Miscellaneous Criminal Cases

It will be 30 years tomorrow since the Hungerford shootings.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/hungerford_massacre

We must have mentioned this one before - guilty as sin parents claimed they were suspected because of their racial origins.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/the-giveaway-signs-that-shafilea-ahmeds-parents-were-her-killers/ar-AAqZ8ok?li=AAnZ9Ug&ocid=mailsignout

What must it have been like for their four younger children who witnessed the murder but were too terrified to speak out.

Hmmm Edgar involved in this.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/giveaway-signs-shafilea-ahmeds-parents-13549490

“We looked at her bank accounts, her friends, no one had seen her. Her boyfriends. There was no sign of her, there was no trace,” David Edgar, a former detective inspector, tells the programme.
“We were actively considering they [the parents] had dumped their daughter somewhere. They were not very convincing, there were lots of discrepancies in their version of events.”

How strange. Dave Edgar has experience of cases where it was obvious from the start that there was parental involvement, though proving it was difficult.

Yet he can see no problem with the strange behaviour and contradictory tales told by the McCanns and their friends.

Pat Brown is talking about this case on Facebook; it seems a little unlikely, it has to be said.

http://people.com/crime/matthew-phelps-cold-medicine-murder-court-appearance/

An update on the Chloe Ayling "kidnap" case.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41389489

How a simple touch gave away child killer after he 'abused' and suffocated his step daughter

Killers Miles Evans, who murdered his step-daughter, and Fadi Nasri, who ordered the murder of his wife, gave themselves away in television appeals as they couldn't control the body language that betrayed their lies


ByClaire Carter

• 11:59, 28 SEP 2017
  
• Updated13:12, 28 SEP 2017
  

As Paula Hamilton struggled to retain her composure when she made an appeal for her missing nine-year-old daughter to come home, her husband Miles Evans boldly continued their plea.

Their daughter Zoe, nine, had disappeared from her bedroom on the Army base in Warminster where they lived.



Within hours, hundreds of military personnel were searching for the youngster, along with the police and Evans.

And as he appeared in front of the media Evans explained how much they loved his step-daughter Zoe and she would not be in any trouble if she returned home. In fact, they just wanted to give her "lots of cuddles" and a puppy if she came back.

But he was lying.


Doing a press conference two days after Zoe was reported missing, Evans gave himself away with the slightest of movements - his body language betraying the lies behind his crocodile tears.
He had murdered Zoe, dumping her body - with her T-shirt shoved inside her mouth - in a badger sett yards from their home. He never admitted his guilt and it took more than six weeks for her body to be found.
Miles, who was 24 at the time, was arrested when his t-shirt was found with Zoe's blood on. He has never admitted the killing, but was jailed for life after being found guilty following a trial. During his trial it was also suggested the army private may have abused Zoe.
Alarm was first raised when Zoe, a happy child who had given no indication she was planning on running away, was found missing from her bedroom.
Inspector Colin Sutton said: "It’s pretty unusual for nine year olds to make a serious effort of running away you know. 13, 12, 14 year olds something like that maybe, but when you’ve got a nine year old and it’s overnight like this the alarm bells are there."
Evans raised suspicion among the media when he appeared at a press appeal two days after she had been reported missing. Paula, Zoe's mother, was unable to continue with the appeal and left in tears. Evans continued - but failed to make eye contact with any of the journalists and constantly looked down.
Body language expert Cliff Lansley analysed Evans' appearance during the TV appeal for documentary Faking It:Tears of a Crime and said that the Army private closed his eyes while asking Zoe to come home - an indication of a distancing technique. A slight move of his arm was also a subconscious signal of his guilt.
He said: "He’s making a claim, he wants her to come home. ‘We really love you’ - but those statements are being contradicted by an eye closure.
"You’ll also notice from the upper arm, there’s a movement of the upper arm. This suggests he’s manipulating on his knee. And this is something we do to comfort ourself, when we’re under stress. So, is he under stress, and he’s manipulating his leg because of the TV cameras? Is he under stress because he’s fearing being disbelieved when he’s telling the truth? Or more likely, with the other signals, is he feeling stressed because he’s trying to get away with a lie?"
Miles also uses "we" throughout the press conference to refer to how much they care for and miss Zoe - never using I, but trying to make himself part of this group of distressed relatives.
Zoe, nine, disappeared 20 years ago on 11 January 1997.
Her mother Paula Hamilton had married Evans, a military private who was a driver for the army so the three lived at the army base. She had been talking excitedly about her upcoming 10th birthday.
On the morning where Zoe was reported missing Evans had carried out his usual routine, playing computer games with a colleague at the Royal Logistical Corps depot - games he would always win.
But on the morning of her disappearance he unusually lost.


It later emerged Evans had taken nine-year-old Zoe from her bed the night before, beaten her unconscious and suffocated her with her own vest. At the time her mum Paula, 29, was believed to have been wearing ear plugs Evans had given her to mask the sound of his snoring.
During his trial it was suggested that Evans may have been abusing the little girl. She had apparently told a friend that a terrifying bogeyman would come into her room at night.
After killing her, Evans carried Zoe's tiny body to Battlesbury Hill, not far from their home, and dumped her in a badger's sett. He also discarded his No Fear T-shirt - which had Zoe's blood on - nearby.
Forensic Psychologist Kerry Daynes said: "I’ve dealt with many, many cases of sexual abuse, in many different contexts, including the home. And I’ve dealt with many child murderers, and this is an unusual case. Usually abuse that’s taking place in the home doesn’t end in murder, although it’s not unknown.
"I believe he panicked, and thought, ‘What can I do? What am I going to lose here? I’m going to lose my wife, I’m going to be exposed for what I am.’ And so he panicked, took her out of the house, and killed her."

Evans has continued to maintain his innocence since being convicted. He was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 17 years, but a request for parole in 2010 was refused.
The programme also covers the case of voluntary special police constable Nisha Nasri, who was stabbed and left to bleed to death in the street in a murder ordered by her husband Fadi Nasri so he could cash in on their life insurance.
After being stabbed with one of her own kitchen knives just outside her home, Nisha was seen staggering in the road screaming "He's following me!"
Police initially thought the murder was part of a burglary gone wrong.
Fadi appeared on Crimewatch where he made an unemotional appeal to find his wife's killer - even boldly telling cameras that "obviously someone had a guilty conscience."
However experts analysing his appeal found he failed to hide a smile of contempt as he uttered his lies.
"The confidence and arrogance of the guy who’s orchestrated the killing to say someone has got a guilty conscience is bravado at its heights," said Cliff Lansley. "Unfortunately he gives away this kick he's getting from fooling the media with a sly smile. Now this happens for about one fifth of a second.

"What you see from the corners of the mouth is a slight raising there and this is pulled by a muscle connected to the jaw bone to the corners of the lips, our smiling muscle is pulling up his lips. And we call this duping delight. It’s the pleasure that he’s probably feeling here of getting away with a lie or getting away with the fact that he was a murderer."
Nisha was 29 and also ran a nail salon when she volunteered as a special police constable.

On the surface her marriage to Fadi appeared to be a happy one but it emerged he had been having an affair. He was also allegedly involved in an escort agency which Nisha persuaded him to give up. Fadi took out a joint £350k life insurance policy in his and his wife's name, which he apparently planned to use to cover his debts of more than £100k once Nisha was dead.
This led to a plot to kill the Special Constable, who was found dead on May 11, 2006 - having been stabbed with a 13 inch knife and left to bleed to death on the street.
When her husband appeared on Crimewatch, producers at first thought his appeal was not going to work because he had such little emotion and seemed so detached. As his interview was played on the show and he said the killing of his wife had "completely changed" his life, Fadi subconsciously gave himself away.

Cliff added: "So he's saying this completely changed his life. However we’re seeing a contradiction with his right shoulder on our left, and if you notice his right shoulder it’s lifting a fraction of a centimetre, maybe a centimetre at most. This is a gestural slip. It’s a single sided shoulder shrug which contradicts the words he’s saying."
Nasri was convicted of murder after a three-month trial. Drug dealer Rodger Leslie, 38, who arranged the killing and 6ft 4in bouncer Jason Jones, 36, who stabbed Nisha with her own 13in kitchen knife, were also convicted of murder.
On the day of the murder, Nasri ensured Nisha was alone at home in Wembley, North London, while he played snooker with a pal to give himself an alibi. He gave Leslie a set of keys to allow Jones to let himself into the house.

After stabbing Nisha, Jones fled to a car driven by career crook Tony Emmanuel, 42, and shortly afterwards dumped the knife in a drain.
Emmanuel was cleared of murder after claiming he believed he was driving Jones to a drug deal.
Faking It: Tears of a Crime will be shown on Friday at 10pm on Investigation Discovery
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/how-simple-touch-gave-away-11244053

These are both very well known cases.

Shades of the South African honeymoon murder with one (his name escapes me for the moment and yes I know he wasn't convicted) and the other was a child who disappeared from her bedroom.......hmmm.


P.S. His name was Shrien Dewani.

This fortunately has a happy ending http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-41452723
The child was very lucky. I wonder the Police naysayers would comment on the fact that an officer was in the river already

This one is really dreadful.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41484206

A dreadful story from Brazil.

http://news.sky.com/story/children-set-alight-at-nursery-school-in-brazil-11068866

Apparently this poor child was taken from her natural parents and adopted against their will - I have seen a comment from someone on Facebook claiming to be the natural father. No doubt it will all come out if the adoptive father is found guilty.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tragic-elsie-smiles-for-the-camera-in-family-photo/ar-AAtnSE0?li=AA59G2&ocid=spartandhp

I'm not sure if I knew that children could be adopted without parental consent - fostered long-term maybe but not adopted.

Previous link: http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/teen-girl-admits-katie-rough-manslaughter/ar-BBDEkgv?li=BBoPRmx&ocid=mailsignout

Still awaiting sentence - let's hope she will never be released until she's no longer ill, if that ever happens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-41145196

I was fairly sure that the girl is either the half or step sister of Katie and that has been confirmed by a bit of rummaging around.

A terrible story here.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/first-picture-of-mum-of-two-charged-with-murder-after-naked-baby-thrown-from-sixth-floor-window/ar-AAtWSZa?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntp

Only five years for a persistent violent offender? That's very wrong in my opinion.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-41813992

Andrew wrote:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3775913/Mother-four-arrested-four-year-old-son-died-horrific-blaze-slept.html

A grieving mother has been arrested for child neglect after her four-year-old son died in a horrific blaze.
Jenny Davies, 28, escaped the inferno with three of her children but little Jac was trapped in his bedroom.
Davies was arrested and held for questioning after a police investigation into the fire at Pontardawe, near Swansea, South Wales.

A belated follow-up to this one.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/mother-whose-four-year-old-12655328

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4810786/Boy-four-died-house-fire-lamp-fell.html

This is a truly awful case - I hope that those responsible are caught and locked up for many years.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/walthamstow-acid-attack-first-picture-of-delivery-driver-muhammed-nawshad-kamal-left-fighting-for-life/ar-AAuqLxx?li=AA59G2&ocid=spartanntp

I remember this case from 20 years ago. Let's hope that the killer could still be found.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-devon-41859332/kate-bushell-murder-best-friend-went-numb

An horrific case - and unusual in that the victim didn't die directly from the attack but by choice in a euthanasia clinic.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5062297/Former-girlfriend-48-murdered-ex-29-acid.html

More on the story of the baby who was adopted without her birth family's consent.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/elsie-scully-hicks-birth-family-13871496?service=responsive