39, was jailed for life (32 years), Joshua Agboola, 28, from Darwen, Lancashire, was jailed for life (31 years), Paula Usherwood, 37, from Beeston, was jailed for life (30 years), Carla McGuire, 51,  was jailed for life (20 years), Jerome Sheard, 29, was jailed for life (31 years) and Benjamin Taylor, 38, was jailed for life (32 years). Curtis Sheard, 23, and Rebecca Bell, 36, were acquitted. The dispute had started after a crime boss in Nottingham, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was released from prison and tried to wrest control of a profitable class A drug line from Ward and Sheard. Ward and Sheard contacted Taylor, who was their supplier in Manchester, a man who the court was told was “steeped in a history of extreme violence”, and he put together a hit squad, drawn from the ranks of Taylor’s drug dealers. A meeting with the rival boss – the intended target – was arranged at the Poets Corner pub in Nottingham, but the rival instead sent O’Connor, who owned a cosmetics clinic. He was ambushed by the gang, who were wearing balaclavas, outside the pub and stabbed to death.

Nov 6 – Mohammed Aqil Mahdi, 22, was stabbed to death in Bow, east London. Majed Ahmed, 18, and Muzahid Ali, 21, were jailed for life for murder. Abul Cashem, 28, was acquitted.

Nov 1 – Nicholas Billingham, 42, was stabbed and then buried in the back garden of a house in Kingsley, Northampton. His girlfriend Fiona Beal, 48, was arrested in Cumbria in March 2022 and charged with murder. Ms Beal was a primary school teacher at Eastfield Academy in Northampton.

October 2021

Oct 31 – Mohamed Muhiyidin, 28, from Southall, was shot dead and his body was found on Sipson Lane, Harlington, near Heathrow airport at 6.16am. Chiragh Amir Chiragh, 39, from Kenton, Bilal Ahmed, 43, from Hounslow, and Mohammed Ilyas Shakeel, 28, from Barking, denied manslaughter, possessing a firearm with intent to kill and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. They went on trial in September 2022 at Isleworth Crown Court. The trial heard the four men were friends and were about to embark on a “ride-out” to attack unknown targets when Chiragh suddenly shot Muhiyidin with an Agram 2002 submachine gun fitted with a silencer. Muhiyidin was sitting in the front seat of a Toyota Prius and the gunman got in the back seat. Muhiyidin was convicted of manslaugher. Shakeel was convicted of perverting the course of justice and admitted possessing a firearm. Ahmed was acquitted of manslaughter and Mustafa Malik, 66, from Harlington, west London, and James Connors, 45, from Hammersmith, west London, were acquitted of perverting the course of justice.

Oct 30 – Shumi Iskov, 53, and his son Per, 20, were shot dead in the city of Kiryat Motzkin, near Haifa, Israel. Iskov was known to the police as the leader of the so-called Kavkaz (Georgian) mafia in the Krayot area in northern Israel. Footage from the scene indicated that the men were found dead inside a car, on Zvulun Hammer street. Iskov and his brother, Shalom, survived a previous assassination attempt in 2011, in which they were both shot and moderately wounded. The assassination could be linked to a bomb attack in Nahariya in which Avi Moore, 31, and Elior Sharabi, 19, were seriously injured.

Oct 30 – Arjan Singh Vig, 86, died of a head injury at a house in Southgate, north London. His son Deekan Paul Singh Vig, 53, was jailed for life for murder in 2023. He was naked and surrounded by about 100 bottles of Champagne, including blood stained bottles of Veuve Cliquot and Bollinger. He said: “I killed my dad. I hit him over the head with a f***ing bloody bottle of Bollinger champagne.”

Oct 28 – Kamran Khalid, 18, was stabbed to death in the street in Ilford, east London, at 3.54am. Abubakar Binabdulaziz, 18, and a boy who was 15 at the time, were convicted of murder. Abubakar’s brother Ashraf Binabdulaziz, 24, was convicted of manslaughter. Kamran, a promising young footballer nicknamed Speedy Gonzalez, was murdered following a row with the group. His mother, Samina, insisted the killing was not gang-related.

Oct 28 – Amjad Hussain, 52, was found with serious injuries in his home in Watford, Herts. His son Husnein Amjad, 23, has been charged with murder and awaits trial at St Albans Crown Court.

Oct 28 – Josephine Smith, 88, died of smoke inhalation at her home in Harold Wood, east London, after a lit firework was put through her letterbox. Kai Cooper, 19, from Leatherhead, and a boy who was 15 at the time of the incident were convicted of manslaughter. Cooper was sentenced to eight and a half years’ imprisonment for manslaughter, arson and affray. The judge ruled the victim’s family should not make statements in open court to protect the ‘welfare and mental health’ of the two defendants. The younger youth, who was 17 at the time of sentencing, was jailed for three years and eight months for manslaughter, arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered and affray.

Oct 27 – Dawn Walker, 52, was killed at her home in Lightcliffe, near Halifax on her wedding night and her body was found stuffed into a suitcase in a playground. Her new husband Thomas Nutt, 45, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder at Bradford Crown Court.

Oct 23 – Charlie Preston and Frankie Gater, both 16, from Romford, Essex, were stabbed to death in Brentwood, Essex. Frankie Watson, 19, from Orsett, Essex, was acquitted of murder and attempted murder of another boy who cannot be named for legal reasons. He was jailed for 18 months for being in possession of an offensive weapon. The court heard that all three were armed – Charlie Preston had a machete, Frank Gater had a knuckle duster, while Watson had a flick knife.

Oct 22 – Max Maguire, 23, a fisherman, was stabbed in a fight between groups at the Royal British Legion club in Lymington, Hampshire. Draven Jewell, 21, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court. His brother Garon Jewell, 19, was acquitted after the CPS dropped the charges during the trial, which heard that “bickering” over a nitrous oxide canister led to a rise in tension before the fight. Two friends of the victim, Georgia Hole and Luke Gray, were also stabbed during the altercation.

Oct 21 – Gary Mayhew, 25, from Camberwell, was shot dead in Brixton, south London, at around 6.15am. Trevin Campbell, 31 from Thornton Heath, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Oct 15 – Sir David Amess, 69, Conservative MP for Southend West, was stabbed to death at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Ali Harbi Ali, 25, from north London, was jailed for life (whole life) for murder and plotting terrorist offences.

Oct 15 – Sergei Burenkov, 60, his wife Natalia, 58, and their daughters Nikita Belousov, 37, and Ekaterina Burenkova, 31, were found dead in the sauna at the Hotel Gloria in Qerret, Kavaja, Albania. The victims, all Russian tourists, are believed to have died of asphyxia while on holiday. It is not clear if foul play was involved.

Oct 13 – Agnes Tirop, 25, an Olympic long-distance runner and world record holder, was stabbed to death in Iten, in western Kenya. Her husband Ibrahim Rotich was arrested in Mombasa a few days later. Tirop’s body was found in a pool of blood with stab wounds in the abdomen.

Oct 12 – Hazrat Wali, 18, an Afghan refugee from Notting Hill, west London, was stabbed on a playing field in Craneford Way, Twickenham, SW London. A 16-year-old boy – who had been sentenced only hours before Hazrat’s death for possession of a knife – was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter in Jan 2023. Players in a rugby match between Richmond School and Hampton School watched as the mortally injured teenager picked up a branch before he collapsed. Jurors were told the killer, who was enrolled on a college course, was caught with a black knife at Southside shopping centre in Wandsworth on August 5, 2021. He pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article and was given a youth rehabilitation order at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on the morning of October 12. Later that afternoon Wali was sitting in the park with Mariam Ahmadazai, a friend, when they were approached by the defendant and five other teenagers. The youth agreed he was hot headed and said it was “just anger”, and stabbing was “a way to release your anger”. At the time of the killing, the youth said he sometimes “felt unsafe” walking on the streets and would carry a knife for “protection” after incidents in which he, a cousin and a friend were attacked. The court was shown a photograph of the defendant’s hand, which needed stitches after he was attacked with a knife in New Cross in 2020. The defendant said he found out via Snapchat that a 16-year-old friend, Louis Johnson, had been killed in Croydon with a Zombie knife. He also described his fears after being involved in county lines drug dealing. In November 2020, some older boys put pressure on him to go to Wiltshire to sell drugs at a house, jurors were told.

Oct 12 – Katrina Rainey, 53, died after being set on fire in her car outside her home in Maghera, County Londonderry, as she prepared to set off for work. Her husband Thomas Rainey, 61, was jailed for life (18 years) for murder. Mrs Rainey, who had 6 children, suffered burns to 90% of her body in the “horrific” attack. She survived long enough to tell police about the nature of the attack, which she claimed was an act of revenge by her husband because of their pending divorce.

Oct 10 – Kian Tordoff, 19, was stabbed to death in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Matthew Page, 19, also known as Matthew Lowther, survived life-threatening injuries when he was stabbed in the chest and slashed across the stomach. Sheryar Khan, who was 16 at the time, was jailed for life (16 years) for murder but his tariff was increased on appeal to 19 years. His brother Arbaz Khan, 22, was jailed for 14 years for manslaughter. Mohammed Adil Hussain, 18, was jailed for 9 years for manslaughter. Adam Qayum, 22, Aizaz Khan, 26, and Amaad Shakiel, 20, were cleared of murder and manslaughter. The trial heard Mr Tordoff died in the street in the arms of three young women and he told them:”Tell my mum I love her.” His mother Danielle Laycock said her son had been torn between going out that night with friends or using the money to buy a new game for his PlayStation.

Oct 10 – Nicole Hurley, 37, was stabbed to death at a flat in Primrose Hill, north London. Her boyfriend Jason Bell, 40, was convicted of murder, false imprisonment in relation to a third party, driving a motor vehicle dangerously in the early hours of Sunday, 10 October, and driving while disqualified and with no insurance. He was jailed for life (22 years). The trial heard that after killing her with two knives Bell turned up at the house of a friend with a large army-style knife, accused him of sleeping with Ms Hurley, and used his van to drive through a police tape before checking himself into a mental health centre. The couple had been in a “difficult and volatile” relationship since Ms Hurley was in her teens. The violence in their relationship was “hidden from outside gaze” with the “rule” that what happened inside the home stayed there. Bell was later jailed for life.

Oct 6 – Matthew Boorman, 43, was stabbed to death in Walton Cardiff, near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. A second man suffered serious stab wounds and was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol. A woman was also wounded in the leg and was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for treatment. A neighbour, Can Arslan, 51, was jailed for life (38 years). Arslan had been harassing his neighbours for 12 years.

Oct 2 – Leroy Mitchell, 35, was shot dead in the car park of a block of flats in Birdhurst Road, Croydon, south London around 5am. He had just left a silent disco, which had been taking place in the flats.  A £20,000 reward has been offered. Unsolved.

September 2021

Sep 25 – Thomas Williamson, 30, was stabbed to death in an alley in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester. Kane Adamson, 19, Joshua Prescott, 20, and Ben Dawber, 19, have been charged with murder. Williamson, who suffered from mental health problems and was out for a walk to clear his head, was attacked in a case of mistaken identity. They went on trial in Jan 2023.

Sep 21 – Sharmake Mohamud, aged 22 from Newham, was shot dead in Green Lanes, Haringey, north London. Two other men survived. Ali Ceesay – who had been extradited from Gambia – pleaded guilty halfway through his trial in 2023. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years and 275 days while Abdul Mohamed, 26, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 34 years and Mehdi Younes, 22, was also given a life sentence with a minimum term of 31 years. Two younger members of the gang, Jaymar Creary and Joyce Manzenza, who were both 16 at the time but have now turned 18, were sentenced to Her Majesty’s Pleasure and told they would not be released for at least 22 years. The trial heard the killers were from a Palmers Green gang and Sharmake and his friends were from the TPL gang in Turnpike Lane. After the shooting the gang were caught on a CCTV celebrating at the back of a car repair workshop. The victim’s mother Bilan Mohamud gave a victim impact statement in which she said: “The rivalries need to stop. You guys are not looking at the long-time pain.”

Sep 21 – Mohamed Ensser, 33, died after being stabbed during a fight in East Ferry Road on the Isle of Dogs, east London. Kwabena Boateng, 20, was jailed for life for murder. Ibrahim Taher, 22, and 64-year-old Kenneth McCreaner were cleared of “assisting an offender”.

Sep 18 – Vitali Skrypniak, 45, a lorry driver from Lviv oblast in Ukraine, was stabbed to death outside Belvedere railway station in Kent. Vitali had arrived in the UK on 15 August via Dover to transport goods for a logistics company.  Christopher Brownly-Otiede, 27, was charged with murder and went on trial at Croydon Crown Court in June 2023. But following a ruling by Judge Peter Gower KC the prosecution offered no evidence in light of the judge’s ruling. The jury therefore found Brownly-Otiede not guilty on the judge’s directions.

Sep 17 – Sabina Nessa, 28, a primary school teacher, was attacked with a motorist’s red emergency triangle sign as she took a shortcut through Cator Park from her home in Astell Road, Kidbrooke, SE London to a pub called The Depot in Pegler Square. Sabina never arrived at the pub and was murdered as she walked through the park. Her body was found close to the OneSpace community centre within the park at around 5.30pm the following day. Koci Selamaj, 38, pleaded guilty to murder and was jailed for life (38 years). He had driven up from Eastbourne, where he lived, to look for a female to attack.

Sep 16 – Liané Dickason, 6, and her 2-year-old twin sisters Maya and Karla, were smothered to death at their home in Timaru, south island, New Zealand. Their mother Lauren Dickason, 42, was convicted of murder in 2023 and jailed for life. She had admitted infanticide but claimed she was mentally disturbed at the time of the killings and did not know that what she was doing was wrong. Prosecutors, however, pointed to Dickason’s troubling phone messages and online history in the weeks before the killings, including comments about wanting to kill her children and Google searches for “most effective overdose in kids”.

Sep 14 – Paul Maurice, 51, was stabbed 22 times at his home in Bromley, south London. His son Sean Maurice, 29, was arrested on the roof of the house. He went on trial in Jan 2023. When he was captured, Maurice told officers: “I’ve got nothing to lose – you lot are trying to arrest me because I beat up my dad who abused me. He raped me.” He added: “You want to arrest me? What kind of f***ing justice is that?”, jurors heard Maurice has admitted manslaughter but denies murder, arguing the stabbing happened due to “loss of control”.

Sep 12 – Sherona Whyte, 25, Tashawna Whyte, 33, Michael Soloman, 27, and 19-year-old Luke Newman were shot dead in Havannah Heights, Clarendon, Jamaica. The victims were two sisters, a nephew, and a boyfriend of one of the sisters. Two men – Oral Richards, 38, otherwise called ‘Creamy’, and Andre ‘Hamma’ Bennett, 24, have both been charged with illegal possession of firearm and ammunition and four counts of murder. Both men were from Cherry Tree Lane, Four Paths in Clarendon. It is thought the killing may have sparked the Cherry Tree Lane massacre in August 2024.

Sep 12 – Chino Johnson, 27, was shot dead in Ferrey Mews, Brixton, south London. A 29-year-old woman survived gunshot wounds. A few days later drill rapper SD, from the Harlem Spartans crew, was among four men arrested at London’s Heathrow airport as they prepared to board a plane. Nobody has been charged. Unsolved.

Sep 11 – Denzil McKenzie, 56, was tortured and stabbed 23 times and his friend Fahad Hossain Pramanik, 27, was stabbed to death. Both were then mutilated at McKenzie’s house in Easton, Bristol. Ionut-Valentin Boboc, 22, and Jacob-Bebe Chers, 46, went on trial in March 2022 but the trial collapsed and they went on trial again in Nov 2022. They were both jailed for life. Boboc was sentenced to a minimum tariff of 37 years and six months, and Chers to a minimum tariff of 40 years. The defendants, who lived in Hillfields, had met McKenzie through their work at an abattoir near Bristol, where their job involved making incisions in the bellies of pigs. The trial was told the murders were a “gruesome echo” of their slaughterhouse work. The defendants allegedly tried to clean up the scene by wiping blood off the walls and other surfaces, while thick black car paint had been sprayed on the bodies and all around the house. The pair were arrested when Mr Boboc told his family what he and Chers had allegedly done.They initially thought he was joking or drunk, but later decided to call the police.

Sep 10 – Steven Fry, 33, was stabbed at a house in Canning Town, east London. His friend Georgie Ferrier, 36, was jailed for 14 years for manslaughter. The dispute stemmed from Steven driving his girlfriend’s car while under the influence of alcohol.

Sep 8 – Abdirahim Mohamed, 18, a drug dealer, was stabbed to death in Melbourne Street, Highfields, Leicester. Rizwan Gul, 26, and Mohammed Hansrod, 30, were jailed for life (28 years each) for murder, Israfeel Gul, 28, and Zakir Brant, 26, jailed for life (25 years each) for murder in Nov 2022. Daniel Pollard, 30; and Bhavic Parmar, 26, were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter and both jailed for 14 years. Fahad Ali Saleem, 26, was found guilty of assisting an offender in connection with the incident. Muhamad Firoz Khan, 34, had previously pleaded guilty to assisting an offender. Abdul Suleman, 59, was found not guilty of murder and not guilty of manslaughter. Adam Brant, 29, and Khatib Gul, 58, were found not guilty of assisting an offender. The trial heard it was a turf war and Abdirahim was “set up” and “lured” to a street in Highfields, in the city, by one of the alleged killers who was posing as a client wanting drugs. He was allegedly ambushed by assailants who arrived in cars with weapons. The prosecutor claimed Abdirahim, and those with him, robbed Rizwan Gul of his car keys. They took his car and mobile phones. One handset contained customer contact details, said to have been useful for Abdirahim and his associates to take over supplying to their rivals’ clients.

Sep 2 – Robert Smethurst, 36, was punched at the Luxe Lounge bar in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of the morning. Robert Greenhalgh, 31, was jailed for 15 years for manslaughter. Manchester Crown Court heard how, in a series of messages to others before the attack Greenhalgh had boasted of the violence he had previously used in work as a debt collector and described himself as “The hardest c*** in the North West”. And he claimed to have spent £50,000 on cocaine in six months. As his drug addiction spiralled friends described him as a “wired mess” and “smack rat and just months before the killing his mother warned him that his behaviour would end in death.

Sep 1 – Alex Ajanaku, 18, was shot dead as he sat on a bench outside an illegal rave on the Beaumont estate in Leyton, east London, at 1.25am. The killers escaped in a black Kia Sportage which had been stolen from Chingford shortly before midnight on 16 August 2021. On 3 September 2021, it was found abandoned and fire damaged in Walthamstow. A £20,000 reward was offered in September 2022. Unsolved.

August 2021

Aug 30 – Gabby Petito, 22, a travel blogger, went missing in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Her body was found in a remote area of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park and the Bridger-Teton National Forest on 19 September. Gabby had embarked on a road trip in July with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23.  They were in a cross-country camper van. But Mr Laundrie returned home to Florida without her. He then fled, saying he was going hiking. The last time Ms Petito’s family heard from her was a text message on 30 August that read: “No service in Yosemite”, a reference to the national park in California. The FBI issued a federal arrest warrant for Laundrie, charging him with fraudulently using a debit card after Ms Petito’s death but his body was later found in Florida. He had killed himself.

Aug 28 – Matthew Carroll, 50, known as Matty, was attacked in the centre of Birmingham at 1.30am when a fight broke out. He was out with his son. He was killed with one punch. Matthew Mahony, 33, admitted manslaughter and was jailed for five years.

Aug 28 – Frank McKeever, 63, was last seen along Highbury Park, close to the junction of Highbury Grange, London. Police believe his body is buried in the East Midlands. Surie Suksiri, 31, from Islington, north London; and Juned Sheikh, 48, of Camberwell, south London, both denied murdering 63-year-old Frank McKeever. The pair also denied preventing the “lawful decent burial of a body”. In June 2023 the Metropolitan Police began searching two areas – Lutterworth Road in Leicestershire and Welford Truck Stop in Northamptonshire – in an attempt to find Mr McKeever’s remains. The trial is in October 2023.

Aug 27 – Maddie Durdant-Hollamby, 22, from Wimblington near the town of March, Cambridgeshire, was found dead in a house in Kettering, Northamptonshire. Her boyfriend Benjamin Green, 41, was also found dead. He stabbed her and then himself.

Aug 26 – Conor O’Brien, 19, was killed in the driveway of a house in Enfield, County Meath in the Republic of Ireland. Earl McKevitt, 50, from Mullhuddart in Dublin, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

Aug 26 – Jade Marsh, 27, also know as Jade Ward, was stabbed and strangled at her home in Shotton, Flintshire, Wales. Her husband Russell Marsh, 29, admitted manslaughter but was convicted of murder at Mold Crown Court and was jailed for life (25 years). He attacked her the week after she had left him. Her body was found under a pile of clothes in a bedroom. After the case the government introduced legislation known as Jade’s Law which meant that someone who kills their children’s other parent loses their parental rights. This was brought after Jade’s parents complained that Marsh had certain rights over his children despite being in prison for murder.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jades-law-to-be-introduced-to-better-protect-children

Aug 22 – Abdi Khadar Adan, 32, was stabbed to death at a house in Leyton, east London. Kieran McHugh, 30, and Mahi Noor, 23, have been charged with murder and went on trial in Oct 2022. The court heard Adan was living at the hostel, which provides accommodation for authorities needing to find houses for people, and tried to purchase cannabis and cocaine from Noor. Text messages revealed Adan said he would ‘bust’ Noor’s head, before saying ‘I’ll rob you for your little pack. N****z dnt want beef, they vegetarian.’

Aug 21 – Kai Davis, 22, from Hounslow, was stabbed to death outside the Pryzm nightlubc in the centre of Kingston-upon-Thames, SW London around 3.45am. Ben Myles, 22, from Hammersmith was jailed for life (26 years) for murder. Joseph Barker, 22, from Uxbridge, was jailed for 11 years for manslaughter. Conrad Adams, 18, was acquitted.

Aug 19 – Sharon Pickles, 45, was stabbed in the neck at her flat in Ashbridge Street on the Lisson Grove estate in central London. At 2.15am (in the early hours of the 20^th) the ambulance service attended another flat in nearby Jerome Crescent and found Clinton Ashmore, 59, who had also been stabbed in the neck. Lee Peacock, 49, was named as a person of interest. A week later he was arrested after cutting his own throat on a canal barge near Ferrymead Avenue, Greenford, west London. Peacock was jailed for life (39 years) in Feb 2023. The Old Bailey heard Peacock, who had been released from prison on 4 June 2021, “lashed out at Sharon in a fit of rage, jealous of her sexual relationship with another man”, while a bedridden man she cared for slept in another room. Peacock refused to attend his sentencing hearing.

August 19 – Norma Girolami, 70, disappeared from her home in Highgate, north London after a day trip to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Serkan Kaygusuz, 41, from Islington, has been charged with her murder and with theft. Her remains were found at a churchyard in Friern Barnet Lane in North Finchley in Oct 2022. Girolami, of Highgate, north London, was reported missing in September 2021 after communication from her stopped. She was last known to have made a day trip from London to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, a place she enjoyed visiting. The trial heard Kaygusuz had befriended her at a local swimming baths and allegedly planned her “cold-blooded” killing after she gave him nearly £300,000 but then turned off the “money tap”.

Aug 18 – Mehmood Shamshi, 61, was hit over the head in Staines Road, Hounslow at around 10.30pm and was found dying in the street just after midnight. A teenage boy was arrested but not charged. In Feb 2023 a 16-year-old boy was charged with murder. He awaits trial.

Aug 18 – Otas Sarkus, 20, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Upton Park, east London. The killer escaped in a Volvo SUV. Bristan Williams, 18, survived and was found on a 238 bus in Plashet Grove. Dean Adams, 31, an underworld hitman, from East Ham, was jailed for life (29 years) in Aug 2023. Deon Brisport, 29, from Hackney, were convicted of murder and jailed for life (32 years) in December 2022. The court heard how the Volvo used in the attack was dumped and set alight just over half a mile away in an effort to conceal evidence. It was also found to be displaying cloned number plates. Shaquiel Samuels, 28, was only charged in October 2022 and was due to go on trial in 2023.

Aug 16 – Ranjith ‘Roy’ KanKanamalage, 50, was found dead in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park around 6.30am. He had been violently attacked in what was initially believed to have been a homophobic attack. He was described by police as a gentle, friendly man who travelled to the UK from Sri Lanka. Roy was a Buddhist. Eric Feld, 36, was jailed for life (28 years) for murder. The judge at the Old Bailey said Feld had a “long held fantasy” to kill a stranger with a hammer. 

Aug 15 – Eileen Barrott, 50, was found with serious injuries by her son Joel, 21, at her home in Naburn Fold, Whinmoor, Leeds. Her husband Mark Barrott, 54, left Leeds by train arriving at Edinburgh Waverley at 4pm the same day. He was later arrested in Elgin, Scotland. He was convicted of murder and jailed for life (21 years). The sentencing was delayed after Barrott was transported to A&E from the psychiatric hospital he was staying in due to a potential overdose.

Aug 13 – Sebastian Kalinowski, 15, died as a result of untreated rib fractures, which led to an infection, at his home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. His mother, Agnieszka Kalinowska and her boyfriend Andrzej Latoszewski were both convicted murdering Sebastian at Leeds Crown Court in June 2022. Andrzej had admitted manslaughter. Prosecutor Jason Pitter QC told jurors Sebastian came to the UK from Poland in October 2020, and Ms Kalinowska initially appeared thrilled to be united with her son. He said both defendants had come to see the boy as a “hindrance” and began to mete out “cruel” disciplinary measures for minor wrongs. Sebastian was also verbally abused by the couple and ordered to address Latozsewski as Mr or Sir. On the day the boy died Latoszewski waited more than two hours after finding him unconscious before calling for an ambulance. He later claimed Sebastian had drowned in the bath and that his injuries had been the result of a fall from a tree or a fight. Sebastian was beaten with a bed slat, whipped with an extension cable and stabbed with a needle. They are due to be sentenced in October 2022.

Aug 12 – Maxine Davison, 51, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, were shot dead in Keyham, Plymouth, along with father and daughter Lee Martyn, 43, and Sophie Martyn, three. The perpetrator, Jake Davison, 22, then shot himself behind a hair salon. It emerged that he had a shotgun licence and had his guns returned to him by police a few months before. Maxine was his mother. Davison, a YouTuber, suffered from mental health problems and was an incel.

Aug 10 – Stelios Averkiou, 16, was stabbed to death in Lordship Recreation Ground in Tottenham, north London. Kyi-Riece Sylvester, who was 16 at the time, was jailed for life (19 years) in Jan 2023. Leon Gruber, 18, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 34 months for robbery. The trial heard Sylvester stabbed Stelios in the leg after stealing his mobile phone. He was convicted of several other robberies. The judge said the robbery of Stelios came with “extra excitement” because he had gone to the same school and was associated with a rival gang to Sylvester.

Aug 7 – Megan Newborough, 23, from Nuneaton, was raped and murdered and her body was dumped in a country lane near Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire. Ross McCullam, 29, a lab technician, from Coalville, admitted manslaughter but was convicted of murder at Leicester Crown Court and jailed for life (23 years). The trial heard he watched porn after killing her.  The pair worked together at Ibstock Brick and began dating. They agreed to meet up, apparently to have sex, but instead he killed her. Megan’s sister Claire told McCullam she hoped Megan haunts him forever and she said: “The definition of a monster is cruel, frightening and evil – and it is to my relief the defendant has been recognised as a monster. You are an unpredictable menace, a danger to women, obsessed with serial killers.”

Aug 7 – Casey Badhams, 20, was stabbed in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Jake Wilkinson, 20, was jailed for life (22 years) for murder. Wilkinson had been drinking and taking cocaine when he armed himself with a large knife and attacked Badhams in an “act of revenge” after a row.

Aug 6 – Michael Fadeyibi, 23, was stabbed with a machete in Newham, east London. Christopher Owens-Wright – 23, was found guilty of murder and section 18 GBH relating to a second man following the conclusion of the trial at Inner London Crown Court in July 2022. He was jailed for life (27 years). Following his conviction, police are appealing for information to locate and trace 26-year-old Ryan Igbinovia and offered a £10,000 reward.

Aug 5 – Dylan Holliday, 16, was stabbed 13 times in the street on the Queensway estate in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. A 15-year-old was taken to hospital with stab wounds. Jamal Waddell, who was 16 at the time, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years in Aug 2022. Another boy was acquitted of murder but convicted of GBH to another boy. The trial heard social workers unwittingly took Waddell to Wellingborough when he had a knife on him. A safeguarding review, published in June, found it was not clear “appropriate multi-agency planning took place”. The review said there was “substantial, ongoing concern by children’s services that Waddell was suffering child exploitation”.

Aug 4 – Miroslaw Iwaniuk, 50, a Polish lorry driver, was found dead at Astmoor Industrial Estate in Runcorn suffering from neck injuries. Rafal Seremak, 44, of Wolomin in Poland, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter. The trial heard he had been trying to calm Iwaniuk down. Earlier that evening Mr Iwaniuk and Rafal Seremak had been drinking and eating with fellow lorry drivers near the rest and recreation area of the yard. Prosecutor John Benson, QC, said there had been what might be described as “horse play” involving Mr Iwaniuk and other drivers, who “goaded” Mr Iwaniuk. After Mr Iwaniuk became more disgruntled, there was an incident in which the defendant offered Mr Iwaniuk a vape device, and used this as a “distraction” to sweep Mr Iwaniuk’s leg, lower him to the ground and pin him there in a “headlock”. Mr Iwaniuk did not regain consciousness.

July 2021

July 31 – Yordanos Brhane, 19, was strangled and stabbed 15 times at her home in Hockley, Birmingham. Her friend Halefom Weldeyohannes, 25, from Sheffield, was jailed for life (21 years) in Aug 2022. Both were originally from Eritrea. The trial heard he made a pass at her but she rejected his advances, saying she saw him as “like a brother”.

July 31 – Logan Mwangi, five, was found in the Ogmore river in Bridgend, south Wales. Police officers found Logan partially submerged in the river in Pandy Park, just 250m from his home. He was wearing his dinosaur pyjama bottoms and a Spider-Man top. His stepfather John Cole, 39, was convicted of murder and perverting the course of justice and was jailed for life (29 years). Logan’s mother Angharad Williamson, 30, was convicted of murder and perverting the course of justice and was jailed for life (28 years). Cole’s adopted son, Craig Mulligan, who was 13 at the time, was jailed for life (15 years) for murder. The family had been self-isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mulligan, who was named for the first time at sentencing, is not the biological son of Cole but he raised him from the age of nine months and considered himself a father figure. On 20 July, Logan tested positive for Covid-19 and he was shut in his bedroom for 10 days with a baby gate stopping him from leaving. Logan’s stammer is said to have worsened, becoming particularly bad around Cole, the jury was told, and he wet himself more frequently and began self-harming. The jury were played extensive CCTV footage from nearby houses which showed Cole and Mulligan at 02:43 BST on 31 July moving Logan’s body in a sports bag to the nearby river, where they dumped it. Mulligan was a seriously psychotic child. A support worker once heard him singing: “I love to punch kids in the head, it’s orgasmic.”

July 31 – Amanda Selby, 15, was asphyxiated in a caravan at the Ty Mawr caravan site in Towyn, near Abergele, north Wales. Her brother Matthew Selby, 19, from Ashto-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, was charged with murder but admitted to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was jailed for five years. He had autism and mental health conditions that triggered the attack.

July 31 – Reece Williams, 29, was stabbed to death at a party in Greenwich, SE London. Robbie Munoz, 20, from Wallington, was jailed for life (22 years) for murder. He had claimed self-defence. The pair got into a confrontation, which saw Williams punch Munoz, but he walked away and thought the dispute was over right before he was stabbed.

July 27 – Liam O’Keefe, two months old, was stabbed to death at his home in the Ardoyne, north Belfast. His mother, Romanian-born Raluca Tagani has been charged with murder and attempted murder of a two-year-old child, who was taken to hospital. Tagani was also taken to hospital for treatment for injuries. She awaits trial. Her lawyer David Jones said: “The actions in this case are not in dispute, it’s really the why.”

July 26 – Anthony Bird, 50, was kicked and punched in Victoria Park, Tipton, West Midlands and died three weeks later. Steven Bennett, 39, and Suni Singh Gill, 34, were both jailed for life (18 years). His attack had no motive and was “completely senseless”. Bird had been visiting his niece, who lived nearby, and was heading home through the park when Bennett and Gill found him.

July 26 – Louise Kam, 71, from Borehamwood, went missing after driving to a house she owned in Gallants Farm Road, Barnet. Her body was found in a wheelie bin on the drive of a house in Harrow in early August. Mohamed El Abboud, 26, from Barnet, and Kusai Al-Jundi, 23, from Wood End Road, south Harrow, were both jailed for life (35 years) for murder in Feb 2023. The trial heard Al-Jundi, a Syrian, planned to swindle her out of £5m worth of property and claim she had gone to live in China. El-Abboud, a Romanian national, confessed to his friend, Maria Amariucai, during a car journey from London to Coventry.

July 25 – Jorge Martin Carreno, 30, a BMW worker, was attacked as he walked home after a boozy night out in the centre of Oxford. Scarlet Blake, 26, was jailed for life (24 years) in Feb 2024 for murder. She was a complete stranger who went out looking for a victim between 3am and 5am, knowing the city’s nightclubs had just reopened after the lockdown. She led him to a secluded riverbank, Parsons Pleasure, where she hit him on the back of the head with a vodka bottle, strangled him and then pushed into the River Cherwell, where he drowned. Blake was born male in China and after coming to England as a child decided she was transgender. Four months before killing Mr Carreno she had livestreamed the torture of a cat, having copied what Luka Magnotta did (in 2010) in the Netflix documentary Don’t Fuck With The Cats. At her trial Blake tried to blame her ex-girlfriend, Ashlyn Bell, who was also transgender. Bell, who lives in Colorado, US, said Blake confessed to her that she killed Mr Carreno.

July 23 – Marius Lakavicius, 44, was punched “many times” in Dagenham, east London. His friend and workmate, Airidas Janavicius, 38, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter and perverting the course of justice and was jailed for 12 years. The court heard the pair had been drinking together. Janavicius humiliated Marius, who was very drunk, by taking a photo of him covered in blood without any trousers on.

July 23 – Beatrice Cenusa, 36, was stabbed at home in Brixton, south London. Her ex-husband Stony Stoica, 44, a lorry driver, was jailed for life (18 years) for murder. The court heard he killed her out of jealousy after she posted a video on TikTok of her blowing a kiss to her lover, Claudiu Miteatu. The pair married in Romania but divoced in 2009 over his gambling addiction. A neighbour found Ms Cenusa lying in a pool of blood with a kitchen knife sticking out of her chest. He asked her who did it and she said it was her husband. While lying on the floor Ms Cenusa video-called Mr Miteatu and said: “Claudiu, he barged in and stabbed me.”

July 21 – Shane Jerome, 23, from Thornton Heath, was stabbed to death near Brixton Tube station as he performed in a music video in front of his girlfriend Seleka Gathercole. Jerome was part of a convoy of vehicles, including green and red Lamborghinis, featuring in the film for rap artist Chariffe Greaves, who goes by stage name Reef. Brandon McNeil, 18, was jailed for life (24 years) for attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon. The trial heard McNeil was associated with the “7” or “L” gang. He made rap videos bragging about his life of crime and boasted of his skill with knives in a film made a week after the murder. He apparently assumed Jerome was part of a rival gang who were making the video.

July 13 – Sandra See was “callously doused” with a milk bottle full of petrol and set alight in the lounge of her home in Gorton, Manchester. Her son Mark See, 34, was jailed for life for murder. In the hours before the murder See had been increasingly abusive to his mother and pregnant fiancee. See, who was drunk at the time of the attack, filled a six-pint bottle with petrol from a lawnmower and set the fire, police said.

July 13 – Kim Gagné was hit with a hammer at her home in Toronto. Her boyfriend Bronson Lake, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. According to an agreed statement of facts, a nurse at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health called police on July 14, 2021 after speaking to Lake, who had walked in to the hospital. The nurse reported to police Lake admitted he had hit his girlfriend in the head with a hammer, that she had lost consciousness and was losing blood. Lake was detained under the Mental Health Act after telling the doctor he intended to kill his girlfriend and himself.

July 12 – Mauricio Nascimento, aged 44, from Croydon, was killed in Rush Common, Clapham, south London. He had suffered extensive injuries from a brutal attack, including a broken nose, fractured skull and neck and almost all of his ribs were broken. In Jan 2023 Arturas Ptickinas, 28, and Ernestas Aleksandrovas, 29, were convicted of murder and jailed for life. They were convicted largely on DNA evidence. The motive for the killing was never ascertained.

July 9 – Nick Cameron, 39, was beaten to death in the car park of his apartment block in Melbourne, Australia. His girlfriend Heide Victoria Bos, 37, a dominatrix, was jailed for six years for manslaughter. She admitted persuading one of her “slaves” to attack Cameron. Bos and the man had met on FetLife website under the online names of ‘Hedonistic Siren’ and ‘Slave Pinto’. Over 11 horrifying minutes, Cameron was beaten with a hammer and stabbed in an attack so ferocious it set off his car alarm. Neighbours were alerted by his screams for help and called police, who nabbed the alleged attacker as he attempted to flee. Slave Pinto – who has not been publicly named – is due to go on trial later in 2023.

July 7 – Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise, 53, was assassinated at his home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, causing political turmoil and gang-led anarchy. John Joel Joseph, a Haitian senator, was jailed for life in Miami, Florida, in Dec 2023. The trial heard a plot was hatched in Haiti and Florida to hire mercenaries to kidnap or kill Mr Moise. Joseph, an opponent of the Moise’s Tet Kale party, was extradited from Jamaica in June 2023 to face charges of conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the US and providing material support resulting in death, knowing or intending that such material support would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap. He later signed a plea agreement with the US government, hoping to get a reduction in his sentence. In exchange, he promised he would co-operate with the investigation. But Federal Judge Jose E Martinez handed down the maximum sentence. Joseph told the court: “It turned out that the plan got overwhelmed, out of hand, The plan changed to kill the president ‘but it was never my intention’.” he added. Two of the other plotters, Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar and retired Colombian army officer German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, were noth sentenced to life in prison. Joseph Vincent, a dual Haitian-American citizen and former confidential informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, pleaded guilty this month and was due to be sentenced in February 2024. Seven more defendants are awaiting trial next year in Florida. The killing was carried out by 20 former Colombian soldiers.

July 5 – Tamim Ian Habimana, 15, from Eltham, was stabbed to death in Woolwich New Road, SE London. His friend survived. A 16-year-old boy was jailed for 10 years for manslaughter in Dec 2022. Daryl Bethel, 19, from Gravesend, Lewis Bollen, 18, and two youths aged 14 and 15 were acquitted of murder and manslaughter. Opening the trial, the prosecution said the defendants went to Woolwich Arsenal Station to carry out a revenge attack for a stabbing which they believed Tamim’s friend had committed in Dartford nine days earlier. The older boy, now 17, was convicted of having an offensive weapon and conspiracy to commit violent disorder. He was given an 18-month young offenders rehabilitation order and a 55 hour activity requirement. He was given an electronic curfew for three months between 8pm and 6am. The younger boy, now 15, was convicted of wounding the second victim, possession of an offensive weapon and conspiracy to commit violent disorder. He was sentenced to an 18-month young offenders rehabilitation order.

July 5 – Marek Smalec, 48, was killed at his home in Hillingdon Hill, Uxbridge, NW London. His flatmate Damien Lenihan, 37, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Harrow Crown Court and was jailed for six years. Marek died of a brain injury after being struck over the head during an argument.

July 3 – Elise Pinder, 66, died in a fire at her home in Southend, Essex. Her son Andrew Wilding, 42, was jailed for life (27 years) for her murder. The trial heard he had searched on the internet for details of life insurance payouts. He was her sole carer at the time of her death. After setting fire to the house he went to a McDonald’s nearby to buy a drink. When he returned he claimed the fire must have been started by a battery he had been charging in the hallway. But detectives found that in the lead-up to the fire the defendant had searched online for ‘fires’, ‘arsons’, ‘murders’ and life insurance.

July 1 – Stephen Dempsey, 60, was stabbed outside the Microsoft shop at Oxford Circus, central London. Tedi Fanta Hagos, 25, an Eritrean refugee from Ravenhill, Swansea, was charged with murder but was mentally unfit for trial. A jury ruled he had been responsible for killing Mr Dempsey. The court heard Fanta, who arrived in Britain in 2014, had previous convictions for criminal damage, assaulting a police constable and an emergency worker, and was on bail for possession of a saw at the time he killed Dempsey. Fanta, who had been granted asylum in 2019, was living in Swansea at the time of the attack. A drop-in centre volunteer in Swansea who knew Fanta well gave a statement to police in which she said she had noticed a “rapid deterioration” in his mental health in the weeks before the attack. Patrick Upward, defending, told the court his client’s parents had both died in Eritrea when he was a child and he was then conscripted into the Eritrean army at the age of 12. He said he was shot and also tortured during his time in the army before he eventually deserted, spent time in Zimbabwe, before crossing the Sahara Desert and again being tortured while in Libya. A coroner ruled there was no point having an inquest into Mr Dempsey’s death, despite a string of unanswered questions.

July 1 – Camron Smith, 15, was stabbed at his home on The Shrublands estate in Croydon, south London in the early hours. He was wearing just his underwear at the time. Romain LaPierre, 20, from Brent, was jailed for life (28 years) for murder, Jordan Tcheuko, 19, from Wembley, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 15 years for manslaughter. Sako Amoniba-Burnley, 21, from Norbury; and a 16-year-old youth, were acquitted of murder and manslaughter. Allison Scott, 55, from Croydon, denies assisting an offender. An Old Bailey trial in July 2022 heard Camron’s killing came amid a crime wave on the streets of Croydon, overnight on June 30 and July 1 last year.Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said the four defendants had set out with others, on a moped and in a hijacked car, to track down those they had linked to the stabbing of an associate. He said they acted as a group, entering three homes in rapid succession. The first was no longer occupied by anyone they were looking for and was, instead, home to a woman who awoke to find a masked male in her bedroom.

June 2021

June 26 – Jason Nyarko, 26, was stabbed at an End of Lockdown Party rave in an industrial unit in Stockholm Road, Bermondsey, near Millwall FC’s ground. A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for four years and six months after pleading guilty to manslaughter and possession of a bladed article at the Old Bailey.

June 25 – Tashawn Watt, 19, was stabbed in Sydenham, south east London. Romello Harley, 19, was jailed for life at Inner London Crown Court.  Harley had been involved in an argument with a relative of Tashawn’s at the Watt’s family home a short time before the incident which resulted in Harley being asked to leave. He then went to arm himself with a knife before returning to the area and tried to lure Tashawn to an alleyway, but Tashawn refused to go with him. Harley then stabbed Tashawn in front of his family.

June 20 – Kimani Martin, 18, was a passenger in a taxi when a shotgun was fired at it from a VW Golf hatchback in Tividale, West Midlands. Kisharne Campbell, a drug dealer, 23, was jailed for life (30 years) for Kimani’s murder. The court heard it was revenge after Kimani robbed him of his phone, gold chain, cash and car less than an hour before. Atif Khan, 25, was jailed for life (27 years). The trial heard Campbell had recruited Khan, who drove the stolen Volkswagen Golf into position for him to pull the trigger from no more than three metres away. Usman Amjad, 21, who was a backseat passenger in the Golf, was jailed for 18 years for manslaughter. Luke Adams, 19, was acquitted. Campbell had claimed he had met up with Martin and two unidentified associates to purchase cocaine, but was ‘double-crossed’, robbed of his belongings and dumped in the boot of his own car.

June 20 – Neil Charles, 47, was stabbed to death in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. David King, 55, and his 19-year-old son Edward King were found guilty of murder. Charles had a number of previous convictions for theft and burglary, and had been trying car door and house handles on the night he was fatally stabbed by the vigilante pair. They were jailed for life.

June 18 – Gracie Spinks, 23,was stabbed in the neck at Blue Lodge Farm in Duckmanton, Derbyshire, where she kept her horse, Paddy. Her former colleague Michael Sellers was found dead nearby. Inquests opened into the deaths of both Ms Spinks and Sellers at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court. The IOPC is investigating the case after it emerged Gracie had told Derbyshire Police she was being stalked prior to her death.

June 17 – Matthias Poleon, 27, was shot dead near to his home in Bedford Hill, Balham around 10.50pm. Unsolved.

June 16 – Leigh Smith, 48, was stabbed multiple times at his assisted-living flat in Eccles, Manchester. Jacob Cookson, 18, was jailed for life (19 years) and Logan Eaton, 17, was jailed for life (17 years). Cookson was the leader of a  gang who “cuckooed” Smith, who was vulnerable. Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court was told they believed Mr Smith, whose home they had taken over, had set up an attack on Cookson. Another 17-year-old boy was found not guilty of Mr Smith’s murder. Cuckooing is a term used for a practice whereby gangs “take over what is usually a vulnerable person’s home” and use it for criminal purposes, such as storing or dealing drugs.”

June 15 – Usifo Ataga, 50, Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, was stabbed to death at a rented apartment in Lagos, Nigeria. Chidinma Ojukwu, a 21-yr-old undergraduate, has admitted killing him. She was his mistress. She and Ataga were “having fun” when an argument broke out and she stabbed him twice after which she withdrew N380,000 from his account using his ATM card. Both were high on Rohypnol.

June 13 – Jason D’Aguilar was kicked and punched to death in Birmingham city centre after the UEFA Euro 2020 match between England and Croatia. Jordan Haines, 27, and Ben Wiggett, 29, were convicted of murder and jailed for life. West Midlands Police said one of his killers, Jordan Haines, sniggered when shown video of the “vicious” assault during an interview. Wiggett handed himself in to police the day after the attack and told officers he had drunk up to nine pints of alcohol that day. He said he believed a bottle had been thrown at his group of friends by a group that included Mr D’Aguilar.

June 11 – Mee Kuen Chong, 67, known to friends as Deborah, went missing from her home in Wembley and her headless body was found by holidaymakers in an area of woodland near to Bennett Road in Salcombe, South Devon on Monday, 27 June. She had been decapitated and her head was found later. Mee was originally from Malaysia but has been living in Wembley for over 30 years. Jemma Mitchell, 36, a property developer from Brondesbury Park, was convicted of murder and jailed for life (34 years) at the Old Bailey in Oct 2022. The court heard Mitchell had falsified Chong’s will in an attempt to get money from her. Chong was a devout Christian and Mitchell befriended her at a church.

June 11 – Jalan Woods-Bell, 15, was stabbed with a ‘Rambo’ knife as he walked to school with friends in Hayes, west London. has been jailed for 10 years. A 16-year-old boy was jailed for 10 years for manslaughter. The killer was caught on CCTV armed with the large knife as he followed Jalan and his friends, slashing the boy across the face and stabbing him in the chest. Jalan, who was unarmed, attempted to use a traffic cone to defend himself. The killer, who cannot be identified, was from the Ngang gang from Northolt.

June 10 – Toni Butler, 25, was stabbed at a house in Thornaby, Teesside. Keegan Barnes, 28, was acquitted of murder and jailed for 8 years for manslaughter .The court heard Barnes had been on a three-day drugs binge and claimed she had been asleep in bed when Ms Butler attacked her, with the fatal wounds caused in the ensuing struggle.

June 10 – Ryan ‘Apple’ Connor, 26, was stabbed to death as he walked home in Always, Newport, Gwent. He was attacked by a gang from Cardiff who wanted to steal his Gucci bag. The gang were armed with giant 15-inch knives. They were chased by police and crashed their stolen Ford Fiesta car after a Stinger device was deployed. Joseph Jeremy, who was 17 at the time, boasted “I’ve yinged him.” Joseph was jailed for life (24 years) for murder and robbery. Lewis Aquilina, 20, was jailed for life (22 years) for murder and robbery.  Kyle Raisis, 18, jailed for 12 years for manslaughter. Ethan Strickland, 19, was convicted only of robbery.  Elliot Fiteni, 20, was cleared of all charges.

June 10 – Denardo Samuels-Brooks, aged 17, was stabbed in Prentis Road, Streatham, south London. Umar Salami, 18, from Croydon, Denzel Kwateng from New Addington, Andre Headley, 18, from Streatham, and a 17-year-old boy called Blake were originally charged with murder. But that charge was dropped and they were convicted of violent disorder. Headley was detained in a young offenders’ institution for 21 months. Salami got 18 months and Kwateng and Blake both got 17 months.

June 8 – Taylor Cox, 19, from Barnet, was shot dead in Hornsey Rise Gardens, Crouch Hill, north London. Jaden McGibbon, 19, Sichem Mangituka-Mpelo, 20, and Robel Michael, 20, were charged with murder and went on trial in 2023. After a hung jury they were tried again in Oct 2023 and were convicted of murder and jailed for life. McGibbon’s then-girlfriend Dunila Idrissi Oukili, 21, from Camden, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice. The Old Bailey was told the victim was a member of the “A Team”, a group associated with the N19 postcode of London. He and his friend were riding together, each armed with a knife. The killers found out Cox and his friend were close by and set out to attack them armed with at least one gun. During the shooting, at least four .32 calibre bullets were fired from the same gun, likely to be a revolver.

June 8 – Humza Hussain, 16, was stabbed in the street near Challney High School for Boys in Luton. Ibrahim Khan, 16, was jailed for life (16 years) for murder.

June 7 – Maggie Murdaugh, 22, and her son Paul, 22, were shot dead at their home, set in 1,700 acres, in Islandton, South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh, 54, claims he returned home from visiting his elderly mother to find his wife and son dead, their bodies in the dog kennels. He went on trial in January 2023 with the prosecution claiming he did it to distract from a series of scandals he was facing. Murdaugh was a wealthy lawyer. From 1920 to 2006, three generations of Murdaughs served consecutively as chief prosecutors for the area, while their private family litigation firm earned them a small fortune. Three weeks after the killings Murdaugh hired Curtis Eddie Smith – known as Cousin Eddie – to shoot himself on a rural road. Murdaugh has admitted he organised the botched hit on himself so that his surviving son could collect $10m in life insurance payments.

June 6 – Salman Afzaal, 46, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Salman and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal were killed when they were hit by a pick-up truck in London, Ontario. The couple’s son, Fayez, is recovering in hospital. Nathaniel Veltman, 20, has been charged with four counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder. If found guilty he faces life in prison. It is believed to have been an Islamophobic incident. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a “terrorist attack.” Veltman will go on trial in Windsor, Ontario in Sep 2023.

June 5 – Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and his wife, Wendy Wood, were shot dead at home on the shore of Lake Tahoe, California. After a two-year investigation, former professional baseball player Danny Serafini, 49, and Samantha Scott, 33, were arrested in Nevada and charged with murder. Serafini was a Major League Baseball pitcher who was drafted in 1992 and whose career spanned 11 years with multiple teams, including the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago Cubs, the San Diego Padres, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies.

June 4 – Turgay Özcan, 33, was stabbed to death in a flat in Stamford Hill, north London. Katarzyna Poniatowska, 31, was acquitted of murder after a short trial at Wood Green Crown Court.

June 2 – Nathaniel Eyewu-Ago, 35, a drug dealer, was chased, robbed and stabbed to death in broad daylight in Barge Walk, Greenwich, south east London. Ernesto Elliott, 45, and his son Nico Elliott, 23, were both jailed for life for murder and robbery. Ernesto got a minimum term of 26 years and Nico 22 years. Justin Elliott, 19, was acquitted of murder but was convicted of robbery and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in a Young Offenders Institution. Nicholas Elliott, 26, was acquitted of murder and robbery. A video of the clash between Eyewu-Ago and the Elliotts was taken by a local resident and sold to The Sun newspaper, where it went viral. It appears to show Eyewu-Ago, who is not wearing a shirt, is armed and is holding off his attackers but at some point, after the video, he became disarmed and was then chased and killed. It later emerged that Ernesto Elliott was due to be deported to Jamaica in Dec 2020 but had been taken off the flight after human rights groups appealed.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15145043/thugs-slash-giant-blades-greenwich-battle-fighting-life/

May 2021

May 31 – Bethany Vincent, 29, and her nine-year-old son Darren Henson were stabbed to death in Louth, Lincolnshire. Her ex-boyfriend Daniel Boulton, 29, was jailed for life (40 years). A 10-month-old baby was found unharmed in the house. Boulton had pleaded guilty to manslaughter mid-trial but had continued to deny murder, claiming he was suffering from a mental health condition at the time. The trial heard he walked 28 miles to the house to commit the crime.

May 31 – Al-Sadiq Mohamed Ishaq-Adam, 22, was stabbed to death during a brawl between young men in Colindale, north west London. He was known to friends in London as Azadeeq Mohamed but close family overseas confirmed his full name. Nick Kaneza, 19, from, Hemel Hempstead, has been charged with murder. Mohammed Yusuf, 18, from Colindale, and Amani Williams, who was 17 at the time, have been charged with robbery. They await trial.

May 31 – Dea-John Reid, 14, was stabbed to death in Kingstanding, Birmingham. George Khan, 39, and Michael Shields, 36, and two teenagers were acquitted of all charges. A boy who was 14 at the time was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for six years. The jury heard Reid, who was black, was “hunted down” by a group shouting racial slurs and stabbed in front of multiple witnesses, following a confrontation over a bag. His mother, Joan Morris, later said she received no justice. She pointed out the jury at Birmingham Crown Court was made up of 11 white people and one of south Asian heritage. All of the defendants were white or Asian. During sentencing, Mr Justice Johnson told him: “If an adult did what you did it would almost certainly be murder and they would be sentenced to life imprisonment.” A lawyer for the 15-year old accepted his client had caused Dea-John’s death, but told the jury he had not intended to kill him and had been acting in self-defence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-61996309

May 29 – Marc Williams, 18, was reported missing in Uckfield, East Sussex after travelling to Maresfield. Two days later his body was found in woodland in the Heron’s Ghyll area. He had been stabbed. Lewis Ashdown, 19, of from Uckfield, was jailed for life (27 years) Lewes Crown Court. It emerged that the pair were friends who had agreed to drink together in the woods.

May 29 – Tony Eastlake, 55, was stabbed from behind as he walked along a street in Islington, north London. His late girlfriend’s son James Peppiatt, 23, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder at the Old Bailey in Aug 2023. The trial heard he separated from his long-term partner in 2018 and began a relationship with Peppiatt’s mother Alisha Callaghan. On April 11, 2021, Alisha Callaghan took her own life. Peppiatt blamed Eastlake for his mother’s death. After working on his flower stall Eastlake met up with Peppiatt in the street and a fight broke out after Mr Eastlake allegedly said: “Don’t piss me off. I took a lot. I kept quiet.”

May 29 – Danny Humble, 35, beaten to death in an underpass in Cramlington, Northumberland around 1am as he walked home from a night out. Alistair Dickson, 18, was jailed for life for murder. Bailey Wilson, 18, Ethan Scott, 18, from Blyth, Kyros Robinson, who was 17, and a 17-year-old boy were convicted of manslaughter. Two other teenagers were acquitted.

May 28 – Esther Brown, 67, was raped, punched, kicked and stamped to death in her flat in the Woodlands area of Glasgow. Jordan Graham, 30, was jailed for life (19 years) for her murder. Graham had been released on a non-parole licence in June 2018 after being jailed for raping a woman in 2013. A case review in 2023 concluded the death could “not have been predicted or prevented”. Tim Cowen, manager of Woodlands Community Development Trust, said the result would not “alleviate the anger” among Ms Brown’s friends.

May 28 – Christopher Martin, 74, was beaten to death at his home in New Cross, south London and left in a cupboard. His grandson Jack Forde, 23, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. The court heard he punched, stamped, stabbed and poured boiling water on his grandfather. Forde was “disconnected from reality” at the time of the attack and believed that he was his sister Anushka. Forde moved in with his grandad – whose wife had recently died from COVID-19 – when he was released from prison in March 2021, just months after he had stabbed two strangers. Those attacks took place in September 2020 when a man from Peckham woke up at 5.30am to find that Forde had broken into his home and was sitting opposite him, speaking incoherently. Forde then took a knife from the man’s kitchen, chased him and stabbed him multiple times. He then fled the scene and boarded a bus where he stabbed a 79-year-old man in the neck, causing a wound which needed 40 stitches. A jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity and Forde was released back into the community under a supervision order requiring him to take epilepsy medication. The court heard Mr Martin began sleeping with a knife under his pillow to protect himself from his grandson. At around 4am on May 28, 2021, Forde used his grandad’s phone to FaceTime his partner. He was hitting himself and said “Anushka get out, get out” before opening a cupboard door to reveal his grandad inside.

May 25 – Rayon Pennycook, 16, was stabbed to death on the Hazel Leys estate in Corby, Northamptonshire. Stefan Draca, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was jailed for life (15 years). The trial heard both men had knives. The jury heard the confrontation between Draca and Rayon had followed a fight between two women. The judge told Draca that although Rayon “was the initial aggressor I have concluded you did not act in self-defence”.

May 17 – Tim Hipperson, 39, was stabbed to death in an alley in Richmond, SW London. Oliver Muldowney, 34, was jailed for life for murder (25 years) and being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin. Jonathon Nash, 35, was jailed for three years and six months’ imprisonment after he was found guilty of two counts of being concerned with the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. Natalie Stevens, 37, was acquitted of assisting an offender. The trial heard that Hipperson and a friend were buying drugs from Muldowney who had convinced himself Hipperson was sleeping with his girlfriend. Before he died Hipperson told police he had been stabbed by “Olly”. After killing Tim, Muldowney offered Tim’s friend, and witness to the murder, drugs and money to leave the area. Tim’s friend instead helped police with their investigation.

May 13 – Armend Xhika, 22, was stabbed in the chest in Sheffield. Marsid Senia, 25, and Mentor Selmani, 28, were convicted of manslaughter. Selmani was jailed for 20 years and Senia for 13 years. The pair arranged a meeting with Xhika to settle a row over a car crash that had happened earlier that day. South Yorkshire Police is still seeking two brothers Eljaso Cela, 28, and 26-year-old Mateo Cela in connection with Xhika’s death.

May 13 – Maria Chavez, was strangled at her home in Ilford, east London. Her husband Muhammad Ilyas, 41, was jailed for life for murder. Ilyas had killed Maria during the afternoon when the couple’s three children were out of the house at school. The couple had moved the UK in 2019 and Maria was attending a college course to learn English at the time of her death. Ilyas was working on a market stall in Stratford.

May 11 – Caroline Crouch, 20, was suffocated to death at her home in Glyka Nera, outside Athens, Greece. Her Greek husband Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, a helicopter pilot and instructor, was convicted of murder and jailed for life in May 2022. He originally claimed that robbers broke into the couple’s home and tied up and gagged the wife and husband in their bedroom, prompting the police to issue a 300,000 euro reward for information about the crime. The couple’s infant daughter was found unharmed, and the family dog choked to death on its leash, authorities said. But examination of mobile devices, a smartwatch, and cameras had established a timeline that revealed inconsistencies in the pilot’s account. He was picked up after attending his late wife’s memorial service on the island of Alonnisos. He then confessed. Crouch, was born in the UK and moved with her parents to the picturesque Aegean island of Alonnisos as a child. National TV interrupted coverage of the Euro 2020 football championships on Thursday night to bring details of the confession.

May 9 – Karman Singh Grewal, 28, who was associated to the United Nations gang, was gunned down outside the international departures at Vancouver International Airport. He was very close to UN gangster Jimi Sandhu, who was deported to India in 2016 for “serious criminality.” Grewal had faced drug trafficking charges in Grand Prairie, Alberta, in 2016. And he had convictions in British Columbia for failure to stop at the scene of an accident, wilfully resisting a police officer and driving a vehicle while disqualified. His UN gang has been locked in a bloody war with rivals from the Brothers Keepers and Red Scorpion gangs for years. One high-profile Brothers Keepers posted a cryptic message on his Instagram after the shooting suggesting it was in retaliation for the hit on BK member Harb Dhaliwal in April 2021. In July 2022 Dhaliwal’s brother Meninder was killed in Whistler, possibly in revenge for the Grewal murder.

May 8 – Patrick Anzy, 31, was shot three times with a MAC11 sub-machine gun at Gillett Square in Dalston, east London. Jermaine Jackson, 36, was jailed for life (33 years) for murder, Oshane Hartley, 26, was jailed for 12 years for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and Mohamed Abrar, 25, was jailed for three years for assisting an offender.

May 7 – Daniel Laskos, 16, was stabbed to death in Harold Wood, east London. Rakeem Green-Matthews and Joshua Kerr, both 19, Callum Hands, 20, and a 16-year-old boy were all convicted of murder. Kerr was sentenced to life with a minimum of 24 years, Hands received 22 years, Green-Matthews got 21 years and the teenager was given 14 years behind bars. Loushawn Barnes, 18, and Renee Saint Ange, 18, were acquitted.

May 6 – Abdirizak Hassan, 24, a drug dealer, was stabbed to death after being lured to a flat in Roehampton, SW London. Elijah Roye, 18, from Wandsworth, was jailed for life (18 years) for murder at Kingston Crown Court. Muhammad Danso, 18, was jailed for 10 years for manslaughter and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for seven years for manslaughter. The group arrived at the property on May 5 and used a woman’s phone to call Abdi up and claim she wanted to buy drugs from him. When he arrived they ambushed him and stole his drugs.

May 4 – Gedeon Ngwendema, 21, was stabbed to death during a brawl in Brent Cross Shopping Centre in north London. Bhoniefas Rexson, 18, was acquitted of murder but jailed for life (14 years) for manslaughter due to “loss of control”. The trial heard Rexson, a YouTube rapper who was a member of the Thugs For Life gang, came across the victim, who was associated with the rival A9 gang, outside a JD Sports shop ‘by chance’. Rexson was a ‘committed and active’ member of Thugs For Life and operated the gang’s Instagram account, which featured people with guns. He also ran a Snapchat account and featured as a named artist in YouTube music videos with violent lyrics.

May 4 – Maria Rawlings, 45, an alcoholic from Chelmsford, Essex, was killed in Romford, east London. Her body was found the following morning by a man walking his dog. Valentin Lazar, 21, was jailed for life (23 years). Ms Rawlings had attended the King George Hospital in Goodmayes, Ilford, east London, before leaving on foot to Barley Lane in the direction of the A12. The cause of death was neck compression and possible blunt-force head trauma. Lazar battered Maria Rawlings with a wooden stick embedded with nails and strangled her after she got off the bus.

May 2 – James Gibbons, 34, was stabbed in the street at Iris Mews in Laindon, near Basildon in Essex, at 9.30pm. Police believe the self-employed plumber had gone to the aid of another man and died during an argument that followed. Joshuah Sparks, 16, was jailed for life (13 years) for murder. Sparks killed James Gibbons after he confronted a group of youths who tried to steal food from the homeless man outside his house in Laindon, Essex on 2 May. Mr Gibbons had given the man some food from his daughters’ birthday party. Sparks was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.

May 1 – Bikramdeep Singh Randhawa, 29, a prison officer, was shot in his silver Audi in the parking lot of a Walmart on 120th Street in Delta, Surrey, British Columbia. Bikram had just finished his shopping after working out that afternoon at the Flex gym he regularly attended across the street. Within hours of Bikram’s slaying, rumours circulated the killers had been targeting someone in the UN gang who drove a similar car. There was also fear that Bikram might have been killed because he worked at the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre that houses warring gangsters among its prisoner population. Postmedia News revealed in 2023 he had been killed in a mistaken identity and the real target was United Nations gangster Amarpreet (Chucky) Samra, shot to death outside Vancouver’s Fraserview Hall on May 28, 2-2023. Unsolved.

https://vancouversun.com/news/crime/bc-unsolved-murder-gang-shooting-correctional-officer

April 2021

April 30 – Saman Abbas, 18, vanished from her home in Novellara, Italy. Abbas had reportedly refused to an arranged marriage in Pakistan, the country her parents had emigrated from. The police have released CCTV footage from 29 April – the day before authorities believe she was murdered – which shows three of the suspects walking with spades, a crowbar and a blue bag. The following day, separate footage shows the missing teenager leaving the house with her parents. Her uncle, Danish Hasnain, 33, is accused of killing Saman and burying her body at an unknown location in the Italian city of Novellara on the night between April 30 and May 1. Her parents Shabbar Abbas, 46, and Nazia Shaheen, 47, and her cousin Nomanulhaq Nomanulhaq, 33, are believed to have fled to Pakistan. Another cousin, Ijaz Ikram, 28, has been arrested in France and is awaiting her extradition.

April 29 – Michael Fadayomi, 40, was stabbed in Willesden, NW London. Marcus Griffiths, 42, was jailed for life (32 years) for murder. Griffiths had told a fellow bus passenger: “I’m going to f*****g kill someone today. If you’re not careful I’m going to kill you.” Shortly after this, two 15-year-old boys boarded the 260 bus heading to Willesden High Road and sat close to Griffiths on the top deck. For no reason he became aggressive towards them. The pair got off the bus shortly after 5pm at Willesden Bus Garage which was the next stop. Griffiths followed the teenage boys off the bus and without warning began to attack Mr Fadayomi’s son with a lock knife. The teenager managed to swerve the knife directed at his head twice and he and his friend ran off and called Mr Fadayomi who made his way to them.  After hearing about the attack Mr Fadayomi verbally confronted Griffiths who had boarded the stationary bus again. He then exited and Griffiths followed him. Without warning, Griffiths attacked Mr Fadayomi from behind with a knife as he walked away.

April 27 – Julia James, 53, a police community support officer, was attacked with a 3kg railway jack as she walked her dog in Akholt Wood, Snowdown, near Dover, Kent just after 4pm. She had been off duty at the time. Home Secretary Priti Patel said she had been “so saddened” to learn of the death. Callum Wheeler, 22, was convicted of murder and jailed for life (37 years). Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said the finding of the defendant’s DNA on the breast area of the white vest top Julia James was wearing meant the defendant “must have touched her.” “Given the location of that touching, it must have been sexual in nature,” Ms Morgan said. Wheeler was “highly sexualised” and had searched for words on the internet including “rape” just days before the attack, she said.

April 26 – Abubakkar ‘Junior’ Jah, 18, was shot and stabbed in Coolfin Road, Custom House, east London in what is believed to have been a gang attack. It occurred a mile away from where Faares Matou was killed four days earlier. Asad Sharif, 28, of Manor Park, Newham, Awadh Saleh, 24, of Plaistow, and Rio Burton-Devine, 24, of Islington, have all been charged with murder. Marcel Burton, 19, Zyon Francis, 23, Ahmed Kassim, 30, and Makhil Osman, 23, have been charged with assisting an offender. Jessica Hilton 22, of Dartford, Kent and Dino Hamza, 25, of Newham, have been charged conspiracy to steal motor vehicles. They are all due to go on trial at the Old Bailey in Feb 2024. The victim’s brother Ahmed Deen-Jah, 21, was killed in Custom House in 2017.

April 23 – Fares Maatou, 14, was stabbed in the street in broad daylight in Newham, east London. Two boys, aged 14 and 15, were jailed for life (11 years) for murder but Judge Sarah Munro decided against lifting reporting restrictions on their names.

April 22 – Ellen Marshall was attacked at her home in Skegness, Lincolnshire when petrol was poured over her and then set on fire. She suffered significant burns to the top half of her body and died in March 2023. Leigh Pateman, 45, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

April 22 – Muhammed ‘Muj’ Mujahid Hussain, 19, was stabbed to death in Duckworth Lane, Bradford. Hashim Sajjad, 20, from Daisy Hill, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter on the grounds of self-defence. Sajjad was later jailed for three years for GBH after a separate incident two weeks earlier.

April 12 – Hamza Djouhoud, 34, was shot dead opposite Henri Dunant Hospital in Paris. A woman survived. He was described as being a gangster from the Comoros who was based in Marseille. The French press claim he committed a murder in 2011 and was suspected of the assassination of Mourad Boughanmi, a gang boss the Bricarde in Marseille in May 2016. In retaliation, a relative of Djouhoud was riddled with Kalashnikov bullets eight months later by a an assassin who escaped in a BMW.

April 10 – Khuram Javed, 30, a solicitor, was shot dead in Clough Road, near Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Another man was injured. Mr Javed had been a practising solicitor for 18 months after joining Alison Law Solicitors four years ago as a paralegal. Samsul Mohamed, 20, was jailed for life (minimum of 32 years). He was the gunman. Tinashe Kampira, 20, was also jailed for life (minimum term of 26 years). Samsul’s brothers, Saydul Mohamed, 23, and Sohidul Mohamed, 24, from Greenhill, were found guilty of assisting an offender and jailed for three years. Javed had been socialising with friends in a flat shortly before his death. They had been due to travel to Bradford to eat but, as they prepared to leave, received a call to say someone was loitering near one of their cars. As he confronted the killers they shot him with a blank-firing gun which had been converted to fire ball bearings.

April 10 – Joanna Carrillo, 3, her two-year-old brother Terry and 6-month-old sister Sierra were drowned at home in Reseda, Los Angeles. Their mother Liliana Carrillo, 30, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Carrillo told a TV station she had hugged, kissed and apologised as she drowned her children to save them from what she said would be a lifetime of sexual abuse. She said she wanted to “protect” her kids from their father amid a bitter custody battle. Carrillo has alleged that the father, her ex-boyfriend Erik Denton is part of a sex trafficking ring that she claimed runs rampant in Porterville, a small city in central California where the family lived until the end of February. Denton has denied Carrillo’s allegations and wrote in court papers seeking custody that she was delusional. Carrillo was arrested later that day in Tulare County, nearly 200 miles north after a carjacking in Kern County.

April 10 – Levi Ernest-Morrison, 17, was stabbed to death in Sydenham, south east London. Nichola Leighton, 36, was jailed for life (23 years) for murder and her son Tyreese Ulysses, 19, was jailed for 13 years for manlaughter. Alex Sprules, 17, who stabbed Levi in the groin after he fell on the ground, was jailed for life (20 years). A 16-year-old boy who cannot be identified for legal grounds was jailed for life (16 years). Ulysses has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was driven by a desire to protect his mother, who was becoming increasingly agitated by youths knocking at her door. The trial heard Levi was associated with a gang called Block 6 and they had a beef with LDG, a smaller group which Ulysses and Sprules were in. Nicola Leighton rang her son and then drove him and his friends to hunt down their rivals.

April 9 – Giorgos Karavaiz, a popular crime reporter on the Greek TV network STAR, was shot six times outside his home in Athens, Greece. The gunman, using an automatic weapon, was a pillion passenger on a motorbike. There were reports that he was investigating a paedophile theatre director linked to the Greek prime minister. But colleagues said Karaivaz had not received death threats and had no idea he might have been on a hitlist.

April 9 – Loretta Herman, 85, was killed at her home in Ilford, east London. Her son Mark Herman, 54, was charged with murder and was initially held at Pentonville prison but was transferred to the John Howard Centre, a mental health facility, on 16 June over concerns he had expressed suicidal thoughts. On 1 July he was found hanged. Herman was a former Ibiza music promoter and friend of celebrities like Meg Matthews and Patsy Palmer.

April 9 – Sir Richard Sutton, 83, a multi-millionaire hotelier and one of the UK’s richest men, was stabbed to death at his home in Higher Langham, near Gillingham, Dorset. His partner, Anne Schreiber, was also stabbed and was in a critical condition. His stepson Thomas Schreiber, who was arrested in London, was convicted of murder, attempted murder and dangerous driving. He was jailed for life (36 years).

April 4 – Constanta Bunea, 49, was stabbed to death with a pair of scissors at her home in Plumstead, SE London. Her boyfriend Vasile Bratu, 39, was jailed for life (21 years).

April 4 – Bardhok Pllanaj, 46, known as Kumbari, was gunned down on on the road from the city of Shkodra in northern Albania to his home in the suburb of Dobraç. Pllanaj had been tried and convicted in absentia in Belgium for people trafficking and has been reportedly involved in drug smuggling.

March 2021

March 30 – Reece Young, 23, was stabbed to death in a street fight in Croydon, south London. Ronald Kissaka, 34, has been charged with murder. Dwaine Harris, 39, has been charged with murder, escaping lawful custody and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker. Mr Young was fatally stabbed as he and friends paid their respects at the wake for 19-year-old knife victim Tai O’Donnell, who was killed on 3 March.

March 26 – Ten people, including a police officer, were killed in a shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, a Syrian-American, has been charged with ten counts of first degree murder. He used a legally purchased gun, a semiautomatic Ruger AR-556 pistol. In April 2022 a judge declared him mentally incompetent to stand trial.

March 25 – Phyllis Nelson, 76, was killed at her home in a block of flats in Plaistow, east London. Her grandson Donovan Miller, 30, was initially charged with murder but was convicted of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and given an indefinite hospital order. It emerged that he had sex with her corpse twice. Described as a ‘matriarch of the community’ and regular churchgoer by neighbours, Ms Grant had recently been released from hospital after recovering from Covid. Three psychiatric reports were written, and it was agreed by three experts that Miller was suffering from “an abnormality of mind” at the time of the attack.

March 22 – Renato Geci, 21, was stabbed to death at a house being used as a cannabis factory in Hounslow, west London. Vilson Geci, 29, survived. Shaddai Smith, 32, from Romford, and Jason Sebran, 38, from Stanford-le-Hope, were jailed for life (19 years each) for murder. Smith and Sebran climbed up a ladder and through a bathroom window, only to find the house occupied by the brothers, who confronted them. They were hoping to steal £100,000 worth of cannabis plants.

March 17 – Hussain Chaudhry, 18, was stabbed in Walthamstow, east London. Alexis Morris, 18, from Seven Kings, and Marvin Ward, 18, from Ilford, were both jailed for 16 years for manslaughter. Anthony Nguyen, 18, from Belvedere, Kent, was convicted of assisting an offender. It emerged during the proceedings that Ward and Morris went to Hussain’s house on the pretext of buying a designer jacket. Despite initially appearing willing to pay for the jacket, the pair then threatened Hussain and attempted to flee with the stolen item. Upon hearing the commotion, Hussain’s two brothers intervened and managed to detain Morris. An ensuing altercation spilled into the street, during which Ward inflicted the fatal blow to Hussain’s neck, which the judge said “almost went straight through his body”.

March 16 – Eight people were killed in shootings at massage parlours near Atlanta, Georgia. The victims have been named as Ashley Yaun, 33, Paul Andre Michels, 54, Xiaojie Tan, 49, Daoyou Feng, 44, Soon C. Park, 74; Hyun J. Grant, 51; Suncha Kim, 69; and Yong A. Yue, 63. Family members identified Grant by her maiden name, Hyun Jung Kim. Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz survived. Robert Long, 21, from Woodstock, Georgia, was arrested by police 150 miles away and has been charged with murder. The first shooting took place at Young’s Asian Massage parlour in Acworth. An hour later there were more shootings at Gold’s Spa and Aromatherapy Spa in Buckhead. It has been reported that the gunman shouted: “I’m going to kill all Asians” before opening fire. But it has also been reported that he was a “sex addict” who killed the women to remove “temptation.”

March 8 – Nikolai Vandev, 19, was stabbed to death in Tottenham, north London. Ali Tasyurdu, 18, and a boy aged 16 were convicted of murder at Wood Green Crown Court in Feb 2022. They were also convicted of GBH towards Vandev’s 19-year-old friend. The court heard Vandev’s friend had a feud with Tasyurdu on social media over a girl. Threats were exchanged on 7 March 2021 and the following day Vandev’s friend was attacked on his way to college. Vandev tried to intervene but was fatally stabbed. The killers threw the murder weapon – a Rambo knife – in Tottenham Marshes.

March 6 – Mazaza Owusu-Mensah, 18, was stabbed to death in Abbey Wood, SE London. Mohammed Al-Shihabi, 25, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 9 years for manslaughter.

March 6 – Victoria Amaning, 34, Ezra Okobia, 14 and Joseph Okobia, 5, died in a “deliberate” fire at their maisonette in Lewisham, south London. Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command investigated. While the fire was thought to have been started deliberately, no persons outside of those deceased were sought in connection with the investigation.

March 5 – Wenjing Lin, 16, was stabbed to death at the Blue Sky Chinese takeaway restaurant in Treorchy, in the Rhondda valley, south Wales. Family friend Chun Xu, 32, was jailed for life for murder. He had denied murder but admitted manslaughter. During the trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court, jurors heard he said he “did not mean to hurt the little girl. I wanted revenge on her mother”. He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Wenjing’s stepfather Yongquan Jiang. During the trial the court heard Xu was regarded as a nephew to the teenager’s mother, although there had been disagreements between their families in the past. In December 2020, the family entrusted Xu with £20,000 that he said he would send back to China for them to pay a friend who had loaned them money to start their business in the UK. Xu only sent some of the money back and gambled away £14,000, which he had then begun paying back.

Mar 3 – Tai O’Donnell, 19, was stabbed in the legs and left for dead on a sofa in Croydon, south London. His girlfriend Kamila Ahmad, 22, from Mitcham, was jailed for life (23 years) for murder at Croydon Crown Court in March 2023. Ahmad was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm in an attack on another man in 2015 and was sentenced to seven years, to be served concurrently.

March 3 – Sarah Everard, 33, went missing as she walked from a friend’s house in Clapham to her home in Brixton, south London, on a Wednesday evening around 9pm. Her body was found a week later in woods near Ashford, Kent. Wayne Couzens, 48, a serving Metropolitan Police officer, from Deal, Kent, admitted murder, rape and kidnap and was jailed for life (whole life). He worked as a diplomatic protection officer. He had abducted Sarah in a hire car, driven her to Dover, transferred her to his own car, raped her and then killed her and set her body on fire. Moments later he rang the vet to arrange an appointment for his pet dog.

February 2021

Feb 28 – Tyler Pratt, 39, was shot dead in Stoney Creek, Ontario. His pregnant fiancee was also shot. She survived but lost her baby. Tyler was from British Columbia but was planning to move to Toronto. Oliver Karafa, 28, and  his girlfriend Yun (Lucy) Lu Li, 25, were arrested in Budapest, Hungary in June 2021 and extradited in 2022. They are due to go on trial in 2023. Before the shooting, Ms Li appears to have been a social media influencer, and can be seen posing with her triplet sisters in multiple Instagram posts and TikTok videos. Her family told Chinese media: “We are deeply shocked, disturbed and puzzled by Lucy’s involvement in the unfortunate incident.”

Feb 26 – Ahmed Beker, 19, was stabbed to death by two men in Paddington Green, west London. His cousin, Ahmed Al-Shammry survived. Jaden Forde, 18, from Wembley, NW London, and Omar Ahmed, 19, went on trial for murder in Sep 2022. The trial heard Beker was not in a gang but was identified by his assailants as “Little D’s cousin”, a reference to his Yousif Beker who was murdered outside a KFC in Edgware Road on September 10 2019. Yousif Beker was linked to a gang known as the Lisson Green Men which was in rivalry with the Harrow Road Boys.

Feb 26 – Luke Bellfield, 18, was stabbed to death near the Peterboat pub in the high street of Old Leigh, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Alfie Pollard, 18, admitted carrying a knife during the incident and possession of cannabis but denies murder. The local MP, Sir David Amess, wrote to the prime minister about knife crime in the wake of the murder. Ironically he himself was stabbed to death in October 2021.

Feb 22 – Tyreke Watson, 21, was stabbed to death in Tottenham, north London. Momodu Samura, 21, was jailed for life (23 years) for murder. He will also serve a concurrent 13 month sentence for possession with intent to supply cocaine and heroin.

Feb 20 – Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her daughter Jellica, two, were killed at a house in Dundee, Scotland. Their bodies were later found beneath floorboards of the kitchen at the house. Andrew Innes, 51, has been charged with murder and awaits trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Innes is also accused of raping a seven-year-old child.

Feb 18 – Alan Murphy, 39, was stabbed in the street in Moston, Manchester. William Doleman, 27, was jailed for life for murder. His friend, Ademola Efunnuga, 26, was acquitted of murder. Jurors heard Doleman had arranged to meet ‘love rival’ Mr Murphy for a fight in the early hours, after exchanging threats. Lisa Hough, 43, who was in relationship with Mr Murphy and was an ex-partner of Doleman, was convicted of assisting an offender by allegedly helping Doleman ‘cover his tracks’. Hough went with him to Tesco to buy a new mobile phone and ‘posed’ as a couple with the pair holding hands in a scene captured on CCTV. The judge said she must have derived some “twisted pleasure” from the men fighting over her. Doleman’s older brother, Grant Doleman, tried to help the killer by misleading police at the beginning of their murder investigation. He too was jailed after admitting perverting the course of justice. During the trial Doleman tried to blame Efunnuga.

Feb 18 – Drekwon Patterson, 16, was stabbed in Wembley, NW London. Five men were arrested but have not been charged. Drekwon was not in a gang but strayed onto the territory of a gang who attacked him. Unsolved.

Feb 18 – Robert Ion, a six-month-old baby boy, died in hospital after suffering a skull fracture and an irreversible brain injury at his home in Widnes, Cheshire.At Liverpool Crown Court, his father Mihai-Catalin Gulie, 28, was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years for his murder. Robert’s mother Gabriela Ion, 35, was found guilty of causing or allowing his death and jailed for three years. The pair both pleaded not guilty but were convicted by a jury. On the day the baby was injured, Ion had left the house on Mersey Road to go to the shop before returning a few minutes later. Cheshire Police said Gulie told her that Robert appeared to be unwell and the pair began splashing water on his face and tapping his back in an attempt to revive him. The pair were both Romanian.

February 18 – Alfie Steele, 9, died at his home in Droitwich, Worcestershire. His mother Carla Scott, 35, and her fiance Dirk Howell, 41, went on trial at Worcester Crown Court in May 2023. Scott denies murder, manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of Alfie and child cruelty offences against her son and other children. Howell had admitted cruelty offences against other children before the trial, but denies murder, manslaughter, cruelty or causing or allowing the death of Alfie. The prosecution claimed Alfie was “repeatedly assaulted, beaten”, and “held” in a cold bath as punishment by the couple. Alfie Steele, who was covered in bruises, had been subjected to a cruel and “sinister” regime of correction by the couple, the jury was told. Alfie had 50 injuries all over his body. Scott had Alfie during a previous relationship – in which children’s services had involvement – with the boy’s father, and which broke up in 2017. On the day of Alfie’s death, , Scott rang 999 at 2.24pm, claiming “Alfie had fallen asleep in the bath”. Police noted that Alfie was lifeless already, he was not breathing and he was cold to the touch, so already cold, just six minutes after that 999 call.

Feb 17 – Gabriel Bringye, 37, a Bolt taxi driver, was stabbed to death and found in a car in Haringey, north London. David Adeyanju, 18, and a 17 year old were convicted of manslaughter. Three teenagers were acquitted. The trial heard that the gang planned to rob Mr Bringye.

Feb 15 – Jack Ampadu, 37, was stabbed to death at a block of flats in Kentish Town, north London. Dwayne Stewart-Akers, 38, was jailed for life (25 years) at Harrow Crown Court. The trial heard Jack had been friends with Stewart-Akers. On the evening of the murder, he had gone to visit him but an argument broke out between the two and he was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife.

Feb 12 – Claudine Roberts, 44, homeless, was stabbed to death on a subway train in New York. A 40-year-old man was also killed. Two other people survived the stabbing spree. Rigoberto Lopez, 21, also homeless, has been charged but is awaiting psychiatric evaluation.

Feb 11 – Hani Solomon, 18, was stabbed to death in Parsons Green, south west London. Abdallah Awil, 19, was acquitted of murder in 2022 but was convicted of manslaughter after a retrial. Ahmed Fatah, 18, and Yousef Chamint, 19, both admitted manslaughter. All will be sentenced in Feb 2023.

Feb 7 – Tyrone Jones, 37, was shot dead in Queens, New York. Isaiah Stokes, 41, has been charged with second degree murder. Stokes, an actor, has appeared on Law & Order, The Americans, and Power. Video surveillance from that day shows Stokes exited a vehicle before unloading 11 gunshots into a parked white Jeep Grand Cherokee, hitting Jones who later died of his injuries. The fatal shooting took place in broad daylight and about a mile and a half from where the victim lived.

Feb 6 – Sven Badzak, 22, was stabbed near a Tesco Express in Kilburn, north west London after being chased by six men from the South Side Killy gang from the south Kilburn estate. His friend, Bobby, who was 16, was also stabbed and needed open heart surgery but survived. The pair were not gang members and had been targeted at “random”. At the time Sven’s mother, Jasna Badzak, called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for whom she campaigned during the 2008 London mayoral race, to “help get justice for Sven”. Mrs Badzak said her son, who was planning on becoming a lawyer, had been in the Willesden Lane area “to buy some orange juice and get a bagel”. She said: “Sven was the person everyone was saying was going to be the prime minster.” In August 2023 Rashid Gedel, by then 22, and Shiroh Ambersley, 23, were jailed for life (27 years) for murder. Harvey Canavan, 19, who admitted manslaughter, was jailed for 7 and a half years. A fourth suspect, Lior Agbayan, has fled abroad. The two other members of the gang, Suspect 4 and Suspect 5, remain unidentified. Gedel was a drill rapper known as Broadayyay and Ambersley was a drill artist known as Shodyest or Shox. The pair had made several songs in which they sang about chings (knives) and chinging (stabbing). Gedel had four convictions for possession of a bladed article, the last of which was in March 2020 and had led to a 27 week sentence.

Feb 5 – Lavaun Witter, 22, was stabbed to death in the street in Croydon, south London. Alex Pasley, 25, from Coulsdon, has been charged with murder, the attempted murder of a 16-year-old boy and possession of a bladed article. Tyreece Riggon, 20, Julian Russell, 22, and Tyreece Wolfries-Parkin, 18, have also been charged with murder and await trial at the Old Bailey. Witter was known by the street name Lavz.

Feb 4 – Emma Robertson Coupland, 39, an NHS worker, was stabbed in the car park of University Hospital Crosshouse in Kilmarnock at 7.45pm. Around 20 minutes later her daughter, Nicole Anderson, 24, was fatally stabbed on Portland Street, about two miles away. The prime suspect – Steven Robertson, 40, died when he drove his car into a tree at 8.30pm.

Feb 2 – FBI Special Agents Laura Schwartzenberger and Daniel Alfin were shot dead when they went to search a house in Sunrise, Florida. David Lee Huber, 55, a computer consultant who was suspected of viewing child pornography, shot himself after killing the agents and injuring several others. Huber, described by neighbours as a “loner”, had surveillance cameras at his apartment.

January 2021

Jan 31 – Mohammed Haroon Zeb, a taxi firm manager, was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Dudley, West Midlands just after midnight on his 39^th birthday. In June 2022 eight men were charged with conspiracy to murder. In Jan 2023 two men were convicted – Hassan Tasleem, 23, who was the shooter, and Gurdeep Sandhu, 23, who was the driver of the car and involved in the plot. They were jailed for life. Shamraz Ali, 21, was convicted of perverting the course of justice. The killing was part of an ongoing feud between families dating back to at least 2018, including men being mown down by cars and a man stabbed to death. A man was jailed over that murder in 2019. Zeb – who ran Midland Taxis – was not believed to have been actively involved in the feud, but a follower of what was going on, and the reason he was specifically targeted remains unknown. Umar Ali, 20, Mohammed Rafiq, 19, Akarsh Tasleem, 25, and Choudhary Naheim Rashid, 47, were acquitted of conspiracy to murder. There was a hung jury in the case of Choudhary Akeel Hussain, 21.

Jan 29 – N’Taya Cleverley-Elliott, 20, was strangled at her home in Wavertree, Liverpool. She was left under a duvet on the bed next to her four-month-old baby which was in a cot. Her boyfriend Mohammed Diakite, 20, was jailed for life for murder. Diakite told the support worker Ms Cleverley-Elliott had been drinking and had beaten him, but toxicology tests carried out later did not support his claim. He also told the woman he was going to jail because Ms Cleverley-Elliott was leaving him.

Jan 28 – Tomasz Waga, 23, who was originally from Poland but was living in Essex, was found unconscious by a dog walker in Penylan, Cardiff, just before midnight. He died in hospital. Josif Nushi, 27, was jailed for life (20 years) and Mihal Dhana, 29, was jailed for life (16 years) for murder. Hysland Aliaj, also 31, was jailed for 10 years for manslaughter. All three had been extradited from Germany. During the trial in December 2022, Newport Crown Court heard Waga and a second man, Carl Davies, had travelled to Cardiff from London to break into a cannabis factory at 319 Newport Road and try to steal £120,000 worth of cannabis. An Albanian gang who ran the factory were tipped off and arrived. Waga was beaten with a baseball bat, a bamboo cane and half a house brick before being dragged out of the house and thrown into a silver Mercedes and then dumped in Penylan. Mario Qato, 25, from Tottenham, London, and Gledis Mehalla, 20, were acquitted of all charges. Mehalla had been extradited from Albania. A murder charge were dropped against Damjano Velo, 23, from Whitchurch, Cardiff, while Behar Kaci, 29, was charged with drugs offences and money laundering. Two others are still wanted in connection with  Waga’s death, they are Artan Pelluci, 29, also of Cathays, and Elidon Elezi, 22, of East Finchley, London.

Jan 25 – Romario Opia, 15, was stabbed to death in Islington, north London. O’Neil Cameron, who was 17 at the time, was cleared of murdering Romario Opia but convicted of his manslaughter. During a row between two armed groups, Romario was killed by Cameron, who ran away, chased by Romario’s two friends.

Jan 24 – Tiprat Argatu, 43, was found dead at her home in Whitechapel, east London. David Cheres, 19, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Cheres was having an affair with Argatu, whose husband, Silviu, was his good friend. Cheres and Silviu Argatu shared a house with two other Romanians. The trial heard Silviu found Cheres in bed with his Thai-born wife. Afterwards Cheres could not sleep because he was depressed about the loss of his friendship. He spent the night praying and watching violent anime cartoons including ‘Angels and Demons’. He then attacked Tiprat. Cheres stamped on her neck, breaking bones in her larynx and stabbed her with a pair of scissors with so much force they bent in half. He then hid naked in a nearby bin store before he was arrested by police. Cheres said he had applied to join the British Army the day before and believed he was being ‘tested’. He went running, read rules about Covid-19 and tried to repair a clothing rack as ‘part of the test’. He felt he was “going crazy”.

Jan 21 – Keon Lincoln, 15, was stabbed to death after being “set upon” in Handsworth, Birmingham, and died later in hospital. The attackers fled the scene in a car which crashed into a house a short distance away. Yussuf Mustapha, 14, was jailed for life (16 years) in November 2021. Tahjgeem Breakenridge, 18, from Oldfield Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham and Michael Ugochukwu, 18, from Twyning Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, were both sentenced to life with a minimum term of 19 years. A 16-year-old Walsall youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was ordered to be detained for at least 17 years. Kieron Donaldson, 19, of Aston Lane, Perry Barr, Birmingham, was sentenced to a 12-year custodial term for Keon’s manslaughter, having supplied weapons to those involved in the attack. Keon’s mother, Sharmaine Lincoln, who had been at home when her son was attacked, called the convicted teens “heartless, evil monsters”.

Jan 20 – Urantsetseg Tserendorj, 49, a Mongolian immigrant, was stabbed in the neck during a bungled mugging in an alley between George’s Dock and Custom House Quay in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, as she walked home from work. A boy, who was 14 when he carried out the murder, was convicted of murder after admitting only manslaughter. The court heard he has 31 previous convictions, including those related to robbery, violence and drugs. “Humans lack humans, we lack each other’s love, what we share is happiness and sorrows, but now it is very hard to live,” said the victim’s husband Ulambayer Surenkhor.

Jan 19 – Connor Lyons, 17, was discovered dead on an embankment near Ennerdale, Hull. His ‘friend’ Cole Jarvis, 21, was jailed for life (24 years) for murder in Nov 2021. The trial heard Cole bullied and belittled the teenager and on the night of Connor’s death, Jarvis lured him out to a field to go hunting for rabbits when he attacked him to rob him of his phone and bracelet, before dumping his body in the River Hull.

Jan 19 – Anas Mezenner, 17, was found with stab injuries in West Green Road, Haringey, north London, around 9pm. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead at 4.25am. Two boys, aged 16 at the time, were convicted of murder and a third was convicted of manslaughter. A 14-year-old boy was acquitted. The trial at the Old Bailey heard that while on remand awaiting trial one of the killers let slip in a recorded phone call that he had wanted “my first little juice on my blade”. Anas expected a “little scrap” over a friend’s missing phone but it escalated when it emerged at least three of the opposing group had armed themselves with large knives, jurors were told.

Jan 19 – David Oliver, 74, was stabbed to death in West Park, Greenwich, SE London. His grandson Ben Oliver, 23, from Bexleyheath, was jailed for life (10 years) in July 2022. He admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. He was cleared of murder. When he was sentenced at the Old Bailey it made legal history as it  was the first time a sentencing hearing had been televised in England and Wales. Only Judge Sarah Munro QC appeared on screen. The trial heard he attacked his bedbound grandfather as he lay “helpless” in his bedroom following a stroke. Prosecutor Louis Mably QC said Oliver had become “very angry” after learning of allegations against his grandfather of historic sexual abuse of girls. In 2016, Ben Oliver was convicted of sexual offences against a young girl when he was aged 15, the court was told. Judge Munro said this was “learned behaviour from your own childhood”. Psychologists appointed by the court described Oliver as “a very damaged man who will require psychological work in the longer term”, Judge Munro said.

Jan 13 – Paul Dalton, 41, a resident, was stabbed in the leg at a hostel in The Broadway, Wimbledon, south west London and bled to death. A fellow resident, Mongo ‘Ed’ Bolili, 33, was jailed for life (23 years) for murder. The trial heard Dalton was killed simply because he had slammed a door, which annoyed Bolili, Danny Webster, 30, and Ian Matu, 26, were acquitted of perverting the course of justice.

Jan 11 – Leon Street, 48, a delivery driver, was stabbed in Neasden, north west London. Amine Laouar, 20, was jailed for life (38 years) for murder and was also convicted of attacking Mirvais Khan in Neasden Lane 10 minutes before killing Street. He was also convicted of an attack six days later on Mitul Karaniya, also in Neasden Lane. After Street was killed a Section 60 was authorised for Barn Hill, Welsh Harp, Tokyngton, Preston and Stonebridge following the attacks but it turned out the killings were not gang-related. In fact the victims were chosen at random and there was no obvious motive. Giving evidence, Laouar claimed he had been framed by the real killer and the prosecution had the wrong man.

Jan 11 – Lewis Williams, 20, was shot in Mexborough, South Yorkshire. The gunman, Taylor Meanley, 17, was jailed for life (21 years) at Sheffield Crown Court in Nov 2021. Jack Parkes, 21, was jailed for life (27 years) for murder while Joe Anderton, 18, from Doncaster, and Arlind Nika, 16, from London, were jailed for 12 years for manslaughter. The court heard Mr Williams was targeted due to his links with a gang known as the Pitsmoor Shotta Boys.  During the trial, jurors heard that the four defendants toured the area in a Jaguar car looking for Mr Williams. The mothers of Meanley and Parkes had been subjected to attacks which drove these defendants to seek revenge on the gang they held responsible.

Jan 10 – Dainius Kulboka, 44, and Jonas Semenas, 45, Lithuanian nationals, were stabbed to death at a flat in Ilford, east London. Vepkhvia Laliashivili, a former police detective in Georgia who was also known as Vytautas Garmus, 51, was jailed for life (35 years) for murder. The trial heard he killed them after a drunken party to celebrate the Russian New Year in which they had together drunk eight bottles of vodka. He worked as a detective for the Georgian ministry of internal affairs before moving to the UK in 2005. The trial heard Laliashivili owed the two dead men £30,000. The sounds of the attack could be heard on a doorbell camera opposite the house, with one victim pleading for it to stop. His girlfriend Aurika Sivolova, 53, from Plaistow, was convicted of perverting the course of justice. After the killings he called her and she entered the house and witnessed the two men on the ground, before leaving with her partner and later helping him by dumping his blood-stained clothes in a black bin bag into a neighbour’s bin.

Jan 9 – Dean Ramsey, 30, was choked to death in his cell in HMP Glenochil near Alloa, Scotland. James O’Rourke, 52, admitted murder and was jailed for life (23 years). The High Court in Glasgow heard O’Rourke was seen shaking hands with other prisoners afterwards. He boasted: “Just because I am old, he thinks I am dafty. Well, it cost him his life.” After his arrest he told police: “I am guilty here. No fucking doubt.” O’Rourke had been in prison since 1992, when he was jailed for murdering a man in Airdrie. In 1997, he was then sentenced to six years after a prison officer and a nurse were held hostage during an earlier stint at Glenochil. O’Rourke was given another eight years in 2002 for assault and abduction then four years for further attack in 2004. He was next sentenced to eight years in 2005 for stabbing a prison escort and a senior jail official at HMP Kilmarnock.

Jan 6 – Brian D. Sicknick, 40, a US Capitol Police officer, was bludgeoned to death with a fire extinguisher by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump during the siege of the Capitol in Washington DC. He died 24 hours later. On the same day one of the protesters, US Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, was shot dead by a police officer as she tried to climb through a broken window into the heart of the Capitol, where congressmen and women were being evacuated. In March 2021 Julian Khater and George Tanios were arrested by federal authorities and charged with crimes that included assault of Officer Sicknick with a chemical spray. There could not be a charge of homicide because the cause of death had not been determined. Autopsy results were still pending almost 10 weeks after Sicknick’s death.

Jan 4 – Eileen Dean, 93, a resident, was beaten to death with a walking stick at the Fieldside care home in Catford, south London. Alexander Rawson, 62, another resident of the home, was charged with murder but was given an indefinite hospital order. It was reported that she was hit so hard that the stick’s broken handle was found embedded in her neck. The court heard how he had been been placed in the room next door to Mrs Dean after being moved into the home from a mental health unit a few days before Christmas. He was suffering from twin mental health conditions linked to alcohol dependency. Rawson had been in the care of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. During his time in hospital he had threatened staff with a knife and scissors. After being moved into Fieldside Care Home in Catford, he was distressed and he frightened a member of staff by swearing and waving a walking stick at her. Mrs Dean’s family have demanded answers from the Trust.

Jan 3 – Oliver ‘Olly’ Stephens, 13, was stabbed to death at Bugs Bottom fields, Emmer Green, Reading, Berkshire. Four boys and a girl, all aged 13 or 14, went on trial for conspiracy to commit murder. Two boys, both 14, deny murder. A girl, also 14, and one of the boys, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The younger boy, sentenced for murder, is given a minimum 13 years in prison.  The older boy, sentenced for murder, two counts of perverting the course of justice for deleting apps from his mobile phone, which he admitted, and for throwing away clothes worn during the attack, which he had denied but was convicted of is given a minimum prison sentence of 12 years. The 14-year-old girl who admitted manslaughter and perverting the course of justice was sentenced at Reading Crown Court to three years and two months in a young offenders institution. Judge refused to lift restrictions on identifying the killers.

2020

December 2020

Dec 30 – Natalya Pronina, 30, a Russian dancer, was shot dead by her bodyguard in Moscow. She had ironically just encouraged her Instagram followers to enjoy the little things in life and avoid negativity in the New Year. Alexander Kravchenko, 33, from the Crimea, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Rumours circulated that Pronina was in a relationship with an MP.

Dec 29 – Abiola Olalekan Akerele, 29, was stabbed to death at his flat in East Ham, east London. Akerele was a minor grime artist who performed as Nayta The King. Rayhan Ali, 18, and Junaid Sulaiman, 22, were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. Saeed Farouk, 23, and Harry Ehibor, 21, were cleared of all charges. Akerele had resorted to selling cannabis after being made redundant from his job as a travel agent during the pandemic. In 2007 Akerele featured in the BBC Panorama documentary, On A Knife Edge. In the film, which explored gang violence, his mother spoke of her fears for her sons. Akerele also described witnessing the build-up to one killing during the documentary. He told Jeremy Vine: “Don’t wanna get myself in, cos once you’re in it’s hard to get out. When you join a clique you gain their enemies as well.”

Dec 27 – Azaria Williams, 26, was stabbed 96 times at her house in Stockwell, south London. Her boyfriend Mark Alexander, 27, was jailed for life (15 years) for murder. The trial heard Alexander had forced her to take a pregnancy test to prove she was not having another man’s baby. She then poured the urine sample over him. A neighbour, Hannah Toumazo, told police she had regularly heard the couple rowing and on the night she died she told a friend: “He is going to kill her.”After he was arrested Alexander claimed he was not responsible and the killer was a man called Adrian Thomas who, he claimed, had slept with Azaria. Alexander also tried to claim manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

Dec 27 – Gbenuola Kingswealth Bayode, four, was drowned in the bath at his home in Plumstead, south London. His mother Oluwakemi Badare, 36, denied murder and manslaughter by gross negligence but was found to be unfit for trial. The Old Bailey heard after she was arrested, Badare told a custody nurse Jacqueline Donohoe that her son had told her: ‘Mummy don’t kill me’, before she drowned him. Badare, a paranoid schizophrenic, claimed she had forgotten her son was in the bath. But the court heard how she had been treated for mental illness for years and in 2017 confessed to medical staff she had attempted to drown her son, then a baby – just months before he was returned to her care in March 2018.

Dec 26 – Joe Whitchurch, 16, was stabbed at 5.30am in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire. He was taken to hospital but died from his injuries on 29 December. Jake Rollinson, 20, a small-time drug dealer, was jailed for life (19 years) for murder. Lorna Richardson, 25, from Stapleford, was jailed for two years after admitting perverting the course of justice. Rollinson, who had previously been convicted of possessing an offensive weapon, battery and affray, finally admitted to stabbing Mr Whitchurch, but in his trial had claimed he had acted in self-defence during an argument. During the trial, the court heard Rollinson had scared and threatened his victim days before his death over a £40 debt. Then on 26 December 2020, he blamed him for taking drugs he thought were missing.

Dec 25 – Finley Boden, 10 months old, died after being attacked on Christmas Day at his home in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. His parents Shannon Marsden, 22, and Stephen Boden, 29, were jailed for life for murder (27 years and 29 years respectively). The pair, both drug addicts, were described as “monsters” by a relative. They inflicted “vicious and repeated assaults” on their son, who collapsed on Christmas Day 2020 and was found to have 130 separate injuries at the time of his death, as well as diseases including sepsis and pneumonia. The injuries included a broken pelvis, broken shoulder, fractured shinbone, fractured collarbones, several fractured ribs and four separate thighbone fractures, as well as 71 bruises and other burns, with his blood, vomit and faeces found on his clothes and body. Jailing them at Derby Crown Cour, Mrs Justice Amanda Tipples said the pair were “persuasive and accomplished liars” who had both tricked social workers into giving them their child back after he was taken away due to concerns about his welfare.

Dec 21 – Billy McGuire, 25, was stabbed four times at a house in Mountblow, near Clydebank, Scotland. Brian Folan, 25, from Glasgow, was jailed for life (16 years) and Corey Craig, 28, was jailed for 11 years for culpable homicide. Jordan Morrison, 24, was jailed for eight and a half years after he admitted to the attempted murder of Mr McGuire’s friend John Higgins on the same night. The court heard Folan, Morrison, McGuire and Higgins were at a party at a house in Clydebank, where Angel White lived. When McGuire and Higgins fell asleep Folan said to Angel White that Billy McGuire was ‘a midget and an idiot’. Craig overheard and told McGuire later. A series of threats followed until Folan, Morrison and Craig went to Angel White’s house and attacked McGuire and Higgins.  Folan’s lawyer said the killer had been rejected by the army shortly before the murder and now plans to study theology in prison.

Dec 20 – Sonya Gregario, 52, and her 25-year-old son Frank were shot dead in Tarlac City, Philippines. Their neighbour Jonel Nuezca, an off-duty police officer, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. A video, shared on social media, shows him firing another bullet at Ms Gregario as she lies on the ground. The killings have prompted an outcry and renewed calls for police reform. Mr Nuezca, who was accompanied by his young daughter at the time, has not publicly commented on the incident. But local police chief Noriel Rombaoa told local broadcaster DZMM that he admitted to the killings. Initial media reports said a scuffle began after Mr Gregario set off an air cannon, made out of PVC pipe, which created a loud noise. A heated argument then ensued about the cannon and an ongoing land dispute between the two families. As Ms Gregario wrapped her arms around her son to stop him being taken away, the video appears to show Mr Nuezca shooting her in the head, before doing the same to Frank.Alyssa Calosing, who said she recorded the video, told DZMM that other witnesses said they saw Mr Nuezca beat Mr Gregario before she began filming. She claimed that after shooting the pair at point blank range, Mr Nuezca took his daughter and “walked off like it was nothing.”

Dec 12 – Neil Parkinson, 66, was hit over the head and then his car was set on fire in Cotheridge, Worcestershire. Mark Chilman, 52, was jailed for life (22 years) in August 2021. The trial at Worcester Crown Court heard Chilman was “obsessed” with his former long-term girlfriend, Julie Adcock, and Parkinson was her new boyfriend. He lay in wait for his victim, hit him and set his car alight to try and make it look like suicide.

Dec 12 – Roberts Buncis, 12, was stabbed 70 times on a patch of land in the Fishtoft area of Boston, Lincolnshire. Marcel Grzeszcz, who was 14, at the time, was convicted of murder at Lincoln Crown Court and jailed for life (17 years). The trial heard Roberts’ wounds were “consistent with an attempt to remove the head”. The jury heard Grzeszcz persuaded Roberts to meet by offering him £50 to sell cannabis. During the trial he insisted he had acted in self-defence and had “lost control” when Roberts, whom he accused of bringing a knife to the scene, tried to stab him.

Dec 11 – Andreia Patricia Rodriguez Guilherme, 30, was stabbed to death in a frenzied attack at her home in Croydon. Her boyfriend David Xavier, 38, was jailed for life (18 years). The trial heard Xavier killed her when she tried to end the relationship.

Dec 11 – Christopher Allbury-Burridge, 33, died from a single stab wound to the chest when a gang burst into his home in Kingsley, Northampton in the early hours. They came to steal a small amount of cannabis that he was growing.  Jordan Parker, 25, from Walthamstow, was jailed for life (26 years), Calum Farquhar, 24, from Leyton, was jailed for life (26 years) and Rakeem Leandre, 26, from Norwich, was jailed for life (26 years), all for murder, while Joel Cyrus, 26, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 14 years. All four were convicted of conspiracy to rob the cannabis plants. Following the case, Mr Allbury-Burridge’s mother Elaine Smith made a heartbreaking plea for more to be done to tackle drug and knife crime in Britain.  The trial was told the four men travelled from London in two cars to target Christopher’s home after making a number of reconnaissance trips in preparation. The group approached the house and Parker began to break in via the back door, smashing the glass and trying to climb in while holding a large knife. The noise alerted Christopher who went to see what was happening before he was brutally attacked. Parker claimed he stabbed him by accident. Farquhar’s case was highlighted by the New York Times in Nov 2022 for a series about joint enterprise. Farquhar admitted driving the group to steal marijuana from what they believed was an empty house. He told Liberty Investigates, a human rights journalism unit, that he waited in his car and watched a music video as the crime took place.

Dec 11 – Alinjavwa Siwale, 22, a rapper known as Swizzino, was stabbed at a house in Greenstead, Colchester, Essex. His latest track, called Mr Essex, was filmed at locations in Colchester and was viewed by 30,000 people on YouTube. Phoenix Lee, 19, was jailed for life (24 years) and Sheldon McKay, 25, for life (23 years). During the trial it was heard in the weeks before his death, Mr Siwale had told his music manager and “confidante” that he wanted to move from Colchester to Chelmsford as some young men had been troubling him.

Dec 11 – Kayjon Lubin, 15, was stabbed to death in North Woolwich, east London. Raymond McGill, 18, and Gift Osondu, 18, were acquitted of murder and manslaughter but convicted of violent disorder and jailed for two years each. Azhar Miah, 28, from Newham, was jailed for 17 months for violent disorder. Detectives from the Met’s murder squad established that Kayjon and his friend Miah had been involved in an altercation with McGill and Osondu in which they were all armed with knives. In 2018 Gift’s brother, Miracle Osondu, 19, was jailed at Wood Green Crown Court for 11 years for a series of robberies in which mini-cab drivers were robbers at knifepoint and people had acid sprayed in their faces when they met to sell mobile phones on Gumtree. Wood Green Crown Court heard.

Dec 10 – Malala Maiwand, a journalist, was shot dead, along with her driver Mohammad Tahir, as they drove to work in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The killings came after Nato and the EU issued a statement condemning recent targeted killings in Afghanistan. Maiwand, a journalist at Enikass TV and Radio, was travelling to work when her vehicle was attacked by unidentified gunmen. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the group’s involvement in the incident. Enikas has been targeted before, with its owner, Engineer Zalmay, kidnapped for ransom in 2018.

December – Morgan Keane, 25, was shot in the chest while cutting wood on his own land near Calvignac in the Lot, south-west France. Julien Féral, 35, a French hunter, went on trial in November 2022 and said he mistook Keane for a wild boar. Investigators said the hunt was “totally disorganised” and “intrinsically dangerous”. In a breaking voice, Féral said: “I recognise my mistake and I regret it. I have always said that. I am sincerely sorry to the family. It is engraved in my head for life. There is not a day that passes that I don’t think about it. I can only say I am sorry.” Keane’s British father, Michael, who died in July 2019, had argued with local hunters in 2018, telling them they were coming too near to his land. Feral was given a two-year suspended jail term and banned from hunting for life after being found guilty of involuntary homicide. The organiser of the hunt received an 18-month suspended sentence and a five-year hunting ban. President Emmanuel Macron’s government said it would tighten rules against hunting under the influence of drugs or alcohol, strengthen training and safety requirements and set up digital systems to warn other countryside users away from active hunting zones.

Dec 3 – Willow Lee, who was four months old, was found seriously injured at a house in Layton, Blackpool, Lancashire. She was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital and transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital but died on 6 December. Jordan Lee, 28, was jailed for life (16 years) for murder. During his trial, Lee claimed Willow was hurt when she rolled off a sofa and possibly hit her head while he played Call Of Duty on his X-Box. Lee had been left to look after Willow by her mother, Jade Bell. Shortly before 1.20pm Lee’s brother, Daniel, sent a text to Jade saying Lee was seriously not fit to be a father, and that he felt sorry for Willow. A few minutes later he sent a further text saying Willow had been crying all day and that Lee had been getting angry and shouting at her, but you had rejected his offer of help, and picked Willow up by the ankle. At the same time a neighbour could hear Lee shouting at the baby, yelling ‘shut the f*ck up’.”

November 2020

Nov 29 – Vincell Jackson, 52, was stabbed to death at a house in Chicago after a fight broke out about leftovers at a Thanksgiving dinner. He was the boyfriend of the party’s host. James Dixon, 28, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Dixon fled but was caught with a blood-covered knife.

Nov 29 – Maurice Taylor, 12, and his sister Maliaka, 13, were killed and decapitated at their home in Lancaster, California. Their father Maurice Jewel Taylor Snr, 34, and mother Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 44, have been charged with murder and child abuse. They reportedly kept their bodies for five days and showed the dead bodies to his surviving sons, aged eight and nine, who were kept in their rooms without food. It was not until a call about a possible gas leak brought firefighters to the gruesome scene. Taylor was a personal trainer who worked at a physical therapy center in Santa Monica and had been conducting training sessions online during the coronavirus pandemic. Some of his clients contacted authorities after he failed to show up for scheduled appointments, leading to the discovery of the victims. As of Jan 2023 they are still awaiting trial.

Nov 28 – Alfie Phillips, 18 months old, died after a night of “violent discipline” in a caravan in Hernhill, Kent. His mother Sian Hedges, 27, was jailed for life (19 years) for murder and her boyfriend Jack Benham, 35, was jailed for life (23 years) at Maidstone Crown Court in Jan 2024. The court heard the pair carried out the assaults after drinking whisky and taking cocaine. Alfie suffered 70 injuries to his body and had a “myriad of bruises”, broken ribs, arms and a leg, and traces of cocaine in his body. Alfie’s father Sam Phillips demanded to know why his son had been left with his drug addict mother by social services.

Nov 27 – Nathaniel De Sousa-Roper, 37, was stabbed to death in Enfield, north London. Joshua Gabbana, 24, was acquitted of murder by unanimous verdict at Wood Green Crown Court in September 2021.

Nov 25 – Hansa Patel, 62, a retired hospital worker, was beaten to death with a cricket bat in the lounge of her home in Drew Gardens, Greenford, west London while her husband took a nap upstairs. Their son Shanil Patel, 31, was originally charged with murder but was given an indefinite hospital order. He had suffered with paranoid schizophrenia since 2009 and suffered frequent hallucinations and psychotic episodes.

Nov 22 – Michael Morris Owens, 62, was stabbed to death near St Mary’s cemetery, Kensal Green, NW London. Cornelius Tully, 50, was charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at the Old Bailey and was given an indefinite hospital order. Tully was a complete stranger to Mr Owens.

Nov 21 – Ryan Helbert, 28, and Nathan Pastrana, 22, were shot dead at a Sonic drive-in fast food restaurant in Bellevue, a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska. Two other Sonic workers, Kenneth Gerner, 25, and Zoey Reece Atalig Lujan, 18, were wounded but survived. Roberto Carlos Silva Jr, 23, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and other charges. Silva also faces four gun charges and an arson charge for setting fire to a U-Haul truck he drove to the restaurant. Bellevue police said the U-Haul was on fire when officers arrived around 9.30pm and found the four victims. Silva was arrested nearby shortly after the shooting. Police said he was unarmed and cooperative when he was arrested but four guns were found at the restaurant. Three days before the shooting, Silva was arrested near the same restaurant for allegedly using someone else’s Sonic app to buy $57 worth of food. At the time of that arrest, officers seized three guns from Silva who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. He was released from jail Thursday after posting $150 bond.

Nov 20 – Paul McCarroll was stabbed to death at his home in Croydon, south London. Nicholas Jones, 35, pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was sentenced to an indefinite custodial hospital order under the Mental Health Act following a trial at the Old Bailey. Jones, who had sporadically been treated for mental health issues for seven years, was the son of McCarroll’s girlfriend. In the early evening on the day of the attack, Jones’ mother spoke with her son about when he was planning to go to sleep, said goodnight, and went upstairs to her own bedroom where she sat on the bed with her partner whilst they both browsed on their phones. At 6pm Jones climbed the stairs, rushed in to the room and plunged a 15 inch knife into Paul McCarroll’s torso, which entered his left lung and severed a main artery. Jones then immediately rushed out of the house and called the emergency services, giving them his full name, the name of the victim and stating that he had stabbed his mother’s partner because he believed that he was trying to “mind control” him. He also told officers who arrived at the scene that he had been hearing voices in his head for years.

Nov 20 – Joanna Borucka, 41, was last seen in Southall, west London. Her body was found in a suitcase at the Pay And Sleep hostel in Southall on 18 December. She was originally from Poland. Detectives want to speak to Petras Zalynas, 50, a Lithuanian national, who is believed to have travelled to Germany.

Nov 20 – Lauren Mae Bloomer, 25, a university student, was stabbed, run over with a car and then dumped on a doorstep in Tamworth, Staffordshire. Jake Notman, 27, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter and was jailed for eight years. He claimed the brownie he had eaten prior to the attack had something in it other than cannabis which had brought on a psychotic episode.

Nov 19 – Ramey Salem, 20, was shot dead at a house in Burngreave, Sheffield. Ricardo Nkanyezi, Jabari Fanty and Aaron Yanbak, all 18, were convicted of murder. Fanty and Yanbak got life (35 years) while Nkanyezi got life (32 years). They were drug dealers and during the trial, the prosecution said the Sheffield-based gang’s influence extended to Rotherham, Chesterfield and Mansfield and its members were determined to protect their “turf”. Another member of the gang, Jordan Foote, 20, was jailed for 30 years following a shooting at Osgathorpe Park in Sheffield, on 31 October 2020. Salma Shazad, 20, was detained for five years at a Young Offenders Institute after admitting conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to possess ammunition.

Nov 17 – Riches Obi, 25, was stabbed to death at a flat on the Rockingham estate in Elephant & Castle, south London. Suvenca Martis, 31, a Dutch model and dancer from Sydenham, SE London, and Raichell Felomina, 39, a barber, went on trial for murder at the Old Bailey in April 2023. The trial jury was told Felomina and another Dutchman, Jurick Croes, were involved in a sham marriage scam with Obi’s mother, Bernadette Ortet. The prosecution claimed Croes and Felomina planned to tie her up and rob her but did not bargain on her son being at the flat. Croes fled to Holland and then on to Colombia, where he is awaiting extradition. The trial featured a lot of messages in Papiamento, the language of the Dutch Antilles.

Nov 15 – Caroline Kayll, 49, a teacher, was attacked at a house in Linton, Northumberland. Her 15-year-old lover survived. Paul Robson, 49, from Wallsend, was arrested in Glasgow and was jailed for life (35 years) for murder. Ms Kayll worked at Atkinson House school in Seghill, Northumberland, which caters for children with social, emotional and mental health issues. The former MMA fighter, who has 21 convictions for 92 offences over more than three decades, kicked her in the head while wearing heavy work boots, slashed her with knives and may have strangled her. He had blackmailed Ms Kayll about her relationship with the boy and, despite her paying him £29,000 for his silence, launched a terrifying attack on the two at her home. Robson began an affair with Ms Kayll when she was a married prison education worker and he was an inmate at HMP Northumberland. He eventually moved into her home but after they split up the cage fighting coach threatened to “ruin” her when he discovered her illicit relationship.

Nov 13 – Kimberley Deakin, 29, was killed at her home in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Her boyfriend Lewis Crofts, 29, from Lytchett Drive, Broadstone in Dorset was jailed for life (16 years) for murder. The trial heard he was drunk and paranoid.

Nov 12 – Jamalie Maleek Deacon Matthew, 17, was stabbed to death in a street in Northwick Park, Harrow, NW London at 3.50pm. A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to his age, was jailed for life (16 years) for murder at Harrow Crown Court, The trial heard Jamalie was with a friend who had received a phone call from an unknown number asking to meet him to buy some cannabis. The caller was the defendant. When they met the friend handed over a number of bags of cannabis but the defendant then refused to hand over any money. He drew a knife from a black sheath which was hidden under his clothing to threaten Jamalie and his friend. Jamalie drew a copper pipe that he had in his bag to defend himself. He was then stabbed in the abdomen and the right shin by the defendant.

Nov 12 – Nyle Corrigan, 19, was shot dead in the street in Stockbridge Village, Liverpool. A man was arrested but nobody has been charged.

Nov 12 – Marie Gladders, 51, from Solihull, was stabbed to death at a house in Stockland Green, Birmingham. Her boyfriend Mark Masefield, 52, was jailed for life (20 years) in March 2021. Masefield had previously spent time in jail for the manslaughter of a friend, Anthony Pryke. In 1987 he hit Pryke with a scaffolding pole, wrapped his body in bed sheets and pushed it headfirst into a sewage drain. He only confessed to the murder in 2010 and spent less than 11 years in jail for it. Gladders, had complained to friends of Masefield’s previous violent drunken episodes towards her, including a blowtorch being held to her head. Masefield told the arresting officers he had killed Gladders and said: “Gingers are always feisty”.

Nov 10 – Grace Thorpe, two, was killed at her home in New Marske, North Yorkshire. Her stepfather, Adam Jackson, 27, was jailed for life (16 years) for murder at Teesside Crown Court. The court heard he exhibited a ‘spontaneous eruption of uncontrolled violence’. Grace, who was encouraged to call Adam Jackson ‘daddy’, was initially treated at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, before she was flown to Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where she died two days later. Jackson, who pleaded guilty. was in sole care of Grace at her mother’s home when he hit her at least seven times, fracturing her skull, breaking her left leg and causing serious internal injuries.

Nov 9 – Rodney Eubanks, 25, shot dead by police in Baltimore, Maryland. Police claimed he opened fire on them first. His brother was shot dead in the same spot two weeks earlier. He was African-American.

Nov 7 – Lewis Wenman, 17, was stabbed numerous times in Springfield, Milton Keynes, and later died in hospital. Alfie Pride – who was 17 at the time – was convicted of murder and detained during Her Majesty’s Pleasure. Pride was under the care of Northamptonshire children’s services at the time but was placed in Milton Keynes. A safeguarding review in June 2023 found Pride was identified as a “victim of modern slavery” at the end of October 2020 and within days had stabbed Lewis. detailed “multiple placements”, mostly outside of his local authority, and there was “evidence of misunderstandings and gaps” between agencies. Pride was excluded from school in Northamptonshire at the age of 12 and, despite attempts to find placements in alternative specialist schools and a college, he refused to attend or was excluded.

Nov 6 – Dayvon Bennett, 26, a drill rapper known as King Von, from Chicago, was shot dead outside the Monaco hookah lounge in Atlanta, Georgia. Another man was also killed. Timothy Leeks, 22, a rapper also known as Lul Timm, who was affiliated with Quando Rondo, was acquitted of murder. In August 2023, charges were dropped against Leeks under Georgia’s “stand your ground” law. In 2017 King Von had been acquitted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with a shooting that killed one and injured two others.

Nov 5 – John Soyoye, 16, an aspiring rapper known as MD or Morsley, was attacked by 13 young men wielding machetes and baseball bats in Kenyon Lane in the Moston area of Manchester. He was the leader of the M40 gang. The killers were from a rival gang called Representing the Danger (RTD), from Oldham and Rochdale. Francesco Raji, 19, and Christopher Semedo, 23, from Oldham, were jailed for life (21 years and 24 years) respectively for murder. Brent Tchipenda, 19, from Gorton, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder. Antonio Octavio, 19, from Blackley, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder. Ismiel Correia, 20, was jailed for life (20-and-a-half years) for murder. Nelson Correia, 22, from Oldham, was jailed for life (23-and-a-half years) for murder. A 16-year-old boy who cannot be named due to his age was jailed for life (16 years) for murder. Mohammed Al-Jaf, 21, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter and violent disorder. Police said Soyoye had been involved in a fight with Brent Tchipenda from a rival gang. After sustaining an injury, he tried to flee. In a second Manchester Crown Court trial, ten alleged members of the M40 gang were charged with conspiracy to murder after being accused of involvement in a plot to avenge his death. Gideon Kalumda, 20, Jeffrey Ojo, 20, Harry Oni, 18, Brooklyn Jitoboh, 18, Simon Thorne, 18, Martin Thomas Junior, 19, Ademola Adedeji, 18, Omolade Okoya, 19, Raymond Savi, 19, Azim Okunula, 19, denied conspiracy to commit murder. Oni; Ojo; Kalumda and Jitobah were found guilty of conspiracy to murder, and Thorne, Thomas, Adedeji, Okoya, Savi and Okunula were found guilty of an alternate offence of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. Adedeji was jailed for eight years. They were jailed for taking part in a private group chat on the Telegram messaging app a few days after the murder of one of their friends. Kids of Colour, a youth justice organisation which organised the march and the mentoring offer, said the case showed evidence of “thought policing”. It said innocent young people had been criminalised for sending immature messages in the throes of grief, messages which were misinterpreted as proof of violent intent. None of those named as targets in the Telegram chat were hurt, though three of the defendants went on to violently attack two other boys using machetes and a car as a weapon. Adedeji was head boy at his school and had produced a book profiling inspiring young black people in Moston. The book, called Something to Say, prompted his invitation to parliament in 2019, when he was 16. He had an unconditional offer to study law at Birmingham University, received while on bail. In Nov 2022 the New York Times highlighted Adedeji’s case during a series on joint enterprise.

Nov 2 – Vladimir Marugov, the so-called “Sausage King” of Russia, was killed with a crossbow while he was in an outdoor sauna cabin with his girlfriend, who survived and escaped through a window. The attack happened at Marugov’s countryside estate, 25 miles outside Moscow. Marugov was the owner of the Ozyorsky and Meat Empire sausage factories. Several intruders demanded cash from Mr Marugov, before fleeing in a car, the Investigative Committee said. The getaway car was later recovered on the outskirts of the town of Istra. Marugov’s son, Alexander, died in a motorcycle accident in Moscow last year. A man was arrested in connection with the meat tycoon’s death.

Nov 1 – Jason Diallo, 30, was shot dead in Ilford, east London. Mushin Mohamed, 26, was jailed for life (35 years) for murder. Tyrelle Joseph, 21, was found guilty of assisting an offender and jailed for seven years’ imprisonment. Jason had been cycling along the road when he was knocked off his bike by a Ford S-Max car. Two men got out and shot Jason in the head before they got back in the car and drove away. Just 15 minutes later police were called to a shooting around five miles away in Garvary Road, E16. A 27-year-old man was found with a gunshot injury to his shoulder. The motive for the shootings was not clear.

October 2020

Oct 31 – Eltom Mohamed Eltom, 19, was stabbed to death during a street fight in Kilburn, NW London. Antoine Roehrig, 21, was jailed for life for murder. Tyrell Thomas, 21, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 15 years for other offences. The trial heard there was a disagreement over some drugs. Cannabis, scales, snap bags and cash were found during a search of Roehrig’s home.

Oct 31 – Ildiko Bettison, 48, was found dead at her home in Chessington, Surrey. Her husband Keith Bettison, 71, was jailed for life (14 years) for murder. The judge dismissed Bettison’s claims he acted in self-defence but said he was “satisfied you were irritated by her behaviour that night” and that it was not clear he had meant to kill his Hungarian-born wife.

Oct 30 – Sarah Smith, 39, was found dead at her home in Greenwich, south London. Her boyfriend Ricky Woodford, 41, was jailed for life (10 years) after admitting manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

Oct 29 – Joseph Marafini, 15, was stabbed to death during a fight outside a supermarket in Earlsfield, south London. Another boy survived. Both were found near the Garratt Lane burial ground. Imran Boudjellel, 19, was jailed for life (22 years) for murder. Shaun Martini, 19, Abdulraheem Sanusi 18, and a 17-year-old boy were acquiited on the judge’s orders.

Oct 27 – Nimroy Hendricks, 24, was stabbed to death in Three Bridges, near Crawley, West Sussex. A 14-year-old girl was charged with murder and possessing a knife in a public place. She admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, which the CPS accepted. In March 2022 she was jailed for five years. She was never named.

Oct 26 – Julie Williams, 58, and her son David Williams, 32, were murdered in separate flats in Bell Green, Coventry. Three days later the body of Nichola McGregor, 31, from Leamington, was found on grassland in nearby Newbold Comyn. Anthony Russell, 38, a heroin addict, was arrested the following day in a red Ford C-Max car in the village of Rolleston-on-Dove, Staffordshire. He was jailed for life (whole life) in March 2022. He was also convicted of raping Ms McGregor, who was five months pregnant, just hours after she showed him a picture of her baby scan. The judge described him as “exceptionally dangerous and manipulative”.

Oct 25 – Giovanni Wallace, 29, was stabbed to death at his home in Croydon, south London. His girlfriend Charlotte Kerr, 37, was convicted of manslaughter at Croydon Crown Court in December 2022. The trial heard she claimed she acted out of self-defence after being assaulted but had no injuries. She claimed he strangled her and told her: “Is it a good day to die?”

Oct 23 – Bubacar Jabbie Dukureh, 17, was stabbed to death in Walthamstow, NE London. Samuel Bartley, 18, Jamal Dakissaga-Benitez, 18, Alfie Ferguson, 18, and Kaiyan Decordova, 19, all from Waltham Forest, were all jailed for life for murder in Jan 2023. George Makai, 18, fled the country but was caught and put on trial in March 2023. He was jailed for life (15 years). The court also heard that police found a video on Alfie Ferguson’s phone, which had been filmed and created in February 2021. The video, which was set against the backdrop of music, showed the front doors of a house on Westbury Road, which the prosecution say is an example of the defendant “glorifying” his role in the violence. The killing was a ride-out murder by a gang. The attackers were associated with the ‘Priory Court Boys’ or ‘Higham Hill’ gang who had rivalries with the ‘Mali Boys’.

Oct 23 – Carole Wright, 62, was found dead in the car park of Watlington Hill, a National Trust beauty spot in the Chiltern Hills on the border between Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire at 5.53pm. Her son, Daniel O’Hara-Wright, 23, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He was later charged with murder but in December 2021 he was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity at Oxford Crown Court. The court heard he suffered from psychosis and cut out his mother’s eyes because he believed she was a demon. After he attacked his mother, Mr O’Hara-Wright ran into a road and onto the bonnet of a passing car. The told the woman driving that he had “fallen from the sky” and asked if she believed in God. She drove the defendant for a short distance but he fled after they fought over her handbag and when another vehicle stopped. O’Hara-Wright was later arrested by police after he broke into a house,

Oct 22 – Fikile Ntshangase, 65, an environmental activist, was shot dead at her home in Ophondweni, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa by four men. She was involved in a legal dispute over the extension of an opencast mine operated by Tendele Coal near Somkhele, close to Hluhluwe–Imfolozi park, the oldest nature reserve in Africa. A 13-year-old child witnessed the murder. Tendele Coal condemned what it called a “senseless killing” and called for calm, in a joint statement with local leaders. The coalmine had been the focus of a protracted legal dispute between the company, conservationists, and some locals who are in favour of extending it for economic reasons.

Oct 16 – Michael Lavery, 59, was assaulted inside a flat in Coulsdon, south London. Patrick Beckley, 31, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder. He was high on drink and drugs.

Oct 16 –Louise Rump, 29, was killed at a flat in the village of Kensworth in Bedfordshire. Her boyfriend Habib Jackson, 31, from Toddington, was jailed for life (21 years) at St Albans Crown Court for murder. Police had been alerted by an alarm going off. The trial heard Jackson arranged to watch her poledance in her underwear after their relationship ended. But he then killed her and set the flat on fire. Jackson’s business partner and fellow security guard, Christopher Hayward, 32, from Houghton Regis, was acquitted of murder.

Oct 16 – Samuel Paty, 47, a history teacher, was stabbed and decapitated near the Collège Bois-d’Aulne in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, France. He was targeted for showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed from Charlie Hebdo in class during a lesson about free speech. The killer, Abdoullakh Abouyedovich Anzorov, 18, a refugee from Russia of Chechen Muslim origin, was shot dead by police. Anzorov paid two students, aged 14 and 15, 300 euros each to identify Mr Paty. They reportedly stayed with him for more than two hours outside the school until the teacher appeared. The case became a huge cause celebre with France’s President Emmanuel Macron calling Mr Paty a hero.

Oct 13 – Tamba Momodou, 20, a drug dealer originally from Rayners Lane in north west London, was shot dead in the car park of the Bridges Business Park in Horsehay, Telford, Shropshire. Momodou, whose street name was Teerose, had been acquitted of murdering Abdullahi Tarabi, aka Teewhiz, in Northolt in 2017. His murder is thought to have been in revenge for that murder. West Mercia Police appealed for help regarding the following cars used by the killers: a grey Skoda Karoq YB69 MUP, a white Toyota IQ AO59 UOX, a grey T-Cross GK20 FXR and a black Audi A5 SE14 VBO. Nine young men were arrested – from Northolt, Bromley, Tipton, Billericay, Redbridge and Blackheath. His murder is believed to be linked to the murder of Shakur Hassan in Hayes and to a feud between Northolt’s Ngang and the Rayners Lane gang. In May 2024 Deria Hassan, 32, from Octavia Court, Watford, and Mahamud Tarabi, 32, who gave an address in Glasgow, were charged with murder and appeared before Kidderminster magistrates. They will go on trial in 2024 or 2025. Tarabi is the brother of Teewhiz.

Oct 13 – Shakur Hassan, 23, was shot dead in Austin Road, close to Hayes town centre in west London. Jamie Ayers, 46, from Northolt, Guled Hassan, 21, from Southall, a 16-year-old boy and a boy, aged 13, have been charged with murder and await trial. A 15-year-old girl was among the bystanders who tried to save Mr Hassan’s life. He was believed to be a member of a gang from Rayners Lane who was killed by Northolt’s Ngang. His death is believed to be linked to that of Tamba Momodou on the same day.

Oct 9 – Lee Baxter, 34, was stabbed to death in an alley in Newbury Park, Ilford, east London. Syd Goss, 22, was jailed for life (29 years) for murder, Jermaine Forrester, 25, was jailed for life (29 years), Ryan Graham, 27, was jailed for life (27 years). Lee and another man drove to Pavillion Terrace, Ilford where they expected to buy a significant amount of cannabis. Lee had £5,000 in cash with him to pay for the drugs. Goss, Forrester and Graham were there waiting for Lee. Negotiations took place and at one point Lee showed Goss, Forrester and Graham that he was in possession of a large sum of money. As it became clear they were not bringing the drugs Lee began to walk away. Forrester then led the attack to rob Lee. After Forrester got Lee in a headlock, Graham joined the assault bringing Lee to the ground where he was stabbed. As Forrester and Graham attacked Lee, Goss focused his attention on the man with Lee. He was able to make it unharmed to the car that he and Lee had driven to the location.

Oct 6 – Poorna Kameshwari Sivara, 36, was stabbed and her son Kailash Kuha Raj, three, strangled at their home in Brentford, west London. They had been dead for a week. Her husband Kuha Raj Sithamparanathan, 42, killed himself just as the police arrived.

Oct 2 – Madison Sparrow, 17, was lured into woods and beaten to death with a baseball bat in Newark, Delaware. Her classmate Annika Stalczynski, 17, was convicted of first-degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon during commission of a felony, and conspiracy and jailed for at least 30 years. Stalczynski, along with Sparrow’s ex-boyfriend, 19-year-old Noah Sharp, conspired to lure the teenager to the woods behind Maclary Elementary School in Newark before they ambushed and beat her with a metal baseball bat. The grand jury also indicted Sharp, who was arrested a few days after Sparrow’s death, on the same charges. Sharp was later jailed for life with no parole. Text exchanges between the two showed Sharp and Stalczynski discussing plans, murder weapons, and how to dispose of the body.  Sharp told Stalczynski that Madison had been “spreading her business”.

Oct 1 – Brendin Horner, 21, a farm manager, was tortured, stabbed and strangled to death on the DeRots farm outside Paul Roux in the Orange Free State, South Africa Sekwetje Isaiah Mahlamba, 32, and Sekola Piet Matlaletsa, 44, have been charged with murder and await trial. They were allegedly cattle thieves. President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his weekly letter to the nation Monday, condemned Horner’s killing, but said the farm killings were part of the bigger crime problem. “Those people who think that farm attacks affect just a small part of our population are wrong. The farming community is an integral part of our economy,” wrote Ramaphosa. It was the 42^nd farm murder in 2020.

Oct 1 – Patrick Gomes De’Almeida, 25, was stabbed to death in Morden, south London. Gerald Atkins, 33, from Streatham, was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defence. Lewis Adams, 29, from Croydon, Leigh Wright, 28, from South Norwood, and Jamali Calvert, 20, from Croydon, were also cleared of murder and robbery.

September 2020

Sep 30 – Dr Saman Sacharvi, 49, and her daughter Vian Mangrio, 14, were killed at their home in Reedley, near Burnley, Lancashire. The house was then set on fire. Shabaz Khan, 51, fro Burnley, was jailed for life (34 years) for murder. Dr Sacharvi, a junior doctor with Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, had been assaulted and died from pressure to her neck, post-mortem tests showed. Khan told police spirits, known in the Islamic faith as jinns, were responsible for the deaths. The court heard Khan, drugged Dr Sacharvi by mixing diazepam, wine and fruit into a smoothie and then strangled her at her home. When Vian returned home from school, she was also drugged and killed, before fires were set at the property in what police believe was an attempt by Khan to “cover his tracks”. He had also scrawled “my mum is evil” and “this is a Covid house” on the walls, which the prosecution said was to suggest a falling-out between the two victims.

Sep 30 – William Henry, 31, and his friend Brian McIntosh, 29, both from Bartley Green, were shot dead in a car park for an industrial unit at the Albion Works, off Moor Street in Brierley Hill, near Dudley, West Midlands around 3.30pm. Businessman Jonathan Houseman, 32, from Stourbridge, was arrested in Carnforth, Lancashire, and charged with murder. He was jailed for life (40 years). The court heard that Houseman had previous dealings with the victims who worked together in waste clearance and had hired them to clear a site in Halesowen. He owed them £400,000. Richard Avery, 33, was cleared of murder but found guilty of perverting the course of justice and was jailed for two and a half years. The killings were among a spate of shootings in the area in a five-day period. Henry is the brother of West End Star Matt Henry, who was awarded an MBE in 2017 for his services to theatre.

Sep 25 – Sergeant Matt (Matiu) Ratana, 54, who was born in New Zealand, died in hospital on Friday after being shot as a handcuffed suspect who was being checked in at Croydon Custody Centre in south London. Louis De Zoysa, 23, has been detained in hospital, where he reportedly had self-inflicted gunshot injuries. He is reportedly brain dead and may never go on trial. New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern said she was “incredibly sad”, telling those who knew him that “we share your sorrow.” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressing his “deepest condolences”.

Sep 24 – Abida Karim, 39, was hit over the head and in the face with a hammer ‘at least 15 times’ at her house in Harehills, Leeds. Her husband Sajid Pervez, 37, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder. The court heard he was controlling and bullying.

Sep 22 – Star Hobson, 16 months old, was punched or kicked using “massive force” on a par associated with “a road traffic accident” and died at home in Keighley, West Yorkshire. Her mother, Frankie Smith, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter but jailed for eight years for allowing or causing death. Smith’s girlfriend, Savannah Brockhill, 28, was jailed for life (25 years) for murder. The court heard Star was caught in the middle of a “toxic relationship”.

Sep 17 – Jean Loeike Guei, 23, from Thornton Heath, was found on Commonside East in Mitcham, south London around 6am. His body had been set on fire. It later emerged that he had been stabbed in a flat in Streatham and brought to the scene two days later. Raphael Kokkinos, 33, admitted manslaughter and was jailed for nine years in Nov 2022. His mother, Sophia Kokkinos, 69, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and was jailed for two years. Aaron Williams, 28, was also jailed for two years for perverting the course of justice. Sophia’s other son Joseph Kokkinos, 30, was acquitted of perverting the course of justice, as was Michael Brain, 27, from Weybridge. Benoni Thomas, 36, from Cambridge, was acquitted of manslaughter. the jury heard Guei was a drug dealer who had entrusted Kokkinos with £40,000 worth of cocaine but it was stolen from his flat in Streatham during a burglary in August 2020. A month later Guei arrived at the flat after Kokkinos told him he was going to give him his money. After a fight, Guei was killed and Kokkinos recruited his mother and Williams to help him dispose of the body, Guei’s car, and his mobile phone. In 2004 Sophia Kokkinos was acquitted of attempting to smuggle more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of cocaine and 345 kilos (760 pounds) of cannabis into Britain.

Sep 15 – Jaden Christie, 20, was stabbed to death in Stockwell, south London. Jacob Koutouan, 22, was jailed for life (21 years).

Sep 14 – Joseph Garmson, 31, was stabbed in the leg at a house in Bartley Green, Birmingham. His brother, Roy Garmson, 33, was jailed for 13 years for manslaughter. The pair had been drinking together when a row broke out. Joseph said: “What have you done brother. I am dying.”

Sep 14 – Kamal “Dirtz” Nuur, 18, was stabbed to death in Islington, north London by two boys on bicycles. Melvis Mariano, 21, and Michael Lebbie, 18, have been charged with murder and a 17-year-old girl has been charged with assisting an offender. All await trial.

Sep 13 – Nahid Ahmed, 26, was stabbed to death outside a block of flats, Purcell House, in Enfield, north London. Abdi Ibrahim Osman, 43, was jailed for life (23 years for murder). Osman, moved into the block in January 2020 whilst still on licence for offences of attempted robbery, and Inflicting GBH imposed in 2016. On the night of the murder Osman was drunk and kicked Mr Ahmed’s car. Mr Ahmed got out and pushed him to the ground. Osman then stabbed him.

Sep 13 – John Avers, 47, was run over several times in the car park of an Iceland supermarket in Dagenham, east London. Bobby Ternent, 32, and his father Gary Ternent, 59, were jailed for life. Mr Avers suffered “catastrophic” injuries after he was held down by Gary Ternent and repeatedly driven over by Bobby Ternent. Mr Avers, who was a former friend of both men, had been picked up by the defendants in a “sporty” BMW and driven to the car park, in Whalebone Lane South. Bobby Ternent claimed the victim had asked him to look after £40,000 then screamed at him that the money was “short” when they arranged to hand it back. The jury heard he had tried to drive over Mr Avers’ legs to stop him getting up and had thrown the money out of the car as he drove away.

Sep 13 – Sierra Rhodd, 20, was shot dead as she slept at home in Cypress, a suburb of Houston, Texas. Emma Presler, 18, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Police said dozens of gunshots were fired late at night outside Rhodd’s home near Houston, and she was struck by gunfire that went through her bedroom window. Her parents and younger brother were not injured. Investigators believe the shooting was related to a feud between a group of people and Rhodd’s 15-year-old brother, and Rhodd was not the intended target. Presler was also accused of murdering Devin Graham, 33, a homeless man who was set on fire in Houston in Aug 2021. Karissa Lindros, 26, also sustained burns but survived.

Sep 12 – Anthony Higgins, 62, was stabbed to death at a block of flats in Wembley, north west London. His neighbour Victor Osei, 40, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given a hospital order. The court heard the defendant was suffering from a schizoaffective disorder, which was made worse by using skunk cannabis from the age of 17. At the time of the killing he had stopped taking his medication

Sep 8 – Suzanne Winnister, 66, was beaten to death with a marble chopping board at her home in Bexley, SE London. Her husband Leslie Winnister, 68, a BT executive, was arrested in the local pub and  charged with murder. He admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given an indefinite hopsital order. The court heard he battered his wife to death after she signed off a text to their handyman with a kiss.

Sep 7 – Adnane Bouchouf, 11, was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered and then dumped under a tree near his home in Tangiers, Morocco. The boy was abducted after being sent by his family to collect medicine from a pharmacy. A 24-year-old man working in the huge industrial zone of the port city confessed and was sentenced to death. Capital punishment is still in force in the kingdom but has not been applied since 1993. His three flatmates were handed four-month prison sentences each and fined 1,000 Moroccan dirhams ($80) for failing to report the crime.

Sep 6 – Maria Howarth, 44, was strangled at her home in Greenhill, Sheffield. She died in hospital two days later. Her lover David Bestwick, aged 60, from Woodseats, Sheffield, was jailed for life (17 years). The court heard he sunk 11 pints of Strongbow at his and Ms Howarth’s local pub, the White Swan, and they then tried to have sex. When he was unable to perform he strangled her in a fit of rage.

Sep 6 – Jacob Billington, 23, was stabbed to death and seven others were injured at four locations in central Birmingham over a period of 90 minutes in the early hours of a Sunday morning. Zephaniah McLeod, 27, from Selly Oak, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter and four counts of attempted murder and was jailed for life (21 years). Judge Justice Pepperall said he would be detained at Ashworth hospital for “as long as necessary” and would see out the remainder of his term in prison. He had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was “well-known” to mental health services at the time of the apparently random attacks. Mr Billington, from Crosby, Merseyside, was stabbed in Irving Street while enjoying a night out with friends. The killing took place during the COVID-19 crisis but before the 10pm curfew was introduced.

Sep 6 – Sean Williams, 34, was stabbed in the neck at 5.30am after a silent disco in Catford, south east London. A 37-year-old man survived his injuries. Sanjay Lawrence, 38, from Brockley, has been charged with the murder and awaits trial. The event was an unlicensed music event during the COVID-19 crisis.

Sep 6 – Abu Yusuf Twaha, 69, was pushed over and stomped in the street outside a homeless hostel in Hackney, east London. He died in hospital on 18 Feb 2021. Jordan Graham, 25, was jailed for life (15 years) for murder.

Sep 5 – Anthony Adekola, 22, was stabbed nine times in Colindale, north west London as he walked home from his job at Marks and Spencer. Tajuan Subaran, 18, was jailed for life (22 years) for murder and two 17-year-olds were given minimum terms of 18 years, and 17 years and six months. They cannot be named for legal reasons.  The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a fourth defendant, Christian Medina, 20, who was discharged. At the start of the trial in July 2021 prosecutor William Emlyn Jones QC said the alleged background to the murder was a postcode rivalry between groups in NW4 and NW9. He said the attack was a “ride out” and Mr Adekola had no connections to any gangs but was just a convenient target and was attacked at random. Judge Simon Mayo said the intention of the defendants was to find and murder anyone they came across in the NW9 postcode and “thereby seek to score a point against a rival gang who operate in that area”.

September 1 – Lorraine Cox, 32, was killed at a flat in Exeter. Azam Mangori, 24, from Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for life (20 years) for murder, having previously admitted preventing a lawful burial. Exeter Crown Court heard Mangori, an Iraqi Kurd who was denied asylum in December 2018, followed Ms Cox through the streets and persuaded her to go to his flat above a kebab shop after she went on a night out. He left Ms Cox’s body for a week in his flat but claimed he “panicked” and dismembered her, fearing he would be deported. The court heard after Ms Cox was killed, Mangori used a SIM card from her phone to send messages to her family, partner and friends in an attempt to show she was still alive. He also looked at amputation videos in the days before her disappearance, jurors were told. Mangori originally claimed his name was Christopher Mayer.

August 2020

Aug 31 – Dijon Kizzee, a 29-year-old cyclist, was shot 15 times by police in Los Angeles. He was African-American and his death came during the Black Lives Matter protests. A lawyer for his family, Benjamin Crump, said he “posed no threat“ to deputies when they fired a flurry of bullets. Sheriff’s deputies tried to stop him for riding a bicycle in the wrong direction. He allegedly had a weapon wrapped in a piece of clothing he was carrying, but said they were unaware of that when they stopped him for the “vehicle code violation”.

Aug 29 – Aaron Danielson, 40, a supporter of the right-wing Patriot Prayer group, was shot dead in Portland, Oregon, during clashes between Black Lives Matter and antifa activists. The prime suspect, Michael Forest Reinoehl, was gunned down in nearby Lacey, Washington by officers trying to arrest him.

Aug 26 – Naasir Francis, 22, was shot dead as he sat “a sitting duck” in a Lexus car in Lozells, Birmingham. Teeko Le, 17, was jailed for life (20 years). Darnell Donovan-Harris, 22, from Handsworth, was jailed for 18 years for manslaughter. The court had heard the shooting was the culmination of a long-running feud between Mr Francis and Donovan-Harris. Mr Francis’s friend, Lawrence Morgan, was acquitted of all charges.

Aug 25 – Yassar Moussa, 37, was attacked with an axe and dumped in undergrowth near a brook in St James Park, Walthamstow, NE London. Richard Hand, 43, has been jailed for life (30 years) for murder. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of another man and being in possession of an offensive weapon in relation to that offence. The murder took place when Hand was on bail for attempted murder which took place on 29 January 2020.

Aug 24 – Balvinder Gahir, 54, was found dead at her home in Lillington, near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. She had died of head injuries during a frenzied attack. Her ex-husband Jasbinder Gahir, 57, was jailed for life (28 years) for murder. Her son Rohan Gahir, 23, was found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice and jailed for three-and-a-half years. Coventry Crown Court heard Mr Gahir had remortgaged the family home without her knowledge and used some of the money to buy a flat in Slough. His wife obtained a court order that he pay her £30,000 and this sent him into a rage.

Aug 22 – Thomas Rogers, 26, was a passenger in a Vauxhall Astra when he was knifed in the heart through an open window in a frenzied 30-second attack in broad daylight in Edgbaston, Birmingham. His brother David Rogers, 33, was convicted of murder and jailed for life (18 years) and another brother Samuel Rogers, 30, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter at Birmingham Crown Court and jailed for nine years. Two other men, Ryan Hurt, 22, and Macauley Welby, 22, were both cleared of murder. Jurors heard the pair carried out the attack following a bitter family argument over the treatment of their mother, Carol Rogers, who Thomas was living with at the time. In the hours before the killing, the oldest sibling, David, sent Thomas messages threatening to kill him. One said: “Bro come on I’ve come from Newcastle to get ya work that one out how can I be scared” while another said, “Your a waste man, I’m gunna kill you right.”

https://www.joe.co.uk/news/shocking-footage-shows-moment-man-is-killed-by-his-own-brothers-294152

Aug 20 – Salem Koudou, 20, a drill rapper better known as 16Shotz, was stabbed 35 times after being chased into a cul-de-sac near the postal sorting office off Brixton Road in Stockwell, south London. Yaseen Bullock, 18, was convicted of murder at the first trial in 2021. Darius Kwakye, 27, was convicted of murder at the second trial in 2022. Bullock was jailed for life (17.5 years) and Kwakye was jailed for life (19 years) at Woolwich Crown Court on 10 July 2023. The jury was told Mr Koudou was a member of Stockwell-based gang All ‘Bout Money (ABM) which was in violent dispute with gangs known as 17 or Wandsworth Road, One Five O (150) or Get Back Gang (GBG), and Four Ten (410). His killers were from the 150 and 410. Donte McCalla, 20, and Tristan Bullock, 19, were acquitted of murder and manslaughter at that same trial. Two other men – Mickel Carty, 19, and Shaquile Graham, 27, were acquitted of Koudou’s murder at a third trial, at Woolwich Crown Court in Jan 2023. Carty was a drill rapper known as Lil Rass and Graham was known as MDargg. Koudou and two other members of the Stockwell-based All ‘Bout Money (ABM) gang, in a stolen VW Golf, entered the Angell Town estate in Brixton where members of the 150 gang were celebrating the birthday of Tyreicke Williams, a rapper known as Stickz. The Golf crashed into Kwakye’s Mercedes car and then turned over and the other two men who came with Koudou ran away. Police later found 14 live rounds of ammunition in the Golf and believe one of the other ABM men had been armed with a gun. Koudou, who was armed with a Black Panther machete with a 45 cm serrated blade, got out of the overturned car and ran after Williams, stabbing him. But the tables were then turned and other gang members chased Koudou across the Brixton Road, cornered him and killed him. Two other men – Mickel Carty, 19, and Shaquile Graham, 27, are due to go on trial for Koudou’s murder at Woolwich Crown Court in Jan 2023.

Aug 19 – Malik Goncalves, 11 weeks old, was found dead with multiple injuries at a flat in Harlow, Essex. His mother Eloddie Goncalves, 33, was jailed for life (17 years) at Chelmsford Crown Court for murder. At the time she was subject to a social services safety plan at the time, stipulating she must not drink alcohol or be left alone with Malik. Goncalves broke down in tears as her barrister spoke in her defence and explained how she had schizoaffective disorder. Her partner Muritala Olaiya-Imam, 37, was also jailed for 10 years for his part in Malik’s death. The court heard Olaiya-Imama, a Nigerian national, had been working illegally in the UK under a false name and could face deportation.

Aug 17 – Graham Williamson, 26, was shot dead in the garden of his home in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Derek Felvus, 25, and Thomas Duris, 28, were jailed for life (23 years) and James Baillie, 26, was jailed for life (21 years). The trial in June 2022 heard there was a tit-for-tat feud between Williamson and his friends, and rival drug dealer Felvus. At one point Williamson and others had confronted Felvus and a friend at The Shanghai Teahouse Chinese restaurant in Bothwell. He was caught on camera trying to hold a door closed while begging staff for a weapon. The footage was then put on Instagram. Felvus was furious and threatened revenge. He took to social media, posting a video directed at his rivals stating: “See you soon boys.” Duris flew over from Spain and was the gunman and Baillie was hired as the getaway driver.

Aug 16 – Dylan Freeman, 10, was found dead in Acton, west London. He had been asphyiated with a sponge which was pushed down his throat. His mother Olga Freeman, 40, a Russian national, was charged with murder but she admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given a hospital order. Dylan’s father Dean Freeman, a celebrity photographer, was in Spain when his ex-wife killed their disabled son. Mr Freeman’s work includes campaigns with Bollywood star Deepika Padukone and Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper. The judge said Dylan was “an indirect victim of interruption to normal life caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.” Dylan had autism, Cohen syndrome – which is linked to abnormalities in many parts of the body – and significant difficulties with language and communication. Prosecutor Gareth Patterson QC said Dylan required round-the-clock care and had attended a special school five days a week but had been unable to go during the lockdown as it had shut.

Aug 15 – Reece Cox, 24, from Dudley, was found with serious head injuries outside The Clifton pub in Sedgley, West Midlands after a brawl. Wayne Burke, 22, of Pensnett, Shane Jones, 25,  Sebastian Jones, 19, Shaquel Halliday, 22, of Lower Gornal, and Adam Ashwin, 19, from Sedgley, were all jailed for life for murder. Ryan Nickin, 23, who was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter at Wolverhampton Crown Court, was given a 12 year prison sentence. Shane Jones, Wayne Burke, and Shaquel Halliday were given a minimum term of 18 years. Sebastian Jones, was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years, while Adam Ashwin,  will serve a minimum of 16-and-a-half years. Tyrone Halliday, 24, pleaded guilty to affray and was given a two year community order and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. Joe Williams, 18, who admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, was given a 10 month prison term, suspended for two years.

Aug 12 – Timur Gokcedag, seven, was drowned at his home in the Isle of Dogs, London. His mother Yulia Gokcedag, 35, was found hanged. She was a Russian cancer sufferer who was married to a Turkish investment banker, Mehmet. She was reportedly worried about delayed to her chemotherapy being caused by the coronavirus pandemic. An inquest was held in Dec 2020.

Aug 12 – Jeffrey Wegbe, 26, was shot dead at his home in Kilburn, north west London just after midnight. He was known to friends as Gucci or Gucc because of his love of the fashion label. He was a drill artist with the SSK in south Kilburn. Unsolved. £20,000 reward offered.

Aug 9 – Eleven people, including three children and a pregnant woman, died when a fire broke out on the 11^th floor of a block of flats in Bohumin, 190 miles east of Prague in the Czech Republic. Six people died in the fire while five died when they jumped to their deaths. A racist anti-gypsy article was published on a Czech website in the aftermath of the fire and the author has been charged with a hate crime. Many of the victims were originally reported to be of Romani origin but it transpired the motive was not racist. Zdeněk Konopka, 54, was jailed for life for murder. He was allegedly drunk when he turned up at a birthday party at a flat occupied by his son Lukas, 30, who died, along with his grandson Dominik, nine. Konopka was reportedly angry that his wife, Silvia, had left him and moved in with her son. The fire also killed Lukas’s girlfriend, Lenka – whose birthday it was. Her mother survived. Konopka was given a life sentence, which was upheld by the regional court in Ostrava. The trial heard Konopka – who had his son Marek’s name tattooed on the back of his head after he died in 2009, aged 19 – was simply an embittered man who hated his surviving son, Lukáš. He had threatened that he would cut him. Constant arguments and threats culminated in the burning of a block of flats full of celebrating relatives and their friends. “We cannot imagine the hardships, the damage they are going through. They have no satisfaction. The defendant’s perception of guilt is minimal. He blames everything on the woman for leaving him. The defendant will most likely never pay for the damages suffered, he has nothing,” said prosecution lawyer Petr Kausta.

Aug 9 – Kaylee-Jayde Priest, three, was beath to death at her home in Solihull, West Midlands. Her mother Nicola Priest, 23, was jailed for 15 years for manslaughter and her lover Callum Redfern, 22, from Dudley, was jailed for 14 years for manslaughter. The trial heard the couple lost their temper after Kaylee-Jayde woke up and started crying while they were having sex. Experts likened her wounds to those of a child hit by a car at 40mph, or from falling three floors on to a concrete floor. Medical examinations showed Kaylee-Jayde had also suffered historical injuries including broken ribs, lower leg fractures and a broken sternum. In his police interview, asked how the girl’s death had affected him, Redfern replied: “It’s not my child… it’s not really affected me.” Both blamed each other at the trial.

Aug 9 – Gary Ballett, 66, was stabbed to death at Trinidad House (a block in Rossmore Road, Poole, Dorset. Christopher Stocks, 54, was charged with murder and went on trial at Salisbury Crown Court in Feb 2022. But Stocks caught COVID-19 at Winchester prison and died before the trial could be concluded. He died at Royal Hampshire County Hospital on March 10, 2022. The trial heard there was a row at over-50s accommodation. Stocks threatened to “stab or shoot” people over noise just a day before he killed Ballett. Stocks had objected to neighbour Barry Tucker – who lived below him – inviting friends, including Gary Ballett, to sit outside his ground-floor flat, during the pandemic. Prosecuting, Alastair Malcolm QC told the court Stocks shouted out from his window “if you don’t shut up, I’m going to come down and stab you or shoot you”.

Aug 8 – Jeremy Meneses-Chalarca, 17, from south London, was stabbed to death in broad daylight during a fight in Market Place, just off Oxford Street in central London. Several teenagers were arrested but, as of Dec 2020, none has been charged with murder. One of Jeremy’s friends, Ocean Rowe, 18, from Borough, was sentenced to two years in prison for attempted grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place

Aug 8 – Esther Egbon, 30, a healthcare assistant, had her throat slashed at her home in Dagenham, Essex. Her boyfriend Igie Erabor, 36, was found dead nearby. He is believed to have killed her and then cut his own throat. She worked night shifts at King George Hospital in Goodmayes during the coronavirus pandemic.

August 6 – Therasia Gordon, 44, a sex worker, from Edmonton, was killed and her body was dumped in a wooded are in Burnt Farm Ride, near Enfield. Brian Sengendo, 25, from Enfield, was convicted of her murder, the attempted murder of two other women and making threats to kill and was jailed for life. Judge John Hillen praised police for catching a potential serial killer. He said: “This is, to use a journalist vernacular, a Ripper case where an offender has been caught.” Sengendo, who had a collection of Tarot cards, was recorded on his mobile phone talking about devils and demons, and told one victim “repeat after me, I’m the Devil’s child” as he forced her into a sex act.

Aug 3 – Katie Simpson, 21, a showjumper, was raped and murdered in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Jonathan Creswell, 36, was charged with murder and went on trial in April 2024.  Ms Simpson, who was from Tynan, Co Armagh, died in hospital almost a week after an incident in Gortnessy Meadows, Lettershandoney. The trial involving Creswell started at Londonderry Crown Court, sitting in Coleraine. Creswell had been granted bail and was attending hearings. But the trial came to an end following the sudden death of Creswell.

August 1 – Deborah Jones, 48, was killed in a car park in the centre of Nottingham. She was also known as Deborah Hendrick. Gary Parnell, 59, was charged with murder but convicted of manslaughter and jailed for six years. Parnell struck Ms Jones after she threw beer on him when he allegedly made a racist comment about her friend. The pair had been drinking with others in the car park. They had had an on-off relationship.

Aug – Hüseyin Eren, 24, was shot dead while on a family holiday in Elbistan, Turkey.  He was shot dead in front of wife and kid. He was the brother Zafer Eren, from the Tottenham Turks, who was murdered in London in 2013. His cousin Behzat Eren was killed in an armed attack in Elbistan. Another brother, Izzet Eren, was murdered in 2024.

July 2020

July 30 – Nathan Mitra, 32, was stabbed in Hounslow, west London. Khalid Abdi, 25, was arrested at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight from Norway. Mohammed Butt, 21, was charged in October 2020 after he too arrived on a flight from Norway. Butt and Abdi were both jailed for life (24 years) for murder. The trial heard how Abdi and Butt had arrived at a flat to collect Abdi’s girlfriend. A small group was gathered at the address, including Nathan. Evidence from phone messaging showed Abdi to be a jealous and controlling individual who was annoyed that his girlfriend was in the company of others. Almost immediately after entering the flat, Butt stabbed Nathan and tried to attack others who were present. Nathan managed to flee from the scene but succumbed to his injury a short distance away.

July 29 – Christopher George, 26, was shot dead in Sebastopol Road, Edmonton, north London. The killers escaped in an Audi A4 car. Roshane Watson, 23, from Edmonton, was jailed for life for murder. Watson was seen wearing a distinctive tracksuit in a drill music video uploaded to YouTube just a month before and was also seen wearing it on CCTV the day before the murder. Leo Donaldson, 27, from Haringey, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. Gizem Ozbahadir, 22, from Waltham Cross, Herts, was convicted of murder and jailed for life. Terrique Tomlin, 18, was found guilty of manslaughter. Nathaniel Donaldson 20, from Ponders End, was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice. He had previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation in relation to the hire of the Audi used in the murder. After the shooting, the Audi was hidden and dismantled. However, police managed locate it on 6 August 2020 under a tarpaulin.

July 28 – Abraham Haile, 58, suffered fatal injuries after being attacked inside commercial premises in Camden High Street, north London. Abel Mery Berhany, 21, from the Leyton Grange estate in east London, was jailed for life (18 years) for murder. The Old Bailey had heard how Berhany, an Eritrean national, had been tortured in Libya as a child before being granted asylum in Britain. Berhany had post traumatic stress disorder and undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia when he launched the attack. Berhany used a fire extinguisher to ram a plastic broom handle down the throat of his victim and stamped on his head 99 times. After the attack began an arcade manager ushered seven customers out and locked the door as they waited for police to arrive. At a sentencing hearing, it was said on Berhany’s behalf that he was remorseful and found it difficult to believe he was capable of such violence.

July 26 – Mohamoud Mohamed, 17, was stabbed to death and three other members of the Rusholme Crips gang were injured, after being attacked in Henbury Street, Moss Side, Manchester. Mohamed was killed by members of a rival Moss Side gang called AO, an abbreviation for Active Only. Daneaco Reid, 19, Jamall Walters, 18, Romeo Daley, 18, and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, went on trial in Jan 2021. They were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. It was later discovered Reid had filmed a video of himself rapping about Mohamoud’s death. Walters, who also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, was sentenced to 13 years and six months. Reid, Daley and the 17-year-old, who also pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, were sentenced to 15, 14, and 12 years respectively. The feud between AO and the Rusholme Crips dates back at least as far as 2016 when Abdul Hafidah was killed. 

July 25 – Alana Washington, 7, died after a drive-by shooting in Brownsville, Florida. She was shot in the head and was brain dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital, relatives said. Her twin brother, Aaden, was said to be devastated. The shooting also injured Alto Jacobs III, aged two, a man, and a woman. It is thought to be gang-related. Antonio Robinson, who was the getaway driver, pleaded guilty to murder and got 30 years. The alleged gunman Jarvis Baker-Flanders still faces trial, in 2023. He was caught on security camera following Alana’s family from a flea market back to their home.

July 24 – Stella Frew, 38, died after being run over by a white van in Sutton, south west London. The van’s driver James Martin, 27, admitted running over and killing her after refusing to pay her £50 for oral sex. Martin drove away with Stella Frew hanging on to the side of his van, the Old Bailey heard. As he zigzagged through parked cars, the victim hit an Audi and fell under the van wheels. Afterwards, Martin stopped to buy a drink before returning home. He pleaded guilty to causing Ms Frew’s death by dangerous driving on what would have been the first day of his Old Bailey trial and was jailed for four and a half years. Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay played CCTV of Martin driving his flatbed truck loaded with scrap around Sutton, south London, at about teatime on July 24 last year. A witness described seeing the truck parked up, with the driver’s door open and a woman leaning over giving oral sex. Police found a used condom nearby with the defendant’s DNA on it and cigarette paper with Ms Frew’s DNA on it.

July 24 – Lee McKnight, 26, was lured to a house in Carlisle, beaten to death and dumped in a river. Six people were jailed for life in July 2021. Jamie Davison, 26, was given a minimum term of 30 years. Arron Graham, 26, was given a minimum term of 26 years. Paul Roberts, 51, was given a minimum term of 20-and-a-half years. Jamie Lee Roberts, 18, was detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure with a minimum term of 16-and-a-half years. Coral Edgar, 26, was given a minimum term of 13-and-a-half years. Carol Edgar, 47, was given a minimum term of 13 years. The trial had heard Mr McKnight, who worked at Carlisle’s Premier Inn, owed a large debt to fellow dealer Jamie Davison, who himself was in debt to other dealers. Davison had hatched the plan to coax his victim to the “safe house” and recruited the “muscle” of Arron Graham and Jamie Lee Roberts, to “respond to events as they developed”. Coral Edgar had lured Mr McKnight to Charles Street, while her mother Carol, a fellow drug addict, provided the vehicle later used to transport him to the river. Mr McKnight sustained multiple injuries during the prolonged and sustained attack, which also involved him being whipped with a diamanté-headed riding crop.

July 24 – Frank Bulbrook, 34, a plumber, was killed after being hit by a blue van in Chislehurst, Kent. The vehicle failed to stop. Alfie Tullett, 32, from East Malling, was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter and two years for violent disorder. Bulbrook’s two half-brothers Alfie, 24, and Harry Boyles, 26, were each jailed for two years and nine months after being convicted of violent disorder. Three friends of Tullet, Jorge Blackman, 32, Ben Alexander, 28, and Tommy Rose, 27, were cleared of violent disorder. The incident was linked to a 10-man brawl at the Gordon Arms pub in Chislehurst which ended with two men being stabbed.

July 22 – Elias Biad, five months old, had his throat cut at his home in Preston Road, Harrow, north west London. His mother Mariam Benzain, 31, was acquitted of murder on the grounds of insanity and was detained indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital. Benzain said she was instructed by Allah to sacrifice her son. Shortly before 9am, she called her husband Abdelilah and told him she had killed their son. She said: ‘I slaughtered Elias..Allah told me to slaughter him. Abdelilah,  a street cleaner, found the body after his colleague drove him home. “The court previously heard Benzain, who also has two school-age children from a previous marriage in her native Morocco, had previously suffered postnatal depression, and was considered to be bipolar.

July 21 –Bernadette Walker, 17, was reported missing by her mother in Peterborough. Her mother Sarah Walker, 37, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and jailed for six years. Sarah’s husband, Scott Walker, 50, of Century Square in Millfield, Peterborough, was jailed for life (32 years) for her murder. Scott Walker was not Bernadette’s biological father but called him Dad. Her body has not been found but police have scoured open farmland near the village of Cowbit in Lincolnshire. The trial heard that the night before she vanished Bernadette told her mother Scott Walker had been sexually abusing her. Scott Walker claimed she got out of his car and ran off.

July 20 – Glenroy Joseph, 60, was stabbed at a house in Elfwine Road, Hanwell, west London. His son, Leon Joseph, 36, was acquitted of murder after a trial at Isleworth Crown Court and convicted of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. He was sentenced to a hospital order under section 37 and restriction order under section 41 of the Mental Health Act. The trial heard that Joseph also attacked several people at random during a 15 minute period – they included a bus driver and man who had just left a mosque. Joseph was chased to Southall fire station, where he climbed onto the roof. He was arrested there the next morning.

July 19 – Dr Gary Jenkins, 54, was beaten to death in a homophobic attack in Bute Park, Cardiff. Lee Strickland, 36, Jason Edwards, 25, and Dionne Timms-Williams, 16, were all convicted of murder after a trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court and were jailed for life. They had admitted manslaughter. Dr Jenkins had been married and had two daughters but separated from his wife and was openly bisexual when he moved back to his home city of Cardiff about six years ago. Strickland and Evans had never met Timms-Williams before that night but the trial heard all three egged each other on.

July 18 – Seven young people were shot dead in a wooded area at Espinar, near Lake Gatun, Panama, after going on a swimming trip. Five of the bodies – including Leydis Mabel, Yeleny Yesibel and Marriota Villarreta – were inside an old bunker which had been used by US soldiers when they were stationed in Panama. The bodies of two sisters – Azucena, 18, and Yulissa Martínez, 21 – lay outside the bunker. Jean Carlos Hernández, alias Niñito, 23 years old, and Reynaldo Cuadra McBean, alias Reycito or Monstruo, 26 years old, went on trial in 2021 for homicide, abduction and aggravated robbery. McBean was given 50 years in jail and Hernandez 36 years.

July 17 – Skender Ismaili, 30, was stabbed when a cannabis factory in Enfield, north London, which he was involved in was burgled at around 4.45am. Ali Coulibaly 20, from east London, was jailed for 11 years for manslaughter and aggravated burglary after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court. Mason Harris-Williams 24, was jailed for six years for aggravated burglary, and Daniel Fletcher, 19, from south Ealing, was jailed for five years for aggravated burglary, Jahzeel Lewis, 28, of Halsbury Road West, Northolt, was jailed for seven years for aggravated burglary and Ahmed Yamac, 19, from Bedfont, was jailed for five years for aggravated burglary. Haseeb Nadeem from Raynes Park received a two year suspended sentence for assisting an offender.

July 16 – A 56-year-old tax office employee was attacked with an axe in his workplace in Kozani, near Thessaloniki, Greece. He died seven months later. A 45-year-old man entered the tax office, took a small axe out of a plastic bag he was carrying and attacked the man and two women employees in the head and face, shouting “Did you enjoy that?” and “This is what you deserve,” according to witnesses. A third woman was injured when she fell down a staircase while fleeing in panic. The man was restrained by two employees who threw themselves at him. He was arrested on the day and was charged with attempted murder and multiple aggravated assaults.

July 16 – Peter Petrou, 37, was stabbed in Kilburn, north west London during a fight with a man outside McDonald’s. Chihab Saleh, 23, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. The killer was described as having dark skin and about 6ft tall, aged in his late teens to early 20s and of athletic build. He was dressed in all dark clothing. Peter’s sister Tracy Meade was murdered in 1992 in an unrelated case. That murder is unsolved.

July 16 – Billy McCullagh, 27, was shot dead around 3am on the Stonebridge estate in north west London. A metallic grey Land Rover Discovery was found burnt out in the St Raphael’s Estate in Neasden soon afterwards. Issa Seed, 25, Adel Yussuf, 25, and Daniel Mensah, 30, were convicted of his murder in Aug 2022 and jailed for life (29 years) each. They were friends of McCullagh and had travelled with him in a Land Rover with at least two guns, to commit violence against the rival gang from Stonebridge while a funeral party was going on. Leeban Farah, 26, was convicted of disposing of evidence and George Orji, 31, was convicted of possessing an imitation firearm. He and his girlfriend Anu Adelaja, 29, were acquitting of hiding the guns used during the violence. Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC claimed the purpose of the “armed ride-out” was to avenge the death of Ahmed Yassin Ali, whose killers are yet to be brought to justice, the court heard. Due to the long-standing feud between the two groups, Billy and his fellow gang members held them responsible for Ahmed’s death and decided to take action, using a stolen car and covering their faces with masks and hoods, the jury was told. With a large funeral party taking place at the estate where their rivals were based, they believed that local residents would have their attention occupied, the prosecutor said. However, their rivals were prepared to encounter violence and were prepared to use their own weapons to “terrifying and fatal effect”, he added. Mr Glasgow said that after it became apparent that they were suffering defeat, Billy was left to die in the road as his friends escaped in the stolen car. (Kareem Lashani-Ewing, 19, was charged with conspiracy to murder.)

July 15 – Ahmed Yasin-Ali, 18, was stabbed in Maida Vale, west London, just after midnight. The killers are believed to have fled in a car down the Harrow Road. Seven men have been arrested but, as of Dec 2020, nobody has been charged.

July 14 – Donnie “Twin” Weathersby, 31, was shot in the head and torso in the 7400 block of South Stewart Avenue, Englewood, on Chicago’s notorious South Side. The killer pulled up in a dark coloured car. A 42-year-old man, was standing nearby, was shot in the foot. A week later, at Weathersby’s funeral at Rhodes funeral parlour on West 79^th Street a gang in a Chevrolet Malibu pulled up at 6.30pm and fired at funeralgoers on the pavement. Some of the funeralgoers fired back. The Malibu drove off but crashed nearby and the gunmen ran off. Around 14 people were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds but none died. US President Donald Trump has threatened to send troops to Chicago to combat gun crime in the city.

July 13 – Fahim Saleh, a tech entrepreneur, was murdered and dismembered in his luxury apartment in Manhattan, New York. His personal assistant, Tyrese Haspil, 25, was found guilty in June 2024 of murder, grand larceny and other charges and was jailed for 40 years. Prosecutors said Haspil had been hired as an assistant for Saleh, whose ventures included a ride-hailing motorcycle startup in Nigeria. But Haspil stole $400,000 from Saleh’s businesses. Haspil resigned a year later but continued to steal money, even after Saleh discovered the theft and let Haspil repay him over two years to avoid criminal prosecution. Haspil decided to kill Saleh over concerns that his former boss would discover he was continuing to steal from his companies, prosecutors said. Wearing a black suit and a mask, he followed Saleh into the elevator of the building, shocked him in the back with a Taser and Haspil stabbed him to death.

July 12 – Dean Edwards, 43, was shot dead in Betts Park, Penge, south London. Taylor Purdy, 25, was acquitted of murder. He claimed he was not the person seen in CCTV following Edwards, who had been at a pub and was walking alone towards Anerley Station when he was shot with a self-loading pistol. A 9mm cartridge case was found close to the body just off a path and a fired 9mm bullet was retrieved during the post-mortem examination. Mr Purdy said he did not know why a cigarette butt bearing his DNA had been found in the area.

July 12 – Pasquale ‘Fat Pat’ Musitano, 53, was gunned down in a car park in Burlington, Ontario, at around 1pm while meeting with two associates. A grey sedan sped off and Musitano’s friends Giuseppe ‘Pino’ Avignone, 59 and John Clary, 77, gave chase. In 2017 Pat’s brother Angelo Musitano, 39, was shot dead. Pat and his younger brother had been marked men since the deaths of John ‘Johnny Pops’ Papalia, a made man in Buffalo’s Cosa Nostra, and one of his lieutenants Carmen Barillaro, in 1997. Ken Murdock, the gunman in both murders, was hauled in and cooperated with police, informing detectives that Pat had ordered the hits. Pat and his brother Angelo were later arrested and, unable to shut Murdock up, agreed to a plea bargain. They would admit to conspiracy to murder Barillaro if the charges facing them for Papalia’s killing were dropped. In 2000, the brothers were jailed for 10 years each for their roles in Papalia’s murder. Upon release from prison in 2007, their grip on power had waned. The Musitano family is one of three mafia families in Hamilton, Ontario. The others are the Luppino and Papalia families, which tend to be closer to the Buffalo mafia.

July 11 – Jahreau Shepherd, 30, a mixed martial arts fighter, was stabbed as he celebrated his birthday with a party in a park on the Black Prince housing estate in Kennington, south London. His half-brother Dwight Freeman, 18, was detained indefinitely under a hospital order. As a professional MMA fighter Mr Shepherd had a 6-2 win record at welterweight, which included five knockout victories. His nickname was The Nightmare. Jahreau’s party was attended by people all wearing white. At around 10pm, numerous friends looked on as Freeman, wearing black and with his hood up, carried out a “terrifying, sustained and unprovoked attack with a large knife or knives”.

July 10 – Muhammed Samir Uddin, 19, was stabbed at Crossharbour DLR station in Poplar, east London. Hamza Hoque, 18, from Tower Hamlets, was jailed for life (27 years). He then stabbed Andre Riley in the back during the “senseless” attack. Judge Sally Cahill QC branded Hoque “spoiled, egotistical, power-hungry and evil”. The court heard that Mr Uddin and Mr Riley had a short conversation with Hoque to “make peace” with him when they saw him staring at them from the top of a staircase at the station. Hoque then turned to walk away before he pulled a black kitchen knife out of his fur hood and stabbed them.

July 8 – Donnell Rhule, 18, was stabbed to death in West Dulwich, south London. Kieran Robinson, 21, from Lambeth, and his cousin Sean Robinson, 25, were jailed for life (23 years) for murder. Eren Inniss, 26, from Bromley, was acquitted.

July 5 – Philippe Monguillot, 59, was kicked and beaten and hit his head on the pavement after being attacked in Bayonne, France. Wyssem Manai and Maxime Guyennon, both 25, were jailed for 15 and 13 years respectively in Sep 2023. Prosecutors said Mr Monguillot was set upon after asking a small group of men on his bus to show their tickets and adjust face-masks they were wearing over their chins. The attack occurred after the end of France’s first Covid lockdown, when masks were mandatory on all public transport.

July 5 – Khloemae Loy, 23, was stabbed in the neck in a room at the Holiday Inn in Greenwich, south-east London. Her boyfriend Taye Francis, 39, has admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility but was convicted of murder and jailed for life (23 years). He was discovered hanging from a window ledge after the killing. He went on trial in Oct 2021. Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon QC said Francis as a “violent, self-obsessed man who took steroids”. On the day of Ms Loy’s death, the 40-year-old sent a series of texts to people, including his lawyers, headed “Conspiracy to Murder”. In them he said he had told police that someone was trying to arrange his murder and attempts had already been made on his life. Jurors were also told online searches were made in the middle of the night using terms such as “Taye Francis rapist” and “Who is Taye Francis”, and he filmed Ms Loy while she was asleep. While preventing the emergency services from entering, Francis climbed out of the bedroom window in an attempt to escape but fell onto a roof below. He was treated at the scene and taken to hospital. Police forced entry into the hotel room, which Francis had barricaded by placing a sofa bed in front of the door.

July 5 – Jacqueline Hoadley, 58, a disability rights campaigner, was beaten to death at her home in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Her estranged husband Raymond Hoadley, 62, was jailed for life (26 years). The trial heard he was “fixated on money” and killed her for financial gain. The couple’s wealth amounted to almost £1 million as well as their marital home.

July 4 – Imani Allaway-Muir, 22, was shot dead on the Westbourne estate in Islington, north London. The gunman, Nathaniel Reece, 39, pleaded guilty on the second day of his murder trial. Demetrios Kyriacou, 22, was convicted of murder after a trial at the Old Bailey. James Nicholson, 34, Matthew Hardy, 34, and Darren Dredge, 38, were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. William Hardy, 70, Dean Walker, 31, and Hassan Hamza, 27, were acquitted of all charges. Imani was killed in revenge after someone stole Kyriacou’s Rolex watch.

July 4 – Natalia Wallace, seven, was shot dead in North Latrobe Avenue, Austin, Chicago. Reginald Lamar Merrill, 32, and Davion Mitchell, 22, have been charged with first degree murder and await trial. Natalia was on the sidewalk when a white vehicle pulled up and three men got out and began firing shots. Police said they recovered 27 shells on the scene. CPD’s Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan announced the charges Monday night, saying the shooting stemmed from ongoing “gang-on-gang violence” dating back several weeks.

July 2 – Kevan Ruffin, 32, was shot and killed by a police officer in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He had allegedly refused officers’ commands to “disarm” a pair of knives while reportedly charging at the officer. Ruffin was an African-American man with a history of mental health issues.  The Sheboygan County district attorney ruled that the use of deadly force was reasonable and no police officers were charged.

June 2020

June 30 – Sayagi Sivanantham, five, was stabbed at her home in a flat above a shop in Monarch Parade, Mitcham, south London. Her mother, Sutha Sivanantham, 35, also suffered a knife injury. She was taken to hospital where she remained in a critical condition for some time. She was later charged with murder but she admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was given an indefinite hospital order.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-stabbed-daughter-5-death-24400397

June 29 – LeGend Taliferro, four, was shot dead as he slept at his home in Kansas City, Missouri. LeGend was transported by his father to a local hospital where he died as a result of his injuries. The killing sparked US President Donald Trump to launch Operation LeGend, an attempt to send federal agents into cities with high gun crime like Kansas City, Chicago and Albuquerque. Ryson B. Ellis, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a deadly weapon and was jailed for 17-22 years in Dec 2022. Ellis has a child in common with a relative of LeGend who had sought an order of protection against him and was staying in the apartment the night of the shooting.

June 27 – Sincere Gaston, who was 20 months old, was shot and killed as he travelled in a car with his mother in the 6000 block of S Halsted, South Side, Chicago. His mother, who was 22, was injured. The shooting is believed to be gang-related. Unsolved.

June 26 – William Middleton, 38, was stabbed in the heart at his flat in Clydebank, near Glasgow. His wife Lorna Middleton, 36, was jailed for life (19 years) in 2021. She attacked him after claiming he had failed to stick up for her in a row with a stranger. The court heard she told officers: “Revenge is a dish best served cold”. At trial she tried to claim self-defence.

June 24 – Gary Henderson, 64, from Harwich, fell to his death from the balcony of a third-floor flat in Ipswich, Suffolk, at 2.30am after he climbed over it and tried to descend the building while fearing for his safety. Henderson travelled to the party in a taxi with Timothy Gill, who knew the flat’s occupant Rebecca Hibble. A post-mortem examination recorded that Mr Henderson had 313 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, which was “likely to result in an extreme degree of intoxication in an average social drinker. Three people – Mr Horsnell, Ms Hibble and Mr Gill – were initially arrested on suspicion of murder, with Mr Gill released and the two others re-arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, before Karl Horsnell and Ms Hibble were also released without charge. ”. Det Insp Matthew Connick said: “I think in terms of what his options may have been to him he seemed to think the balcony was the best option to him rather than walking past Karl Horsnell (who was also in the flat) and Rebecca Hibble.” He said witnesses reported that Mr Henderson had said “I’m not going back in there because of them”. He said Mr Henderson “started to climb down the railings like a ladder – that’s when he lost his footing and fell”.

June 23 – William Orlow, 44, was found mutilated on a ship, the Grayfox, in the docks at Port Huron, Michigan. Reginald Grasty, 43, from Detroit, was convicted of first-degree murder and jailed for life without parole. The Grayfox is a decommissioned US Navy vessel used for training sea cadets.

June 23 – Stephen Morrison, 30, was stabbed and collapsed after staggering into a petrol station following a clash between two groups near the Wakes Arms roundabout in Epping, Essex. His brother, Joey Morrison, is an ex boyfriend of TOWIE star Lauren Goodger. Another brother is a rapper. Fourteen people have been arrested but nobody has been charged.

June 21 – Rosemary Hill, 87, was cutting herbs from a bush outside her home in Reigate, Surrey, for her Sunday lunch when she was repeatedly hit over the head with a cricket bat. She died five days later. Her neighbour Guy Unmack, 46, pleaded not guilty to murder by reason of diminished responsibility on account of his schizophrenia, but was found guilty by a jury at Guildford Crown Court. He was jailed for life (19 years). The court heard Unmack muttered he “wanted to have fun” in the moments after the brutal assault. The court heard Unmack had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2008 and had been under the care of the Reigate Community Mental Health team.

June 21 – Abayomi Ajose, 36 and Cheriff Tall, 21, were shot dead in the early hours of the morning at an unlicensed party which was attended by hundreds of people in Moss Side, Manchester. This was during the coronvavirus lockdown. Nobody has been arrested and the victims’ families have criticised a “wall of silence” in the community.

June 21 – Noah Donohoe, 14, went missing in Belfast. His body was found six days later in a storm drain in north Belfast. At 5:41 pm he left his home in the area of Ormeau Road, south Belfast. He cycled on his black Apollo mountain bike and began the 6.7-mile journey to Cave Hill Park to meet his friends. They were doing a Duke of Edinburgh award, known as an “Inventure.” This requirement involved a planned group adventure pre-approved by an award leader. Noah brought a large khaki backpack containing his laptop and the book 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson to assist the group. a black skateboarding helmet, a khaki green North Face jacket, a blue tie-dyed hoodie, grey sweatshorts, Nike sneakers with a bright yellow swoosh. At 6:11 p.m, he was spotted cycling naked through a park on the Northwood Road estate. A post-mortem report indicates Noah drowned but his mother, Fiona, insists he was killed by loyalists and the police have covered it up. Her supporters are known as Noah’s Army. Noah’s father, Emmanuel Djakpa, was originally from Senegal but was living in Boston, US when he got Fiona pregnant.

June 21 – Bill Horace, 49, a Liberian immigrant, was shot dead at his home in London, Ontario, Canada. Him and his wife Joyce were sleeping in the house they shared with their children Royce and Kobe, ages 9 and 4, when four armed men broke through the basement window. The men ran away after taking C$20,000. Keiron Gregory, 23, admitted manslaughter and breaking and entering at a hearing in July 2022. The other three assailants have never been found. Although he was never charged with war crimes in Liberia or Canada, several people have identified Horace as a commander in former Liberian president Charles Taylor’s army. But detectives believe Horace had become embroiled with criminals in his adopted country, and that he died as a result of his entanglement with a network of fraudsters. Gregory is the son of a veteran Toronto police officer, and investigators claim he got his father Trevor Gregory to use his police connections to look up Horace’s address after Horace allegedly took money from him. Trevor Gregory pleaded guilty to breaching public trust in April 2022.

June 20 – Mekhi James, 3, was shot dead as he sat in the back seat of a car in Austin on the west side of Chicago. Mekhi’s mother had sent her boy to get a haircut with his stepdad. On their way home, Mekhi was shot and killed. It is believed to have been a mistaken identity or gang-related shooting. Mayor Lori Lightfoot condemned James’ death as a “heinous, unconscionable act of cowardice.”

June 20 – James Furlong, 36, Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, and David Wails, 49, were stabbed as they drank in Forbury Gardens, a park in the centre of Reading, Berkshire, enjoying the sunshine after the lockdown had been lifted. Several other people survived. Mr Furlong, was head of history and government and politics at the Holt School in Wokingham. Mr Ritchie-Bennett, was originally from Philadelphia but had lived in the UK for 15 years. He worked for a Dutch pharmaceuticals firm based in Reading. Mr Wails was a senior scientist with Johnson Matthey. Police arrested Khairi Saadallah under the Terrorism Act. Saadallah, 25, came to the UK from Libya in 2012. He claimed asylum and was given leave to remain in 2018. In 2021 he was jailed for life (whole life) for murder. Passing sentence at the Old Bailey in London, Mr Justice Sweeney said it was a “ruthless and brutal” terror attack. The court heard Saadallah “executed” the men as an “act of religious jihad”.

June 19 – Kyle Kelson, 25, was shot dead in North Cheam, near Sutton, south London. Gary Hayde, 34, from Cheam, Aaron McGrath 27, from Sutton, Lee Matthews, 25, and Luke Matthews, 28, from Ifield, near Crawley, West Sussex, have been charged with murder and await trial.

June 19 – Wayne Hoskyns, 41, was punched in Crayford, Kent and died of a subarachnoid haemorrhage. Gareth Standing, 38, from Dartford, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to four years and eight months imprisonment.

June 17 – Detective Colm Horkan, 49, a Garda Siochana officer, was shot dead with his own gun while on patrol in the town of Castlerea in County Roscommon. Detective Garda Horkan received a state funeral in his home town of Charlestown, County Mayo. Stephen Silver, 43, was charged with capital murder but in Nov 2022 a jury was unable to reach a verdict and he faces a retrial in 2023. Silver admitted shooting Horkan with the detective’s own gun but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The defence offered a guilty plea to manslaughter on these grounds, arguing his bipolar disorder caused him to kill the detective. The prosecution case contended that Silver was angry with the police and there was no evidence that his mental disorder caused him to kill Horkan.

June 13 – Robert Powell, 50, was shot multiple times in Water Lane at Roydon in Essex and died in hospital the following day. Police said they were seeking Nana Oppong, 41, and Temitope Adeyinka, 37, both from Stratford in London, and Israar Shah, 36, from Brentwood in Essex, who were all “believed to have been involved”. In Feb 2023 Mr Oppong was arrested in Morocco. He faces extradition.

June 13 – Mihai Gae, 48, was stabbed to death in Hornsey, north London. Marian Anghel, 42, from Romania, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

June 11 – Hekuran Billa, 40, was shot dead at the office of his car rental business in Tirana, Albania. Billa had been jailed for life (34 years) for the 2006 murder of Prel Marku in Park Royal, London. He was sent back to Albania in 2016 to serve the rest of his sentence but was released from prison in Albania on February 23, 2019, by Judge Enkeleida Hoxha, who mistakenly ruled that Billa had been in prison for 19 years and had only five years left. He was put on probation. The UK government were not made aware of his release. Prel Marku’s brother, Victor Marku, has been charged with Billa’s murder. Police have also charged Sebastian Mali, who is a relative of Prel Marku. Billa was allegedly lured to his death by Adiola Lakra, 26, from Berat. She said they met on Instagram and she asked to meet him.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/202006121079593272-free-to-die-as-albanian-gangster-gunned-down-questions-asked-about-why-he-was-not-still-in-uk-jail/

June 10 – Dawn Bennett, 58, was stabbed at her home in Lewisham, south east London and died six days later. Her son Jamal Sealy, 31, was charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility and was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order under the Mental Health Act. He suffered from paranoid beliefs.

June 10 – Kerry Giakoumis, 29, was last seen alive at the Hells Angels clubhouse in Lipton Drive, Thomastown in Melbourne, Australia. Seven people were arrested in October 2021 for the murder of the Hell’s Angels bikie gang associate.

June 8 – Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, 27, was killed and dismembered in Philadelphia. Her remains were found in the Schuylkill river. Akhenaton Jones, 36, has been charged with murder and awaits trial. Fells made outfits and wigs for people in her freelance fashion work and also organised the “Rock the Runway — A Trans Empowerment Fashion Show”.

June 8 – Alexander Kareem, 20, was shot in the chest in Askew Road, Shepherds Bush, west London, just after midnight after walking from his home to a corner shop. It is believed he was the victim of mistaken identity. The getaway car is believed to be a white Range Rover which was later found burnt out on Ascott Avenue. Seven people have been arrested but nobody has been charged.

June 7 – Tshegofatso Pule, 28, who was eight months pregnant, was found hanging from a tree in open veld in Roodepoort, Gauteng, South Africa. She had been stabbed in the chest. Muzikayise Malephane, 31, from Zondi, Soweto, admitted murder and was jailed for 20 years. He was hired as a hitman by a married man, Ntuthuko Shoba, who got Miss Pule pregnant. Shoba went on trial in 2022 and was also jailed for life.

June 6 – Oluwatoyin Salau, a 19-year-old Black Lives Matter protester, vanished from Tallahassee, Florida, and was found dead a week later. Her body was found a couple of miles from where she was last seen at a library. Victoria “Vicki” Sims, 75, a retired state worker and grandmother well-known for her volunteerism and work in local Democratic politics, was also killed. Aaron Glee Jr, 49, was later arrested, confessed and has been charged with both murders. He had a history of sexual abusing women.

June 6 – Naledi Phangindawo, 25, from KwaNonqaba, was stabbed and axed to death in Mossel Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. Mlondi Ntlangule, 34, has been charged with her murder. The pair were both agents for Herbalife, and she had recently welcomed him in to the nutritional supplements sales scheme.

June 6 – Nicole Smallman, 27, from Harrow, and her sister Bibaa Henry, 46, from Wembley, were found in Fryent Country Park in Wembley on Sunday 7 June. They had been stabbed. Nicole and Bibaa are thought to have been among a group of around 10 people who congregated in the park from around 7pm on Friday, 5 June to celebrate Bibaa’s birthday. Gradually people are believed to have left throughout the evening until only Nicole and Bibaa remained. They were both reported as missing to police late on Saturday when they did not return home. The murders took place during the coronavirus lockdown when pubs and restaurants were closed. Danyal Hussein, 18, from Blackheath, south London, was convicted of murder in Oct 2021 and jailed for life (35 years). The trial heard he was staying the night with his father close to the park. Hussein was obsessed with the occult and had written a contract in which he promised to kill six women every six months in return for Lucifuge Rofocale, the devil’s prime minister, letting him win a huge lottery jackpot. Two police officers pleaded guilty to taking inappropriate photographs of themselves with the victims and sharing these photographs on Whatsapp. PC Deniz Jaffer, 47, and PC Jamie Lewis, 32, admitted misconduct in public office and were jailed for two years and nine months.

June 5 – Oluwamayowa Adeyemi, 21, was shot dead after leaving a house in Hackney, east London at 11.30pm. Adeyemi, known as Samson, died at the scene. A 22-year-old man was arrested but bailed.

June 2 – David Dorn, 77, was killed when he responded to an alarm at his friend’s pawnshop in St Louis, Missouri. Mr Dorn, a retired officer, was providing security for the store. About 55 businesses in the city were burgled and had property damage that night, which was a continuation of disturbances sparked by the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck. Stephan Cannon, 24, of St. Louis, was jailed for life in Oct 2022 for first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, three counts of armed criminal action and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

June 1 – Aneta Zdun, 40, and her daughter Nikoleta Zdun, 18, were killed at a house in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Aneta’s husband Marcin Zdun, 39, was jailed for life (34 years) at Winchester Crown Court in Dec 2020. Aneta worked for Wessex Care, which described her as a “warm, kind individual” and a “well-loved and well-known” member of its team. Police were called to the house at 2.45pm by neighbours who described hearing loud screams. The trial heard Zdun killed his wife and daughter in a jealous rage after “losing his controlling influence” over their lives. Prosecutor Nicholas Haggan QC said around a month before the women were killed, the defendant had tried to strangle his wife. Mrs Zdun had told a colleague at Wessex Care, where she worked as a community support worker, that “she couldn’t breathe” and said “I was so blue”. She told her friend the defendant had pushed their daughter against the kitchen cupboards when she had tried to intervene. After the incident, Mr Zdun was asked to leave the family house and his wife sought a divorce.

May 2020

May 31 – Angelo Bronson, 36, was shot dead in the 6800 block of South Laflin, Englewood, Chicago. The killer fired shots from a passing car, striking him in the chest. He died less than an hour later. He had two children. He was one of 18 people to be killed in 48 hours in Chicago (May 29-31). May 31 was the most violent day in 60 years in Chicago. Unsolved.

May 29 – Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a 22-year-old microbiology student, was raped and murdered with a fire extinguisher in an empty church in Benin City, southern Nigeria, where she was studying. A church security guard found Uwa in a pool of blood. She was rushed to hospital but died the following day. The murder horrified many in Nigeria, a deeply religious country. Nelson Ogbebor, Akato Valentine, Mrs Tina Samuel, Nosa Osabohien and Collins Ulegbe and Mary Ade were charged but chaerges against Ade were dropped in Oct 2000. The police command were able to arrest the suspects after the dead woman’s phone was traced to one of the suspects, Nosa Osabohien. Nosa is a phone repairer who bought the phone from one of the prime suspects identified as Collins Uyegbulen. Nosa immediately took the police to Collins. Collins was arrested and he later confessed that he took part in the killing of Vera.

May 28 – Carl Moorhouse, 34, from Coventry, was stabbed to death in the street in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. Reuben Nall, 28, Adam Padley, 27, and Terry Nall, 31, all from Birmingham, were jailed for life for murder. Callum Huburn, 30, from Birmingham, and Emma Bennett, 35, from Coventry, were found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 14 years and five years respectively. Moorhouse was killed after a drug turf war between two county line gangs escalated. Moorhouse was from the Ceej Line gang and his killers were from the T Line gang. A text message read out in court sent to Bennett by Huburn read: “There’s a bit of a turf war going on. We’re all rolling out together to get it sorted.”

May 25 – George Floyd, 46, died while being arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Four officers – Derek Chauvin, 44, J Alexander Kueng, 26, Thomas Lane, 37, and Tou Thao, 34 – were on the scene to arrest Mr Floyd for using a fake $20 bill. Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck while he was handcuffed on the floor repeatedly pleading “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was jailed for 22 years in 2021 after being convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Lane was jailed for three years for abetting second-degree manslaughter. Kueng was jailed for three years for second-degree manslaughter. Thou was jailed for three years for abetting second-degree manslaughter. They await trial. It emerged that Floyd had a criminal record. Floyd’s touched off huge Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the US, UK and elsewhere but President Donald Trump took the side of the police.

May 25 – A 22-year-old woman from Cuba, believed to be a sex worker, was strangled and dumped in a garbage container in the west of Moscow. Aleksander Aleksandrov has been charged murder, illegal imprisonment and extortion. Anastasia Grivkova has been detained on suspicion of illegal imprisonment, extortion and harboring a felon.

May 22 – Colin Baines, 49, was killed at a flat in Plymouth. His friend Simon Wotton, 43, who was homeless, went on trial for murder in Nov 2020. Wotton denied murder and manslaughter but said he was so drunk he could not remember what happened. He had been drinking vodka for two days. Wotton was acquitted on the judge’s directions after he said it was impossible to say if Baines did not die during “drunken horseplay”.

May 20 – Melissa Belshaw, 32, suffered “catastophic injuries” after being stabbed at her home in Billinge, St Helens, Merseyside. Her boyfriend Andy Wadsworth, 36, a former cagefighter, from Wigan, was jailed for life (32 years) for murder, attempted murder, threats to kill, threatening a person with a knife and assaulting two police officers. The jury heard a 999 call made by Melissa’s 13 year old daughter. During the call, she could be heard saying: “Andy, what have you done? Why have you done that to my mum?.”

May 18 – Giselle “Gigi” Rengifo, 17, was shot at an AirBnb rental studio in the Coral Way neighbourhood of Miami, Florida. Michael McGowan, who was 17 at the time, was later charged as an adult with manslaughter with a deadly weapon. He claims to have shot her by accident. Giselle’s sister, Salomé “Betty” Jackson, boasts hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. She appears on VH1’s “Cartel Crew,” a reality show about the children of organised crime families. On the show and on social media, Jackson has also repeatedly ripped the justice system and judges, and police and prosecutors, suggesting they are going soft on McGowan. His lawyers say, has received “numerous death threats” because of her online posts. In 2021 McGowan’s lawyers asked a Miami-Dade judge to stop any evidence in the case from being shared with Jackson — and the public — and to issue a gag order that would stop her from talking to witnesses in the case before trial. The motion was filed days after VH1 broadcast an episode of Cartel Crew that showed Jackson speaking with one eyewitness in depth. In Sep 2022 McGowan admitted manslaughter and was sentenced to time served, meaning he was released. https://www.newsweek.com/manslaughter-court-sentence-sparks-fight-1743649

May 18 – Chad Gordon, 27, was shot dead when he opened the door of his home in Wiltshire Gardens, Finsbury Park, north London at 10pm. The killers escaped on a moped. Chad was described by police as “a gentle giant, he had autism and there is no reason why anyone would want to hurt him.” Mason Sani-Semedo, 18, from Tottenham, was jailed for life (29 years) for murder and Cameron Robinson, 19, from Dagenham, was jailed for life (29 years) for murder. Javarn Carter-Fraser, 22, Clive Spencer, 23 and Talye Olabisi, 23, were all acquitted. At their trial it emerged that Chad was the victim of mistaken identity in an escalating feud between two local gangs. The intended victim lived next door to Chad and the killers knocked on the wrong door. The killing was revenge for the murder of Jamal Ebrahim five days earlier. As Sani-Semedo and Robinson fled the scene, they pointed the gun towards a mother and child who were walking in the street in order to make good their escape.

May 18 – Chhote Lal Diwakar, a leader of the local Samajwadi Party – which represents the Dalit caste – and his son Sunil were shot dead in a field at Fatehpur Shamsoi village in Bahjoi, Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Jitendra Sharma and Sarvendra Sharma have been arrested and charged with murder. The shooting was caught on camera and went viral. Mr Diwakar and his son had been at the field discussing a road construction project, which was fiercely opposed locally.

May 17 – Aya Hachem, 19, a Lebanese-born law student who worked as a youth trustee for a charity, was shot dead as she walked to the Lidl supermarket in Blackburn, Lancashire. The killer was in a light green Toyota Avensis and drove off. She was not the intended target of the attack and it was not a racially-motivated attack, despite initial talk on social media. The killing took place during the coronavirus lockdown and also during Ramadan. She was grocery shopping for her family’s iftar meal. In Nov 2021 seven people were convicted of murder at Preston Crown Court. Feroz Suleman, 39, and Zamir Raja, 33, were jailed for life (34 years), Kashif Manzoor, 26, got life (27 years), Ayaz Hussain, 36, got life (32 years), Abubakr Satia, 32, got life (28 years), Anthony Ennis, 31, got life (33 years), Uthman Satia, 29, got life (28 years). Judy Chapman, 26, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 15 years for murder. The trial heard Suleman, who ran RI Tyres, became furious when Quickshine, a car wash business run by Pachah Khan, began selling tyres. He hired Raja (for #1,500) to kill Khan but he missed and accidentally hit Aya. In Jan 2022 two other men – Suhayl Suleman, 37, of Blackburn, and Lewis Otway, 41, of Manchester, were charged with her murder and the attempted murder of Pacha Khan. Otway was found guilty and was jailed for life. Suleman was acquitted of all charges.

May 14 – Hashim Kinani, 23, a tow truck driver, was shot dead in Toronto, Ontario. Two boys, who are 15 and 17, have been charged with first-degree murder and await trial. Police said Kinani’s death was not linked to the murder of several other tow truck drivers which was believed to part of a turf war. They are being investigated separately as Project Platinum. In May 2022 a high-profile, months-long police investigation aimed at snuffing out violence in the Greater Toronto Area’s tow-truck industry partially collapsed, leaving six people who were accused of more than 70 arson, drug and gun offences walking out of court with their charges stayed.

May 14 – A child, known only as Baby S, was found on a conveyor belt on a waste processing line at Sackers yard depot in Needham Market, Suffolk  during the first national coronavirus lockdown. Her body was discovered after a delivery of waste from commercial bins. She has never been identified and her family never traced. An inquest in Ipswich in June 2022 heard that the baby was born alive but there were several possible causes of her fatal injuries, including a traumatic birth, shaking or smothering, but a pathologist could not determine which it was. She was recorded to be dark-skinned, possibly of African descent, and to have been born full-term with no evidence of underlying disease.

May 13 – Jemal Ebrahim, 23, was stabbed to death in Haringey, north London. Mizuki Brown, 25, Tyreese Annan, 20, and Abdul Gaffer, 25, were jailed for 12 years, 11 years, and eight years and three months for manslaughter. The trial heard the trio, part of the Green Lanes Gang, drove to the scene intent on stabbing a member of the Edgecot Grove gang. In retaliation for the attack the Edgecot Grove gang killed Chad Gordon (see May 18), although he was a victim of mistaken identity and not a member of the Green Lanes gang.

May 13 – Francois Kablan, 19, was stabbed to death in Borough, Southwark, London. Mohamed Kolokoh, 18, from Elephant and Castle, was jailed for 13 years for manslaughter. A 16-year-old boy from Lambeth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also sentenced to 13 years. The court heard how Mr Kablan and his friend became involved in an altercation with the 16-year-old and Kolokoh, which quickly escalated.

May 9 – Colby Lawton, a one month old baby, died at home in Newbury, Berkshire after being violently shaken. His father James Lawton, 28, of Boreham Field, Wiltshire, was found guilty of his murder at Reading Crown Court. He was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum term of 17 years.

May 9 – Claire Parry, 41, an NHS nurse, was attacked in the car park of the Horns Inn in West Parley, near Bournemouth, Dorset. Timothy Brehmer, 41, a police constable with Dorset Police, was acquitted of murder and jailed for 10 years for manslaughter. PC Brehmer, who was seconded to the National Police Air Service, was presented with an award after rescuing a family from a fire in Christchurch in 2011. The trial heard he was a womaniser who was cheating on his wife with Ms Parry and several other women. He claimed he accidentally strangled her as he tried to prevent her getting out of the car during an argument. She had just texted his wife on his phone, telling her he was cheating on her.

May 8 – Louise Smith, 16, went missing from her home in Leigh Park, near Portsmouth. Her body was found at Havant Thicket 14 days later. Shane Mays, 29, from Havant, was jailed for life (25 years) for murder. He denied killing her after sexually assaulting her. But he did admit punching her. Mays was married and Louise was living temporarily with him and his wife. He lured the teenager to a remote clearing where he repeatedly punched her in the face, defiled her with a stick and set fire to her body. The Solicitor General later appealed the sentence, saying it was “unduly lenient” and he should have got at least 30 years. But he failed.

May 7 –Hyacinth Morris, 67, was strangled and left in the bath at her home in Levenshulme, Manchester during the coronavirus lockdown. Her son Leroy Panton, 40, was detained under the Mental Health Act. He admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was jailed for six years. The court he has no recollection of what happened but feels ‘immense guilt’. He had been suffering from ‘undiagnosed’ and ‘untreated’ mental health problems, and was experiencing a ‘severe depressive episode’ at the time of the killing.

May 5 – Aaron Pill, 25, was killed at a flat in Falmouth, Cornwall. Kane Coggin, 27, and Liam Bastow, 24, both from Falmouth, were both convicted of murder and jailed for life in Dec 2020. The killing happened during the coronavirus lockdown.The court heard that a desire for revenge after threats were made over a £400 drug debt led to the murder of Aaron Pill. The court heard that the relationship between the two men had been friendly at first and Bastow had worked for Mr Pill to pay off the debt. But when the Covid pandemic struck, Bastow refused to go round to Mr Pill’s home over fears of passing the disease onto his new-born daughter. During a telephone call between the two men and subsequent texts, threats were made between both men with Bastow telling Pill he would ‘Kill for his family’.

May 5 – Yonas Haile, 32, was stabbed 7 times at his home in Hammersmith, west London. His brother Tedros Haile, 30, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter.

May 5 – John Rees, 88, from Trealaw, was stabbed to death at a Co-Op convenience store in Penygraig in the Rhondda valley, south Wales. Lisa Way, 53, a nurse, Gaynor Saurin, 65, and Andrew Price, 58, all survived. Zara Radcliffe, 29, from Porth, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given an indefinite hospital order. Mr Rees’s 87-year-old wife Eunice, who has dementia, was waiting in a car outside while he had gone shopping. When police arrived at the store Radcliffe, who was schizophrenic, said: “It had to be done – that’s it.” She told police she had heard voices telling her she had to kill someone to avoid being harmed herself. She said: “I can’t tell you about the voices in my head, they’re so real.” She is now in Rampton Hospital.

May 4 – Anthony Rooks, 80, was hit over the head with a bottle of brandy at his home in Holloway, north London. Sable Thomas, 42, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. He was jailed for life (eight years). Mr Rooks was battered to death with a brandy bottle. His wife passed away on April 14, 2020 and her funeral was due to take place on May 7, three days after he himself was killed.

May 1 – Calvin Munerlyn, 43, a father of eight, was shot dead at a Family Dollar store in Flint, Michigan, where he worked as a security guard. He was killed after he told a woman she could not come into the store during the coronavirus lockdown without a mask. Ramonyea Bishop, 23, Larry Teague, 44, and Sharmel Teague, 45, were all convicted of first degree murder in Nov 2022 and jailed for life. Larry Teague was convicted of violating the governor’s order requiring face coverings inside stores in order to prevent coronavirus transmission. The Teagues’ daughter Brya Bishop was the one who had been told she must wear a mask. Her mother returned home and came back 20 minutes later with her husband and son, Ramonyea, who was the gunman. A video shown to the jury showed Munerlyn arguing with Sharmel Teague. The argument escalated when it appeared she spit on him, prompting him to chase her into the parking lot where he tackled her to the ground twice. After the fight, Brya Bishop and Teague left the store in a red GMC Envoy. Before they left, a witness testified at trial, Teague told Munerlyn they would be back.

April 2020

April 30 -Louise Aitchison, 33, a former dental nurse, was stabbed to death at her home in West Mains, East Kilbride, Scotland, Her boyfriend Daryll Paterson, 35, was jailed for life (18 years). He was drunk at the time and said he cannot remember why he killed her.

April 26 – David Gomoh, 24, was stabbed to death at 10.25pm, seconds after leaving his home in Customs House, east London during the coronavirus lockdown. He was talking to his girlfriend on his mobile phone when he was attacked. The Recorder of London, Mark Lucraft QC, jailed Vagnei Colubali, 22, to life (27 years), Muhammad Jalloh, 18, for life (27 years), David Ture, 18, for life (26 years) and Alex Melaku, 18, to life (21 years). David, who had earned a marketing degree from Southbank University, worked for the NHS and was a keyworker helping to keep NHS staff supplied with essential equipment. His family were already reeling following the recent unexpected death of David’s father from a Covid-19 related illness. His father’s funeral was due to be on Wednesday, 29 April.David’s mother Marian was an NHS nurse. The four were part of the Northside Newham Gang and on the night of the murder had driven across the A13 arterial road – which marks an unofficial border – and into the territory of rival gangs from the E16 and E6 postcodes. Jalloh, who was known by the streetname Mojo, and he and Melaku had both appeared in a video featuring members of the Woodgrange Gang and Chad Green Gang – both part of the Northside Newham Gang – in which they “boasted of their violent rivalry” with the opposition. Mr Gomoh was not a gang member but they didn’t care. They were just on a “ride out” in enemy territory and attacked him at random. The prosecution was aided by the discovery of Ture’s childish sketches, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the murder scene.

April 26 – Karl Gallagher, 31, was stabbed in the chest in the car park of West Cross Shopping Centre in Smethwick, West Midlands, at 4.40pm on a Sunday afternoon while they were waiting for pizza during the coronavirus lockdown. The stabbing was filmed by a passer-by who uploaded the video onto Twitter and other social media. Tyrell Harris, 19, from West Bromwich, was charged with murder and went on trial in Oct 2020. He told the jury he had acted in self-defence and said he was trying to break up an argument between Gallagher and another man. Harris claimed Gallagher said: “He said ‘are you stupid? I will shoot you for that’.” The jury was discharged after Judge Amjad Nawaz was admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Harris was convicted at his retrial in 2021 and was jailed for life (20 years). Karl’s mother, Margaret, said he had smirked at her during his first court appearance.

April 26 – Pavinya Nithiyakumar, aged 19 months, was stabbed to death at a flat above a shop in Ilford, east London. Nigish Nithiyakumar, 3, also had her throat slashed and died of his injuries in hospital. Their father, Nadarajah Nithiyakumar, 40, was taken to hospital for treatment to his own injuries. He was later charged with murder. The incident happened during the coronavirus lockdown.. In Nov 2020 Nithiyakumar admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, a plea which the CPS accepted. He was given an indefinite hospital order. The Old Bailey heard his wife, Nisa Kumar, was in the shower when he attached the children. He said he had been depressed and while working in a shop, customers had “upset him.” He had thought about killing himself, but considered it would “ruin the children’s lives and they would go off the rails”. Mrs Kumar wept in court and was supported by her sister, who was also tearful, and a Tamil interpreter. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC told the court psychiatrists agreed the defendant suffered from a delusional disorder. The court heard that the defendant had been granted asylum after arriving in Britain from Sri Lanka in 1999. He first came to the attention of mental health services in 2010 and was put on anti-psychotic medication but his treatment lapsed. On Sunday, April 26, he returned to the family home just after 4.30pm. Over the next hour, he washed and watched television before killing the children and cutting himself with a knife while his wife was in the shower.When Mrs Nithiyakumar heard noises and went to see what was going on, he told her: “I have cut the children off.” He claimed there was a “problem” at work and the police were looking for him, the court heard. He told his wife: “If they get the children they will spoil them. That is the reason I did this to the children.”

April 25 – Baljit Singh, 37, was strangled in an alley in the centre of Hayes, Middlesex, at 11pm on a Saturday night during the coronavirus lockdown. Manpreet Singh, 20, admitted murder and was jailed for life (12 years). Manpreet Singh had met Baljit in the weeks prior to the attack, after travelling down from Birmingham, with a mutual acquaintance, to seek work. Jaspreet Singh, 24, was acquitted.

April 25 – Jay John, 27, was attacks outside the communal door of a bloody of flats in Hackney, east London. Romayne Husbands, 28, a drug dealer, was convicted of murder at Snaresbrook Crown Court in July 2021 and jailed for life. Husbands pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine at the start of the trial. Witnesses said Husbands punched Jay once in the face and then stamped four to six times on his chest. He was arrested in a nearby flat and found to have discarded 59 grams of cocaine. Detectives linked Husbands to the scene via blood found on his trainers.

April 22 – Emma McParland, 39, was stabbed to death in a house off the Ormeau Road in Belfast. Her mentally ill son, Jordan Kennedy, 21, admitted murder and was jailed for life. Kennedy is the son of ex-LVF thug Mark ‘Burger’ Kennedy, who was charged with concealing the car used in the murder of Sunday World reporter Martin O’Hagan in 2001.

April 22 – Saleem Butt, 61, died from severe head and neck injuries after being “severely beaten” at his home in Batley, West Yorkshire. Craig Stanton, 42, from Huddersfield, and Alexander MacKay, 46, from Dewsbury, have been convicted of murder and jailed for life. The jury was told Stanton and Mackay worked as a ‘team’, their motive was financial gain and Mr Butt was likely tortured for the pin numbers for his bank cards.

April 18/19 – Between 9.30pm on the Saturday night and 11am on the Sunday, 22 people were shot dead in Nova Scotia, Canada by the same gunman, Gabriel Wortman. The first 13 victims were in Portapique Beach on the Saturday night. That was where Wortman lived. He then hid in nearby Debert until 6am when he drove to Wentworth, Debert, Onslow and finally Shubenacadie where he killed nine more victims, including a Mountie. He was finally shot dead by Mounties at an Irving Big Stop at Enfield, near Halifax international airport. The victims were Tom Bagley, Kristen Beatron, Greg Blair, Jamie Blair, Joy Bond, Peter Bond, Corrie Ellison, Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulenchyn, Frank Gulenchyn, Lillian Hyslop, Alanna Jenkins, Lisa McCully, Sean McLeod, Heather O’Brien, Jolene Oliver, Elizabeth Thomas, Aaron Tuck, Emily Tuck, Joey Webber, John Zahl, and RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson. A public inquiry began in 2022 but Paul Palango, author of a book called 22 Murders, felt it failed to address failings by the RCMP. Palango also believes Wortman, a wealthy denturist who smuggled cigarettes across the border from the US, was an informant. This has been denied by the RCMP. The Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission delivered its report in March 2023.

https://masscasualtycommission.ca/final-report/

April 18 – Jadwiga Szczygielska, 77, was found dead in her home in Seafield, Edinburgh. Her lodger Roman Frackiewicz, 44, was jailed for life (19 years) in Feb 2021. Frackiewicz also assaulted the OAP on various occasions between January 1 2016 and the day of the alleged murder. The trial heard that on the night of the murder he was drunk on vodka when they had a row.

April 16– Phoenix Netts, 28, was stabbed to death at a house in multiple occupancy (HMO) in Lozells, Birmingham, and her remains were found in two suitcases discovered close to a quarry in Coleford in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire on 12 May. Gareeca Gordon, 27, from Birmingham, pleaded guilty to murder and was jailed for life (23 years) for murder at Bristol Crown Court in 2021. Mahesh Sorathiya, 38, from Wolverhampton, was charged with assisting an offender but that charge was dropped in Oct 2020. The judge told Gordon she was considered a “very dangerous young woman” and would likely spend the rest of her life behind bars. After killing Ms Netts, Gordon attempted to deceive her friends and family through text messages, emails and voice messages that she was still alive and had moved to London. She then bought a circular saw and disposed of Ms Netts’ body in two large suitcases. Following reports of a car driving in the area during lockdown, police found Gordon in the Forest of Dean, beside a quarry with two suitcases containing the remains of Ms Netts. The trial heard Ms Netts messaged a friend in February to say Gordon had “demanded sex with her” and became “aggressive” when she said no. On 7 April, in a text message to a friend, Ms Netts said: “There’s a girl here who keeps asking me to be sexual. I think I’m going to move back to London. It’s scaring me lol.”

April 16 – Denise Keane-Barnett-Simmons, 36, died in a fire in a flat on the Stonebridge estate in north west London. The fire broke out around 2am. She died in hospital four hours later. Family friend Maureen Lalgie, who was in her 60s, was also taken to hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries after she was rescued from an upstairs window. Denise was the niece of reggae singer Eddy Grant. Her estranged husband Damion Simmons, 44, was jailed for life (32 years) for murder, arson with intent to endanger life, criminal damage endangering life, disclosing private and sexual photographs with intent to cause distress, and voyeurism. The trial heard Simmons, from Trinidad, met Denise when she was on holiday there. They fell in love and got married and he moved in with her in the UK. But he became very possessive and controlling and she asked him to move out. He feared he would be deported if they divorced. He had hidden cameras in a light bulb so he could spy on her in bed.

April 15 – Ralph Gibson, 42, suffered head injuries after being attacked in Putney, SW London. He died in hospital on 24 April. Rudi Mitchell, 25, and Robinson Charles-Mario, 21, have been charged with murder and await trial. This was during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

April 12 – John Cingelis, 37, was stabbed in the chest at a house in Carlisle, Cumbria. Blair Dixon, 25, was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter. Dixon stabbed Mr Cingelis in the chest having falsely believed the victim had stolen his Canada Goose beanie, which was worth £135. Dixon later found he had left the hat at another friend’s house. Dixon’s co-accused Alfonso Bitton, 25, was acquitted of murder.

April 11 – Ruth Brown, 52, was beaten to death at her home in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Refuse worker Wayne Morris, 47, was jailed for life (17 years) for murder. She was found dead in her bed but it became clear that she had been attacked in the kitchen and a postmortem confirmed that she had died from severe and repeated head injuries. It was found that the injuries had been caused by a plastic tray, parts of which were found in the kitchen and in a bin outside the house. Morris and Ruth Brown had been in a relationship for a number of years. They lived at separate addresses but Morris had moved in with Ruth, due to the pandemic. just a few days before the murder.

April 11 – John Paul McDonagh, 18, was killed in a street battle in Coolcullen Meadow, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, N Ireland. Joseph Joyce, 32, from Londonderry, was given a life sentence (minimum 10 years) in Oct 2022. The judge said he accepted that Joyce had not intended to kill anyone. His wife Ellen Joyce, 31, was handed a two-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, for a common assault committed on the same day.

April 10 – Kanisha Fuller, 43, was shot dead in a police car in a park in Birmingham, Alabama. Detective Alfreda Fluker, 39, was convicted of capital murde and the attempted murder of Detective Mario White, her co-worker on the Birmingham Police Department’s Crime Reduction Team. It is believed to have been a “love triangle”.

April 8 – Maryan Ismail, 57, was beaten with a table leg, a ladder and other household items at her flat in Edmonton, north London. Her husband Hussain Yusuf Egal, 65, a bus driver, was jailed for life (22 years) for murder in March 2021. It happened during the coronavirus lockdown. He claimed when he told her he was infected with COVID 19, she said he could get out and die on the street, the court heard. According to the defendant, he responded by telling her: “I will kill you first.”

April 7 – Mikey Rainsford, 20, was shot while standing in the kitchen of his home in Litherland, Liverpool. James Foy, 19, and his brother Michael Foy were jailed for life (28 and 30 years respectively) for murder in 2021. The Foys, members of the Linacre Young Guns gang, shot him an hour after a brick was thrown through the window of their mother’s house. Rainsford was not responsible. The trial heard the Linacre Young Guns were gang rivals of a group called the Kirkstone Riot Squad and there had been “conflicts” between the two rival gangs in Bootle, Seaforth and Litherland. The Foy brothers’ mother Joyce Smith, uncle Craig Johnson and neighbour Andrea Saunderson were convicted of perverting the course of justice after they “became involved in the aftermath” and were jailed for between 18 months and three years.

April 4 – Robbie Lawlor, 36, a Dubliner, was shot dead in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast. He was allegedly on the way to collect a large drug debt. Lawlor was a gangster from Drogheda who was involved in a feud (with Cornelius Price) in that city and he was a suspect in the murder of Keane Mulready-Woods in January 2020. A Volkswagen Scirocco, thought to have been used as a getaway car in Lawlor’s murder, was found burnt out in a nearby street minutes later. Adrian Holland, 38, and Patrick Tear, 45, have been charged with murder and await trial. But neither are said to be the gunman. In December 2022 at a bail hearing for Holland, his barrister Joe Brolly named Levi Killeen, who was just 17 at the time of the murder, as the gunman who killed Lawlor. Brolly said three days before the shooting Killeen – whose father is notorious Limerick criminal John Dundon – went with his uncle, Ger Dundon, and a third man, Quincy Bramble, to the Ardoyne and laid eyes on Lawlor so they would know what he looked like. They were arrested after the murder but released by the PSNI. The Sunday World claimed investigators believe the Dundons had protected Lawlor in prison from his arch-rival Cornelius Price and had continued to offer him security once he was released.

April 2 – Stafford Garner, 46, was killed at a house in Thurnscoe near Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Five men were arrested but, as of Dec 2022, nobody has been charged. Unsolved.

April 1 – Sonia Teresa Burton Calvi, 56, and her husband Edgar Aguilera Daza, 59, were stabbed to death at a house in Stockwell, south London. Their Spanish lodger Daniel Briceno-Garcia, 44, was jailed for life (33 years) for murder. The Old Bailey heard Briceno Garcia, a street cleaner for Westminster Council, had HIV and was concerned about catching the coronavirus, and had also expressed worries about paying his rent.

March 2020

March 31 – Janet Samuel, 67, James Samuel, 69, and Lechasta Childs, 47, were shot dead at a house in Macon, Georgia. Caesar Crockett Jr, 29, was arrested five days later after an armed stand-off and has been charged with all three murders. The shootings happened after he got into a fight with Jamila Augustine French, 30, the mother of his son. Mr Crockett pulled a gun and fatally shot Ms. French’s mother, Janet, her stepfather, James and her sister Lechasta. He then drove off with his son, King Cane Crockett, aged two.

March 30 – Dr Beth Potter, 52, and her husband Robin Carre, 57, were shot in the head and dumped in a ditch at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in Madison, Wisconsin. The couple left behind three children, Jonah, Ezra and Mimi, all in their late teens or early 20s. Ali’jah Larrue and Khari Sanford, both 18, were both convicted of first degree homicide. Sanford was Mimi’s boyfriend. They were killed over the couple’s request that Sanford and their daughter follow coronavirus-related social distancing protocols. Sanford allegedly kidnapped the couple at gunpoint and drove them to the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, where he shot them both in the head.

March 31 – Tomas Macionis, 35, a Lithuanian national, was stabbed to death in Walthamstow, NE London. Rizwan Abassi, 31, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 31 – Pavandeep Daudher, 19, was killed at a petrol station in Foleshill, Coventry. Riley Kavanagh, 20, from Foleshill, was jailed for nine years for manslaughter, Jason Cornwall, 34, from Cheylesmore, was jailed for 11 years for manslaughter, Ethan Lilley, 23, from Cheylesmore, was jailed for 14 years for manslaughter and robbery, Kane McCarron, 18, from Cheylesmore, was jailed for seven years for manslaughter. Katie Stock, who was with her boyfriend Zac Challenor and Pavandeep Daudher at the petrol station when five men jumped out of a car and set upon Mr Daudher. Miss Stock told a jury at Warwick Crown Court she heard the gang shouting “are you f***ing mad?” as they began their attack. Callum Bowman, 30, was found not guilty of manslaughter and robbery. Two other defendants, Lucas Hutchinson and a second man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were convicted of assisting an offender after they helped destroy and dispose of the stolen Kuga used in the fatal attack. Hutchinson, 19 from Stoke, Coventry, was jailed for three years.

March 29 – Victoria Woodhall, 31, a nurse at Rotherham General Hospital, was hacked to death with a kukri (Gurkha knife) at her home in Middlecliffe, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Her estranged husband Craig Woodhall, 40, a former soldier, admitted murder and was jailed for life (18 years).

March 29: Zobaidah Salangy, 28, was last seen at her home in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, before reportedly going for a run. Her body was only found in October 2020. Her husband Nezam Salangy, 42, was jailed for life (18 years) for  murder and his brother Mohammed Ramin Salangy, 29, was jailed for six years for assisting an offender. Another brother Mohammed Yasin Salangi, 33, was jailed for four years for assisting an offender. Mrs Salangy had been a maths teacher in Afghanistan and had an arranged marriage with her husband in November 2012, before moving to the UK the following year. Nezam Salangy had come to the UK in 2002 after his family was targeted by the Taliban. He divorced his first wife in 2010 before marrying Zobaidah – a friend of his sister. The court heard Mrs Salangy’s body was not found for more than six months, despite a police dig in the area near Lower Bentley, which did not go deep enough into the ground. She had been bound in curtain wire and wrapped in black bin bags along with a duvet cover, which matched pillow cases at the couple’s home.

Mar 28 – Kristaps Muzikants, 30, was stabbed to death at a house in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, after being invited over to celebrate Janis Mikitovs’ 36^th birthday. He suffered a single 23-centimetre knife wound which penetrated his liver and sliced through a major vein, causing catastrophic internal bleeding. Mikitovs was jailed for life (16 years). Both men, who were Latvian, had been drinking heavily.

March 28 – Ruth Williams, 67, was strangled at their home in Cwmbran, Torfaen, south Wales. Her husband Anthony Williams, 70, denied murder but admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and was jailed for five years. He said he “just flipped” and strangled his wife two days into the first COVID-19 lockdown. A jury at Swansea Crown Court took just over five hours to find the retired factory worker not guilty of murder. The defence said Williams had not slept properly for several nights because of worries over coronavirus, money and his health.

March 26 – Callum Hill, 22, from Plymouth, suffered a “significant” head injury during a pre-arranged fight at Kit Hill, near Callington in Cornwall and died in Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. Andrew Hatrey, 38, was jailed for life (26 years) and Kristian Humphries, 31, was jailed for life (15 years). Alexander “Billy” Humphries, 27, of Callington – no relation to Kristian Humphries – was jailed for 11 years after being convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The court heard Billy Humphries drove at the two killers using his car as a weapon, seriously injuring Hatrey. Judge Carr said Hatrey felt disrespected by Billy Humphries and would not back down in what the judge called a “petty misplaced sense of grievance”. Billy’s brother, Daniel Humphries, 25, was cleared of conspiring to commit violent disorder.

March 26 – Kelly Stewart, 41, was beaten over the head in the grounds of Memorial Community Church, in Barking Road, Plaistow, east London, between 12.45am and 1.45am. Her body was found the following day. Detectives said her death was not linked to the murder of Shadika Patel only a mile away exactly a week earlier. Kieran Rifat, 21, admitted murder and was jailed for life in Jan 2021.

March 22 – Kelly Fitzgibbons, 40, and her two children Ava, five, and Lexi, three, were found upstairs at their home in Woodmancote, East Sussex. Her husband Robert, 42, a builder, was also found dead. It was a murder-suicide. The family were on lockdown at the time during the coronavirus outbreak. Mr Fitzgibbons was building an extension on the house at the time. An inquest in July 2022 heard Hampshire and Sussex Police had shown a lack of investigative curiosity when considering Needham’s applications for a shotgun and firearms licence. The coroner said even thought there are significant questions about the licensing procedure, further scrutiny of his applications would not have led to rejections. It was heard that Needham had lied on the application forms and police should have investigated further.

Mar 22 – Stefan Melnyk, 54, was hit by a car in Salisbury Street, Acton, west London. Rhian Beresford, 28, who lived nearby, was charged with murder and attempted murder. In Feb 2021 she pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility and was given an indefinite hospital order. The court heard she got out of the car and attacked a second man with a knife.

Mar 22 – Emily Jones, 7, was stabbed to death by a stranger in Queen’s Park in Bolton on a Sunday afternoon as she took a walk in the park with her mother on Mother’s Day. Eltiona Skana, 30, was arrested on suspicion of murder but detained at a secure facility under the Mental Health Act.She was later charged with murder and went on trial at Minshull Street Crown Court in Dec 2020. Skana pleaded guilty to manslaughter by means of diminished responsibility. She was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia but the question is whether she was “using it to hide”. Emily’s parents described her as a “little social butterfly” who had a “passion for the outdoors and loved to play any sport, even when she was wearing her pink sparkly dresses”.

March 20 – Christopher Striker, 28, was shot dead in Progress Village, Tampa, Florida. Joseph Williams, 26, has been charged with murder. Williams had been released from prison the previous day because of the coronavirus and overcrowding in Orient Road Jail. He had been arrested on March 13 for possession of less than four grams of heroin and drug paraphernalia. Williams, described as a member of the Bloods gang, told a man the night of the shooting that he was out “gang banging”.

March 19 – Abdullahi Mohamoud, 29, was shot dead at a fast food restaurant in Hertford Road, Enfield, north London. Khallid Hogan, 20, was jailed for life (27 years) for murder. He was also sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment for perverting the course of justice. The trial heard that as Abdullahi waited for his food, Hogan walked into the restaurant and started firing a gun at him. Hogan fired his gun four times towards Abdullahi, but all four bullets missed him, as well as the five other people in the restaurant. Abdullahi then fled through a back door into a large yard of garages in an attempt to get away. As Abdullahi was climbing a concrete wall, Hogan fired another shot towards him, which hit him in the head. Miraculously he managed to climb over the wall before collapsing a short distance away and died in hospital. The murder weapon was a 9mm Makarov self-loading pistol. In an attempt to give himself an alibi, Hogan had phoned his friend Alex Weekes and kept the line open during the period of the shooting. Weekes, 20, was jailed for 20 months for perverting the course of justice. Dorian Steele, 18, was acquitted of all charges. In May 2022 Paul Fontaine was jailed for life (18 years) for conspiracy to murder. The trial heard he had supplied the 9mm Makarov self-loading pistol used by Khalid Hogan. Fontaine used an EncroChat phone and his alias was Usualwolf. Fontaine also supplied a gun to Frankie Sinclair, from Cardiff, who was plotting to murder an underworld rival, Keiron Hassan. Sinclair was known as Nudetrain.

Mar 19 – Wendy Morse, 71, a “bubbly” grandmother, was hit 12 times with a hammer at her home in Knypersley, near Stoke-on-Trent on March 22. She is believed to have been killed three days before. Police later appealed for help in tracing a green Honda Civic. Kenneth McDermid, 42, from Sneyd Green, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given an indefinite hospital order. McDermid, a handyman, had been doing drainage work at the house. After the killing, the defendant wrapped his victim’s body in plastic, cleaned his clothes in her downstairs bathroom, and escaped the scene in her car. He then fled to his brother’s home in Sweden and had to be extradited. McDermid was ‘severely mentally disordered’ at the time of Ms Morse’s death – believing he had ‘special powers’ and was being ‘followed by 400,000 people’.

Mar 19 – Shadika Patel, 40, was stabbed to death in Ilford, east London just after midnight. James Sinclair aka Adelani Bepo, 28, was jailed for life (41 years) for murder  in July 2022. He also attacked another woman, Beverley Barzey, the following night but she survived. Motive unknown.

Mar 16 – Nelly Moustafa, 43, and her neighbour Zahida Bi, 52, were stabbed to death at their homes in Belle Walk, Moseley, Birmingham. Ms Moustafa’s husband Tamer Moustafa, 40, was jailed for life (30 years). The trial heard he killed them in a drug-fuelled rage.

March 15 – Cameron Murfitt, 18, was stabbed after being knocked off his bike in Shooters Hill, south London. Mason Bridle, 18, from Lewisham, was found guilty of murder and jailed for life (16 years). Mario Gruda, 23, from Eltham was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for life (14 years).

March 14 – Ahmed Torfi, 21, was stabbed twice in the street in Lewisham, SE London. He died in hospital on 12 June 2021. Joshua Erorh, 21, a rapper better known as Little MDot, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 14 – Jaydon McFarlane, 19, was stabbed to death in Brookfield Road, Ashford, Kent. Osita Alagbaoso, 18, was jailed for life in 2021. Joseph Matimba, 18, was acquitted of murder, but admitted perverting the course of justice. A third man, Hassan Tejan, 25, was convicted of perverting the course of justice after denying the charge. The murder was the result of a rivalry between two gangs in Ashford, whose members had engaged in a series of violent incidents in the weeks before the killing.Alagbaoso, said to be a member of a gang known as NPB – No Plan B – shared an image of the victim with his associates as he ‘glorified and took pride’ in the brutal killing, a jury was told. Matimba was also a member of NPB.The court heard McFarlane was a member of a gang called Kblock (from Kennington in Ashford) and in the weeks leading up to his death there had been growing tension between the rivals. The trial heard that on 25 Jan 2020 Alagbaoso had stabbed and injured Kaseem Ibrahim. The jury heard how in one call – played to the jury at Maidstone Crown Court – between Matimba and a friend Zain Ali began with Ali saying: “Ay yo yo my killydo” – which gang expert Francis Osei-Appiah claimed meant “my killer friend” in street gang speak.

Mar 14 – Roger Chang, 62, a businessman and president of the New Kingston Citizens’ Association, vanished and his body was found the following day on the seashore between Dover and Windsor Castle, Jamaica. He had been stabbed. Mr Chang – whose daughter Natasha is a racing car driver – had invited a young lady to a waterfall on the day of his death. Cebert Duggan, 60, and Khadeisha McKenzie, 33, an exotic dancer aka Diamond D or DD, from St Andrew, was jailed for life (20 years) along with Cebert Duggan, 60, from Enfield, St Mary parish. Ludlow Cousins, Jamar Jackson and Derrique Reid, who were all teenagers at the time, were convicted of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, possession of criminal property and benefiting from criminal property. Cousins and Jackson were jailed for 8 years and Reid for 9 years. The court heard Chang and McKenzie met on Tinder, a dating app, and subsequently met on several occasions. On the day he went missing, Chang had travelled with McKenzie to a river in Enfield in St Mary. At some point, before his trip, a plan was hatched to rob him. During the robbery, a decision was made to kill Chang because he had seen their faces. The court heard that Jackson, Reid and Cousins objected and left with their share of the money and other stolen items. McKenzie, Duggan and another man transported Chang to the beach where he was murdered.

March 13 – Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot dead at her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky when police executed a no-knock search warrant. She had been in bed with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shortly after midnight. Mr Walker fired a shot from his licensed gun, later telling police he thought that Ms Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, had broken in. Three officers returned fire, discharging 32 rounds, according to a ballistics report from the FBI. On 23 September, one officer – Brett Hankison – was charged, not with Ms Taylor’s death but with “wanton endangerment” for firing into a neighbour’s apartment. Two other officers who were involved have not been charged. Ben Crump, lawyer from the Taylor family, said the fact that no charges had been brought in direct relation to the killing was “outrageous and offensive”. Her family sued the Kentucky city for the death in May and reached a $12m settlement. The case was one of a number of high-profile killings by police which were highlighted by the Black Lives Matter campaign. Hankison, who fired 10 shots during the raid, was acquitted by a jury in 2022 of endangering Ms Taylor’s neighbours when some of the bullets he fired entered their home. In Aug 2022 Hankison, Joshua Jaynes, a fired officer, and serving officers Kelly Hanna Goodlett and Kyle Meany, were charged with civil rights offences, unlawful conspiracy, unconstitutional use of force and obstruction.

Mar 13 – Abdul Wahid Xasan, 19, from Foleshill, was shot as he walked home from Friday prayers at a mosque in Hillfields, Coventry. Carron Monga, 20, and Riaz Ahmed, who was 15 at the time, were convicted of murder in Nov 2020. Monga was jailed for life (27 years) and Ahmed got life (18 years). The killers were caught after police, tipped off by members of the public, ran their names through a computer system and discovered both were on electronic tags. Their ankle-worn tags showed them at the murder scene at the time of the shooting. Monga and Ahmed were linked to the C2 gang in Coventry, while Mr Xasan – who was arrested just days before his death over possession of an imitation gun – was connected to rival group RB7

Mar 8 – Thuan Nguyen, 31, of Antioch, Tennessee, was shot in the head outside Lenox Square shopping mall in Atlanta, Georgia after a row over a parking space. Ricky Lafargue, 19, was finally arrested in Brooklyn, New York, in November 2020. He awaits trial for murder.

Mar 8 – Damani Mauge, 17, was stabbed on a 130 bus in Croydon, south London. A 16-year-old boy was acquitted of murder and manslaughter. The boy, who cannot be idenfitied, told jurors he carried the large hunting knife for his own protection and only got it out to warn off Damani. He claimed he was stabbed by accident as they grappled. He pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon.

Mar 8 – Jahmal Thomas, 39, and Rhonda Hornsombath, 25, were shot dead at the Urban Lounge in Hamilton, Ontario around 5am. Two others survived. The victims had been attending a memorial celebration for Carel Douse, who was murdered in May 2019. The gunman was described as a black man in his 30s, about five-foot-10 tall, with a thin build and short braided hair. He was wearing dark jeans or pants and a track suit-style zip-up jacket. Unsolved.

Mar 7 – Vanita Nowell, 68, died of head injuries at her home in Peckham, south London. Her son Andrew Shepherd, 47, has been charged with murder and awaits trial.

March 7 – Ricardo Fuller, 24, a rapper and actor who performed under the name TAL£NT, was stabbed outside a friend’s 30th birthday party in Ilford, east London. Jermaine Ofori Ahenkorah, 28, Emmanuel Tamwesigire, 29, and Edmond Moses Tucker, 29, have been charged with murder and awaits trial. Police are seeking help finding Ahmed Sesay, 28, and Abubaker Tarawally, 23. Opening the trial, prosecutor Danny Robinson KC said Mr Fuller had been at a party in the Discoteca No Problem. The group of five men arrived shortly before 5am and there was a “verbal confrontation” with the victim, the prosecutor said. On being beckoned outside, Mr Fuller picked up a bottle from the disco and followed the men but was then stabbed.

March 6 – Gracie Crowder, 19 months old, died when she suffered deep and severe scalding at her home in Mansfield, Notts. Her mother Katie Crowder, 26, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder at Nottingham Crown Court in Nov 2020. The prosecution said Gracie could not have sustained such deep, severe and extensive injuries through an accidental spill, and would have taken about an hour to die. Prosecutor Sally Howes QC said Ms Crowder appeared at her parents’ nearby house in the early hours holding Gracie in her arms, shouting “she is dead”. The prosecutor said the defendant’s mother asked: “What the hell have you done?” Ms Crowder is alleged to have said: “I don’t know, I found her like this.” Ms Crowder told officers she had been “cleaning up a mess from the puppy” and found her daughter face down in the bathroom next to a mop bucket. Ms Howes told the jury the amount of cocaine found in the defendant’s blood four hours after the incident indicated she took the class A drug an hour before Gracie’s death. Gracie suffered burns that covered 65% of her body and was left for at least an hour.

March 6 – Janice Child, 64, was struck 31 times with a hammer at her home in Woolton, Merseyside. Her son Robert Child, 37, a psychologist, from Pensby, Wirral, was jailed for life (29 years) for murder. The court was told Child “spontaneously” transferred £25,000 from her bank account to his own after killing her. The following morning he bought a Jaguar car for nearly £15,000. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility but this was not accepted by the prosecution. Child tried to give himself an alibi by leaving his phone at Liverpool University, where he sometimes worked, before making calls from his mother’s phone to his own phone. But his “complicated plan to cover his tracks” unravelled when detectives discovered a screwed-up bus ticket from the area where his mother lived, proving he had been there a short time after her death.

Mar 6 – Jordan Marples-Douglas, 23, was stabbed to death at a house in Woodthorpe Road, Sheffield. Ben Jones, 25, was jailed for life (21 years) in 2021. Aaron Johnson, 22, has fled the country. His girlfriend, Dina Aweimrin, 22, has been jailed for three years for assisting an offender.

March 3 – Shanur Ahmed, 16, was beaten to death with a bicycle saddle and dumped on wasteland near Gallions Reach DLR station in Newham, east London. Ignas Stauryla, 18, was jailed for life (17 and a half years) for murder. He was also found guilty of possession of an offensive weapon and pleaded guilty to two counts of affray and one count of ABH. Yusuf Jennah, 19, was sentenced to 15 months after pleading guilty to two counts of affray and one count of ABH. Nick Janarauskas, 18, was sentenced to 12 months after pleading guilty to two counts of affray and one count of ABH. Ibrahim Khamis, 19, was sentenced to 14 months after pleading guilty to two counts of affray and one count of ABH. Sadiq Abubakar, 18, was sentenced to 15 months in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of affray and one count of ABH. Michael Mendes, 19, was sentenced to 11 months after pleading guilty to one count of affray and one count of ABH. The trial heard Stauryla was among a group of youths who ambushed one of Shanur’s friends at a bus stop outside Newham College earlier that day, stealing his phone. The victim of that assault was rushed to hospital in an ambulance where he was visited by Shanur and five other friends, his trial heard. Shanur and the others left the hospital in a cab around 7.20pm heading to the home of Abubakar in pursuit of their friend’s phone.

March 2 – Bhavini Pravin, 21, was stabbed to death and died in her mother’s arms in the lounge of her home in Belgrave, Leicester. Jigukumar Sorthi, 24, was jailed for life (28 years) for murder. The trial heard he brutally knifed his fiancée to death in revenge for cancelling their wedding. Sorthi carried out an “honour killing” because he felt his family’s reputation had been tarnished by the rejection. The judge said the couple were betrothed in an arranged marriage from their teens. Sorthi had a civil ceremony with Bhavini, in India in 2017, and followed her to England on a spousal visa in August 2018. In the ensuing 18 months it became clear it was not a good match and the couple, who lived at separate addresses, grew apart. On the day before the killing, Bhavini’s parents rang Sorthi’s mother in India to call off the religious Hindi wedding and the defendant was affected by the level of his mother’s distress – and feared his family’s reputation was affected.

March 2 – David Siirak, 27, was beaten at a mental health facility in Pield Heath Road, Hillingdon, north west London and died two days later. Ronnell Dennis, 26, was charged with murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was given an indefinite hospital order.

Mar 2 – Joss McCaughtrie, 26, was hit by a car and killed in Farnworth, near Bolton, Greater Manchester. Shaun Ward, 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for seven years. His girlfriend, Shannon Kay, 24, admitted assisting an offender. The trial heard McCaughtrie was buying drugs from Ward when something went wrong. In April 2018 McCaughtrie was issued with a Community Behaviour Order, which was due to expire in April 2020.

February 2020

Feb 29 – Archie Beston, 19, was stabbed to death in Kingston-upon-Thames. Tyron Bryan, 20, was acquitted of murder but jailed for 19 years for manslaughter, GBH, possession of points and blades and affray. Finley Ahwan, 20, was jailed for seven years for attempted grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving.

Feb 29 – Asante Campbell, 24, was stabbed to death on the Bellevue estate in Hendon, NW London. Kofi Abusah, 19, from Edgware and Javell Hall, 18, from Hayes, west London, were both jailed for life (19 years) in 2021. Asante Campbell, who was from Edgware, left his fiancée and baby daughter and drove to the Bellevue Estate to meet a friend before they were due to travel together to work a night shift as railway track workers. Whilst waiting in the car park, a Toyota Prius, containing the suspects, pulled up next to him. Four men got out of the Toyota, while the driver waited to aide their escape. They surrounded Asante’s VW Polo. He was stabbed through an open window.The killers went to a club after the killing. Hafid Abdi Mohammed Omar, 19, was acquitted of murder but jailed for three years and six months’ imprisonment for assisting an offender.

Feb 26 – Tyler Roye, 24, a hotel concierge, was stabbed in Croydon just after midnight and died in hospital two hours later. Sam Odupitan, 23, was convicted of murder and two counts of robbery and was jailed for life (30 years). He stole Tyler’s £800 Gucci manbag with a Bengal tiger print on it.

Feb 26 – Janice Woolford, 68, was stabbed to death at her home in Sunderland. Her son Michael Woolford, 44, killed himself after killing her.

Feb 25 – Jasbir Kaur, 52, and her husband Rupinder Bassan, 51, were stabbed to death at their home in Oldbury, West Midlands. Anmol Chana, 26, was jailed for life (36 years) in August 2020. The trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard Chana stole from his mother and stepfather, went to the pub and planned to flee the country. Judge Mark Wall QC said Chana showed a “complete lack of remorse”.

Feb 25 – Li Qing Wang, 35, a mother of two, was stabbed to death in her bedroom in Leyton, east London. Her boyfriend Yi Xing Song, 54, was jailed for life (19 years) in Sep 2020. He had suffered “sleepless nights” because he thought Ms Wang was seeing another man, the Old Bailey was told. On the day of the killing, the court was told he had drunk strong lager and red wine before launching a “ferocious” attack with a six inch knife. He had then shared images of her body on a family WeChat group. The photo was seen by Ms Wang’s sister, who lives in China, and she got in touch with relatives to check on Ms Wang’s welfare.

Feb 24 – Ashley Noell Arzaga, 24, was stabbed to death at the Crown Spa, an erotic massage parlour, in North York, near Toronto, Canada at 12.45pm. Another woman, believed to be the massage parlour owner, survived and disarmed the attacker. A 17-year-old admitted murder in Sep 2022 and awaits sentencing. He cannot be identified because of his age. He was a member of the online incel (involuntary celibate) community. Asked why he identified as an incel, the teen told police in a statement, “You don’t choose to become an incel. You are born one.” He also said the actions of Toronto van killer Alek Minassian were “an inspiration”. As he attacked her, the teen told her, “Die, die, die,” calling her a “stupid whore.”

Feb 24 – Alexa Negron Luciano, 27, a transgender “bag lady”, was shot in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. The case made global headlines after a video circulated online, showing her being shot dead while men laughed. Reggaeton singer Bad Bunny wore a t-shirt which said: “They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt” during a TV performance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. Luciano, also known as Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, was confronted by a police officer after she used the women’s bathroom at a McDonald’s restaurant in Toa Baja on Sunday, Feb 23. The following day her body was found on a patch of marshy grassland near a main road in Toa Baja. Jordany Rafael Laboy García, Christian Yamaurie Rivera Otero and Anthony Steven Lobos were charged with assaulting Luciano.

Feb 23 – Ahmaud Arbery, 25, who was black, was shot dead while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia. In May 2020 Gregory McMichael, 64, a former police officer, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, were jailed for life (no parole) murder. A neighbour, William Bryan, was also jailed for life (offered the possibility of parole in 30 years). For more than two months, police did not charge the McMichaels, who are white, until the shooting gained widespread attention in the national media and provoked outrage. A video clip of the shooting emerged online in May and the hashtag #Joggingwhileblack trended. Gregory McMichael told police he saw Mr Arbery and believed he resembled the suspect in a series of local break-ins. Mr McMichael and his son armed themselves with a pistol and a shotgun and pursued Mr Arbery in a pick-up truck.

Feb 22 – Debbie Zurick, 56, was shot dead at her home in Winsford, near Minehead, Somerset. Her husband John Zurick, 67, was arrested but it later emerged that Debbie had shot herself.

Feb 21 – Lennox Alcendor, 42, from Harlesden, was stabbed in Cricklewood, north London. James Rochester, 42, was jailed for life (28 years) for murder and Christian Fearon, 20, was jailed for life (24 years) for murder. The court heard how Lennox had travelled with a friend to Cricklewood to buy two bottles of rum from the defendants. They went into the flat of a mutual friend where negotiations over the sale took place. During these discussions, an argument broke out and Lennox and his friend left the property with the rum. Lennox had refused to pay, claiming Rochester was in his debt because his ex-girlfriend owed him money. Rochester pulled an 11-inch plasterboard saw from his waistband and stabbed Lennox in the throat. He and Fearon then proceeded to punch and kick Lennox as he lay dying while the friend tried to fend them off. They then stole his watch and reclaimed one of the bottles of rum – the second had been smashed during the incident – before casually walking away. The pair were identified following extensive CCTV enquiries. When apprehended, Fearon said: “This thing you’re trying to put on me, this murder, there was someone else involved but I didn’t do nothing.”

Feb 20 – Khuzaimah Douglas, 19, a kickboxer, and Waseem Ramzan, 36, were killed with a crossbow in a robbery at a cannabis factory in Pensnett Road, Brierley Hill, West Midlands. Omar Ramzan, 23, his father Saghawat Ramzan, 46, and Sageer Mohammed, 33, were all jailed for life for murdering Mr Douglas. Saghawat alone was convicted of killing Waseem, who was his younger brother. The other two were convicted of Waseem’s manslaughter. The trial was shown CCTV footage of the moment Saghawat Ramzan shot his brother in the stomach with the crossbow during a four-on-one punishment beating intended to kill or maim Mr Douglas. A second bolt, travelling at 270ft-per-second, was fired at Mr Douglas less than a minute later, causing fatal injuries. Omar Razman, a former KPMG accountant and Lancaster University graduate, was given a minimum term of 22 years. Saghawat was given a minimum term of 33 years and Sageer got 20 years. The trial heard they were trying to protect their cannabis farm from raiders, who included Douglas.

Feb 18 – Sundeep Ghuman, 36, was beaten to death and died of head injuries at Belmarsh prison in south-east London. Ghuman was jailed for five years and four months in 2011 for a series of arson attacks in the south east London borough of Bexley. In one incident he broke into a Kwik Fit store armed with a blow torch and a propane gas canister, and set fire to a tyre stack and a fence. Later that night, residents had to be evacuated from their homes after he damaged a pipe, causing a build-up of gas. His sentence was one of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), which was why he had not been released in 2020. Cellmate Steven Hilden, 28, was jailed for life (17 years) for murder. Terry Jocham, 28, was acquitted. Hildren was a burglar who was on remand at the time.

Feb 17 – James Dowdell, 55, was strangled and hit over the head at his home in Chelsea, west London. Mohammed Assri, 46, was jailed for life (21 years) for murder. Isleworth Crown Court heard he took over Mr Dowdell’s finances, including using his Halifax debit card regularly, and pawned a valuable watch-strap belonging to Mr Dowdell. When he was arrested Assri, who had been homeless prior to moving into the flat in late January, claimed his name was Adam and Mr Dowdell was his uncle.

Feb 15 – Ann Mowbray, 80, was stabbed 49 times at home in Studley, Warwickshire. Her husband Ronald Mowbray, 82, was charged with murder but died in prison awaiting trial. The inquest heard Mr Mowbray, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, had told a congregation member he planned to kill his wife.

Feb 15 – Cherith Van Der Ploeg, 60, was smothered at her home in Costessey, Norwich. Her estranged husband Cornelius Van Der Ploeg, 63, from Hadley, Telford, was convicted of murder and jailed for life (six years). She was terminally ill. Both were originally from Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.

Feb 9 – Mary Haley, 75, was killed at her home in Hamilton, Scotland. Her son Craig Haley, 35, was jailed for life (20 years).

Feb 7 – Tazne van Wyk , 8, was raped and murdered in Worcester, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Her body was found in a storm drain. Moyhdian Pangarker 54, was jailed for life for murder in Jan 2023. He had recently been released from prison after serving time for a sex offence. An angry mob attended his initial court hearings. Circumstantial evidence revealed that Pangarker kidnapped, raped and murdered the eight-year-old Tazne and desecrated her corpse. He chopped off her hand to conceal evidence. Judge Maher ruled that the evidence found under Tazné’s nails linked Pangarker to the crime and it is probable that Tazné spoke beyond the grave by bravely fighting for her life. Tazne was last seen walking to a tuck shop near her Connaught Estate home in Elsies River, Western Cape in 2020. Her kidnapper was arrested a week later in Cradock in the Eastern Cape.

Feb 5 – Babacar Diagne, 15, originally from Sutton Coldfield, was stabbed to death on grassland in Wood End, Coventry. Three boys, who were aged 15 and 16 at the time, were convicted of murder and jailed for life but cannot be identified because of their age. The trial heard that one of them sent a WhatsApp message to his father pleading for help to flee the country. It read: “I need to go to Africa…ASAP…like tomorrow if I can.”

Feb 1 – Kymberli Sweeney, 27, was found dead at her flat in Govanhill, Paisley, Scotland. Shaun Wilson, 28, from Ayr, was charged with murder but was later found to be unfit for trial. He is incarcerated in Carstairs Hospital.

January 2020

Jan – Damien Bendelow, 20, was stabbed six times in the Cattle Market car park in Liskeard, Cornwall. Carl Smythe, 46, was jailed for life (21 years) in August 2020. In May 2021 he committed suicide at HMP Manchester. Smythe and Bendelow had both been out in the White Horse pub and had a verbal exchange after Smythe spoke to Damien’s 16-year-old girlfriend. Smythe went on to punch Damien before striking some females in the pub as he was thrown out. He went home before arming himself and tracking down Damien with the help of his friend, Mark Jackson, who also took his own life in June 2020 ahead of a trial in which he was due to face a charge of assisting a murderer.

Jan 29 – Eraj Seifi, 46, a delivery driver from Maida Vale, was shot in Queen’s Park, north west London. He died of his injuries on February 7. Errol James, 51, and Romello Briggs-Leon, 25, were acquitted of murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Errol James told the court he did not know the gun used to kill Iraj Seifi was loaded as it did not belong to him. The trial heard Seifi was killed in a bungled drugs deal.

Jan 27 – Louis Johnson, 16, was stabbed to death on a pedestrian bridge at East Croydon station in south London. Kion McKenna, 17, was jailed for life (16 years) in Oct 2020. McKenna, who was linked to a gang in Tooting, stabbed Louis, who had connections to a Clapham gang, after a chance meeting following previous run-ins between the pair.

Jan 27 – Michael O’Leary, 55, from Nantgaredig, was shot dead after being lured to isolated Cyncoed Farm in Carmarthenshire, Wales. His body was never found. Andrew Jones, 53, from Carmarthen, was jailed for life (30 years). O’Leary was having an affair with Jones’ wife Rhiannon. Jones used his wife Rhiannon’s secret mobile phone to lure O’Leary to the farm. He initially denied knowing anything about his death but later said he took a rifle to confront Mr O’Leary but denied planning to murder him. Swansea Crown Court heard Jones claim the gun went off accidentally and he tried to cover up the killing. But the police proved he had deliberately entrapped O’Leary after months of planning.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/andrew-jones-michael-oleary-murder-19081730

Jan 26 – Andrew Jackson, 55, was killed and his body found on an allotment in Shirebrook, Derbyshire. Leon Smith, 27, was jailed for life (14 years) for murder. He was a drug addict.

Jan 24 – Conor Morley (9), his brother Darragh (7) and her daughter Carla (3) were killed at their family home in Newcastle, County Dublin, Ireland. Their mother, Deirdre Morley, 44, was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She had been struggling with her mental health in the year or so leading up to the tragedy.

Jan 24 – Czeslaw “Chester” Swiatkowski, 67, was stabbed to death at a house in Clapton, east London. Dawid Wycik, 28, was jailed for life (17 years minimum) after being convicted of murder at Inner London Crown Court. The pair were work colleagues. Wycik, who was Polish, was drunk.

Jan 22 – Marylène Lévesque, 22, a sex worker, was stabbed 30 times at the Sepia Hotel in the Sainte-Foy borough of Quebec City, Canada. Eustachio Gallese, 51, left the hotel and walked into a police station to confess to killing her. Gallese was on day release from prison after being sentenced to life for the 2004 murder of his partner, Chantale Deschenes, who he attacked with a hammer before repeatedly stabbing her. The parole board denied Gallese full parole but allowed him to continue living in a halfway house on day parole, deeming him a “moderate risk”. The Canadian Parliament censured the parole board in the wake of Marylène’s murder. The Crown prosecutor told the court Gallese had developed feelings for Levesque and grew jealous and angry when she became more distant. She agreed to meet him at a restaurant on Jan. 22, then went with him to a hotel. He was jailed for life (25 years) in 2021.

Jan 20 – Tahereh Pirali-Dashti, 40, was run over by a car after a row with another motorist on the A406 at Henlys Corner in Finchley, north London. She died in hospital on April 10. Robert Barrow 54, from Chigwell, Essex, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter. He claimed it was an accident. The court heard how Mrs Pirali-Dashti had been travelling towards Brent Cross with her husband, Asghar Moradmand, when their Honda Civic bumped into Barrow’s Volkswagen Touareg.

Jan 19 – Narinder Singh Lubhaya, 29, Harinder Kumar, 30, and Malkit Singh Dhillon, 37, were stabbed to death in the street in Seven Kings, Ilford, east London. All were Indian nationals. Gurjeet Singh, 29, from Ilford, was charged with possessing an offensive weapon with intent but was acquitted at Snaresbrook Crown Court in August 2020. He was never charged with murder as the CPS accepted that his assailants, who were armed with knives and hammers, were intent on violence, which is understood to have been sparked after the men, mainly labourers, fell out with Mr Singh over a business deal and money. Mr Singh – who reportedly “went all Bruce Lee” during the incident – suffered cuts to his head, forehead and a crush injury to his head believed to have come from a hammer.

Jan 18 – Sasha Krause, 27, a Sunday school teacher from the Mennonite Christian community, vanished near her home in New Mexico. Mark Gooch, 21, a US Air Force airman, was jailed for life without parole for murder, kidnapping and theft. Her body was found near Flagstaff, Arizona on 24 February. Gooch was based at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix. Gooch, who allegedly stole the victim’s traditional head covering and her underwear, hated the Mennonite community.

Jan 16 – Robert Wilson, 53, from Birstall, was beaten and stabbed with a samurai sword outside his workplace, the Thornton & Ross pharmaceutical factory in Linthwaite, Huddersfield. Robert’s friend, John Badejo, 39, survived. The pair tackled a group of drunken youths. Kiyran Earnshaw, 18, and Luke Gaukroger, 16, admitted murder and were jailed for life. Earnshaw was jailed for minimum of 22 years and Gaukroger for 16 years. The trial heard Gaukroger glorified the sadistic murder of a ‘much-admired’ factory worker, husband and stepfather in a rap titled ‘No Remorse’. Gaukroger wrote four sets of heartless lyrics that addressed the ‘gruesome, frenzied and senseless’ fatal stabbing while he was on remand in a young offenders’ institution.

Jan 16 – Claire Nash, 33, was strangled and stabbed 10 times at her home in Newmarket, Suffolk. Her ex-boyfriend Charles Jessop, 33, was jailed for life for murder. The trial at Ipswich Crown Court heard Jessop, a former trainee jockey, was a “ticking time bomb” who attacked Clare on her doorstep in front of her three-year-old son after lying in wait for her to return home. The terrified youngster, yelled: “It’s Charlie, he’s got a knife, and he’s going to chop my mum’s head off.” She was dragged in to her downstairs toilet by Jessop after she told him: “Not in front of the child.” She was then stabbed multiple times before Jessop’s knife broke and he continued his attack by strangling her behind the closed door. Jurors heard a harrowing 999 call made by her housemate Peter Claringbold who had been looking after her son. Mr Claringbold held his phone up to the toilet door so call handlers could hear Jessop scream: “You are going to die” as he stabbed her.

Jan 15 – Nasir Patrice, 17, from Birmingham, was stabbed to death in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. Several people have been arrested. Police say the murder was linked to “county lines” drug dealing in the town. A 16-year-old boy from London was acquitted of murder but jailed for 10 years for manslaughter. The trial heard the defendant claimed to have acted in self-defence during the stabbings, when intruders linked to a Birmingham-based gang entered a flat. Three other members of the London-based county lines “syndicate” pleaded guilty before the trial to doing acts intended to pervert the course of justice. Richard Talawila, 19, from Harrow, William Hutsch, 18, from Greenwich and Abraham Kombey, 19, from Erith, were given two-year sentences were released immediately due to time served on remand.

Jan 13 – Krasimir Kartikov, 60, was beaten to death at his home in Croydon, south London. Nikolay Zhivkov, 44, was jailed for life for murder. Both men were Bulgarian nationals.

Jan 12 – Keane Mulready-Woods, 17, vanished from the streets of Drogheda in County Louth, Republic of Ireland. He had been lured to a house in Rathmullan Park. The following day his dismembered body turned up in several sports bags left in Coolock, Dublin. At 1.30am on the Tuesday (two days later) the rest of his body turned up in a burning car in Darndale, Dublin. The murder horrified hardened crime correspondents. It was linked to a gang feud in Drogheda, which claimed the lives of Richard Carberry in November 2019 and Keith Branigan in August 2019. The feud was between the so-called Maguire and Anti-Maguire factions. The Maguire faction was led by Owen Maguire, a traveller, who was left in a wheelchair after being shot in July 2018. Keane’s killers are believed to be from the anti-Maguire faction. Two of the main leaders of that faction, brothers in their 20s, have fled abroad. Nobody has been charged with murder but the main suspect, Robbie Lawlor, was shot dead at a house in Belfast in April 2020. Gerard McKenna, 50, was jailed for four years for obstructing a prosecution. He had been directed to clean up the house by a now-deceased criminal of “very significant notoriety” linked to several murders including that of a “very close friend”. In Feb 2023 Paul Crosby, 27, from Rathmullan Park, was jailed for 10 years and Gerard Cruise, 49, was jailed for 7 years for facilitating the murder.

Jan 10 – Donald Abner, 55, was beaten and bitten by a dog in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Melissa Wolke, 38, was jailed for 20 years for murder. She set her pit bull terrier on him. She was intoxicated at the time. Wolke told the dog, “Good boy, get him.” She later admitted she had “gone redneck” on him.

Jan 9 – Geoffrey Pearce, 47, a scrap metal dealer, was battered and then strangled with a plastic cable tie in Newton Poppleford, Devon. Lewis Finch, 31, was jailed for life (22 years). After the murder, Finch said to police: “I’ve done you a favour, I’ve killed a paedophile.” Plymouth Crown Court heard Finch had gone to Mr Pearce’s caravan at a haulage yard with “murder in mind”. Sentencing Finch to life, Judge Peter Johnson said he was “satisfied” he had been abused by Mr Pearce as a child, “but to what degree is unclear”. Jurors heard he had been abused from the age of 11 or 12.

Jan 5 – Audrius Lapinskas, 30, punched outside a house in Peterborough. Nicolae Budurus, 40, admitted manslaughter at Cambridge Crown Court in April 2020 and was given a 16-month suspended sentence. The court heard Budurus was disturbed when a drunk Lapinskas vandalised his car wing mirror. He ran outside and confronted him. Lapinskas died from a traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Jan 3 – Glenn Quinn, a barman, 47, was beaten to death with baseball bats and iron bars by members of the South East Antrim branch of the UDA at his flat on the Woodburn estate in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. He was reportedly killed a short time after clashing with a senior UDA figure, a convicted killer and drug dealer. It is the third killing carried out by the South East Antrim UDA in the past three years. In 2017 it gunned down former members Geordie Gilmore and Colin Horner during an internal feud. Two men, aged 38 and 39, and a woman aged 47, were arrested but nobody has been charged.

Jan 3 – William Algar, 53, a jazz trumpeter, was stabbed at a house in Nowell Road, Barnes, south west London. He was known to friends as Blaise. Emeka Dawuda-Wodu, 19, was acquitted of his murder but Dawodu-Wodu, Simon Emmons, 39, and Zimele Dube, 33, were all convicted of murdering Ebrima Cham (see Dec 2019) and jailed for life. Janayo Lucima, 18, was charged with Algar’s murder but it was later amended to perverting the course of justice, of which he was convicted. Mark Harding, 44, from Isleworth, admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Algar looked after drugs on behalf of a gangster called Monster and later for another dealer called Drippa, who Dawuda-Wodu worked for.

Jan 1 – Helen Hancock, 39, and Martin Griffiths, 48, were attacked at their home in Duffield, Derbyshire. Her estranged husband Rhys Hancock, 39, was jailed for life (31 years) in Oct 2020. Hancock rang the police: “I’ve just murdered my wife in her bed.” Mr Griffiths was found dead in a bedroom when police arrived at the property, while Mrs Hancock – who was stabbed 66 times – died after paramedics were unable to resuscitate her. Derby Crown Court was told how Hancock was discovered inside the property covered in blood following the murders, telling police: “I’m hardly going to deny it – look at me.”