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Archive for Homicide for Money

Jun
21

Janet Brown

by Jean Calder
Died in 2005

Janet Brown (45) of Hexham, Northumberland was murdered in 2005. Her body has never been found.

Donald Graham (60), of Sparty Lea, Northumberland, was convicted of her murder. In June 2014 a judge at Newcastle Crown Court jailed Graham for life, saying he would not be eligible for parole for 32 years. He had denied murder but admitted fraud.

Ms Brown was a wealthy property developer and occasional television extra.

Ms Brown had been in a relationship with Graham, who was married. During the trial, the court heard him described as a “controlling and manipulative” man who killed Ms Brown, a, to fund a lavish lifestyle. Once having disposed of her body, Graham took advantage of the fact that Ms Brown had planned to go abroad by sending fake postcards from France saying she had found a job.

The trial heard that Ms Brown went missing just before she was due to go on holiday with Graham. After she disappeared up to £400,000 was transferred from her account to Graham’s in the space of a year. He also sold her Porsche, with personalised number plates, on eBay. He then befriended her elderly parents, and when they died went on to strip their estate of £285,000 before trying to get hold of their £300,000 farm. It was only when a building society clerk raised suspicions over a signature on a document that a fraud investigation began. It later became a missing persons inquiry, and eventually a murder investigation.

Ms Brown’s body was not found, despite an extensive search of farmland close to Graham’s home.

Sentencing, Judge Justice Openshaw said: “He was once a JCB digger driver, he could have disposed of her in some deeply-dug pit or put her down one of the many mine shafts in the area, or buried her in some wild and remote place. That he disposed of her body is obviously an aggravating factor.” He added that the fact that the murder was driven by financial gain was another aggravating factor. He said “All these offences were made possible only by the murder and he used the money to fund his extravagant and flashy lifestyle”. He added “The defendant has been convicted of a terrible offence, and must now pay the price.”

Speaking after the verdict Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Musgrove, of Northumbria Police, said: “Graham is a controlling and manipulative man, particularly towards women, a bully who deliberately instils fear into people and uses intimidating behaviour to get his own way. He is a callous man who made it look like Janet was alive when in fact he had, motivated by financial greed, murdered her.” She added “Despite living a seemingly modest lifestyle, Janet Brown had considerable assets – Graham fraudulently accessed these and her parents’ money and squandered everything on a lavish lifestyle for himself.
This has been a long running, complex investigation with many challenges; not least that Graham has never indicated where Janet’s body is. The final piece in Janet’s murder would be for Graham to admit what happened to her and give her family the opportunity to grieve.”

Janet Brown’s family said in a statement: “The last four years have been very difficult for us, dealing with the aftermath of these events. We would like to say that we are pleased with the verdict.”

Denise Graham, who was married to the killer, told Newcastle Crown Court that her husband became “nasty” towards her after starting his affair with Ms Brown. She told the court how, in 2010, Graham forced her to phone a solicitor and pretend she was Ms Brown as part of a scam to inherit her late parents’ estate. Without her knowledge, her husband bought a house in Seaton Delaval and allowed Ms Todd to live there, and she told the jury she only found out later after checking with the Land Registry. Ms Graham was asked if she ever questioned her husband about what he was doing when she spotted his car parked at Ms Brown’s parents’ house near Hexham. She replied: “No. I was frightened by him. I was told by him never to ask where he had been or what he had been doing.”

A jury was unable to reach a verdict on co-accused Elizabeth Todd, who was also having a relationship with the killer. She denied fraud and perverting the course of justice and now faces a retrial.

Note: This report was drawn from reports in the BBC.

0 Categories : Deaths, Deaths prior to 2010, Domestic killing, Domestic Violence, Homicide for Money, Murder, Mutilation Desecration
Apr
7

Hammer Attack on Three Women

by Jean Calder
Attacked 6th April 2014

Three women have been attacked by a man with a hammer at the Cumberland Hotel, in London on 6th April 2014 leaving one fighting for her life. The attacker fled the scene.

The three women, all sisters, were taken to central London hospitals with head injuries after the assault in the early hours of 6th April 2014. The most severely injured woman has life-threatening injuries and was placed in a medically induced coma. Reports suggest she has lost an eye and only has 5% of brain function. Another sister has 2 fractures to her skull, a broken arm and fracture to her cheekbone. The third sister has a fractured skull and a ruptured left eardrum.

All three victims were from the United Arab Emirates and in their 30s. They had been on a shopping trip.

Police said the man entered a room on the seventh floor of the Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch where the three women and three children were sleeping. It is believed the suspect was disturbed and the women were then hit about the face and head with a hammer. The police said a hammer had been recovered from the scene. A thousand pounds worth of property was stolen and £3,000 subsequently withdrawn from one of the victim’s bank accounts.

The attack is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police murder investigation team. which is attached to the Homicide and Major Crime Command. The police said they are treating the attack as attempted murder.

The spokesperson said detectives were trying to find out if the attacker was known to the victims.

Subsequent reports indicate a man called Philip Spence has been charged with three counts of attempted murder. He has also been charged with aggravated burglary. Three other people, two men and a woman, have been charged with receiving or handling stolen goods.

Note: This report was drawn from reports in the Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mirror and the BBC.

0 Categories : Attempted Murder / Aggravated Assault, Foreign Homicides/British Connection, Homicide for Money, homicide with theft, Immigrant/Visitor Victim, Opinion, Torture, Unsolved Homicide
Mar
21

Harjit Chaggar

by Jean Calder

Died 2nd September 2013

Harjit Chaggar (69) died on 2nd September 2013 at Sani Globe grocery in Luton Road, Chatham, having sustained head and chest injuries. Her decomposing body was found 12 days later in the basement of the grocery store, now known as Chatham Food Centre. It is estimated she lay in the basement for 6 hours before she died.

Abdul Hannan (44) and Murshed Miah (38) both of Maidstone and Mohammad Islam (29) of Gillingham went on trial in March 2014 at Canterbury Crown Court, all charged with Ms Chaggar’s murder. They denied the charges. Along with Rasad Miah (27) of Chatham, they also denied preventing the lawful burial or cremation of Ms Chaggar.

In May 2014 Murshed Miah and Mohammed Islam were found guilty of murder. They were also found guilty of preventing Mrs Chaggar’s lawful burial, along with Abdul Hannan and Rasad Miah. Hannan was found not guilty of murder.

Ms Chaggar was a retired machinist, who lived in Hillside Road, Chatham. She was a widow, a mother and a grandmother.

The court heard Ms Chaggar disappeared while out shopping on 2nd September 2013. 
The court heard she had been assaulted and bled to death for up to six hours in the basement store room of the shop after being thrown through a hatch while still alive.

Bobbie Cheema QC, prosecuting, said: “Her killers showed her no mercy and she died there alone.”

Judge Adele Williams praised the dignity of Ms Chaggar’s family and the police investigation.

Her son Kuldish Chaggar said: “We pray that she is now at peace and can give us the strength to carry on without her no matter what obstacles are placed in our way, for none can be bigger than losing her. We remember the good times, the smiles and laughter of a loved and treasured mother and grandmother who had so many hopes and plans for the future.”

Detective Superintendent Rob Vinson, from Kent Police, said the men’s silence meant he was unable to tell Ms Chaggar’s family exactly how and why she was attacked and left to die.

Nigel Pilkington, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The defendants all knew… how she came to be killed and why. The denials of her murder and their collective attempts to hide the truth were particularly callous and aggravated further by the fact that they left her to die.”

During the trial, Bobbie Cheema, the prosecutor, told the jury that none of the accused, who all worked in the store, had offered any explanation of how Ms Chaggar died or how her body came to be under the floorboards. A handbag belonging to Ms Chaggar was missing along with some jewellery.

Ms Cheema said Ms Chaggar visited the shop on the afternoon of 2nd September and was caught on CCTV. A short while later, after having left the store, she was seen entering the back of the shop after having been beckoned in by a man.

The Prosecutor told the jury “She was rendered unable to leave and never seen again. She must have been held there against her will and thrown in the void under the floor. She did not fall in there by herself and did not cover herself up…”.

The jury was told of the “devastating injuries” Ms Chaggar had suffered before she died, including a significant injury to the left side of her head, a v-shaped cut that would have bled and was likely to have been inflicted with a weapon. Ms Cheema said there was bruising to the front and top of her head caused by blows when she was still alive.

However, the worst damage was a severed spinal cord and other injuries which, according to a pathologist’s report, were usually associated with serious road traffic collisions or falls from a great height. Ms Cheema said this could have happened when Ms Chaggar was thrown from the hatch onto the basement floor. Ms Cheema told the jury “She sustained all her injuries before death and survived for up to six hours before she died,”.

An expert estimated she died between 3.30pm and 8.30pm on the day she went missing from a combination of head, chest and spinal injuries.

In the days she was missing, her family made repeated efforts to try to find Ms Chaggar, visiting the Sani Globe and other shops. On 13th September, the family filmed an appeal near the shop to try to find out what had happened

 Ms Cheema told the jury: “At no point did any of the defendants give any indication to the police that they knew anything about her disappearance.”

It was reportedly the worsening smell which led to concerns being raised and the discovery of Ms Chaggar’s body.

Ms Chaggar’s killers will be sentenced on 20th May.

Note: This report was drawn from reports on the BBC, in Kent Online and ITV News.

0 Categories : Deaths, Deaths in 2013, Homicide for Money, homicide with theft, Immigrant/Visitor Victim, Imprisonment/Confinement, Media Coverage, Murder, Older Victim
Feb
4

Maria Duque-Tunjano

by Jean Calder
Found dead 31st January 2014

Maria Duque-Tunjano (48) was found dead in a flat in Earl’s Court, London on 31st January 2014. She died from head injuries after being hit over the head with a blunt object. She had been dead for several days before her body was found.She lived in Streatham.

On 3rd February 2014 police said they were looking for Robert Richard Fraser, also known as Robert Aleem or Shia Robert Jackson.

They are linking the killing of Ms Duque-Tunjano to an attack on another woman in Paddington, west London, on 18th January. It is reported that both she and Ms Duque-Tunjano worked as prostitutes. The woman, who in her 20s, was assaulted and robbed by a man on 18th January, but was not seriously injured.

Police believe Ms Duque-Tunjano had also been robbed of cash.

Ms Duque-Tunjano was a British national originally from Colombia who lived in Streatham, but used the Earl’s Court flat for work.

Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall said: “We have established that Maria was last seen alive on Tuesday 28 January. We also understand she was in the company of a man and our primary focus is to trace him as part of this investigation. It is imperative that we trace him as soon as possible. We have spoken to organisations with links to those who work in the sex industry to make them aware of this incident and pass on the message that personal safety of sex workers is of paramount importance.”

Note: This report was drawn from a report on the BBC.

FOD Comment:

FOD notes that the BBC News website headline referred to Ms Duque-Tunjano as “Earl’s Court Prostitute Maria Duque-Tunjano”. We object to the unnecessary and sensationalistis headlining of Ms Duque-Tunjano’s profession. She was a woman, brutally killed. She deserves respect.

1 Categories : Deaths, Deaths in 2014, Homicide for Money, Immigrant/Visitor Victim, Media Coverage, Murder, sex industry
Oct
26

Patricia Goodband Update

by Jean Calder
Died 22nd December 2012
Trial October 2013

Patricia Goodband (76), also known as Patricia Roberts, was murdered on 22nd December 2012. She was found dead on 21st January 2013 in Woodham, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. She had been beaten to death.

She was reported missing by her daughter on 9th January 2013.

Her body was found concealed in a well or drainage shaft in the grounds of her home. She had been there for a month. A post-mortem examination found she died from head injuries.

In October 2013, at Reading Crown Court, Christopher Symons (63) of Thackeray End, Aylesbury, was found guilty of her murder, a charge he had denied.

Ms Goodband was a director of Rakechoice Limited, a building supplies company based at her Woodham home in Buckinghamshire. It is reported that Ms Goodband used the name Patricia Roberts in her business dealings and was chairperson of the firm.

After her death, neighbours of Ms Goodband paid tribute to her. A neighbour said: “Pat was a lovely lady. She used to bring us mince pies every Christmas. You couldn’t wish for a better neighbour.” Another neighbour said: “She was a very traditional person, very homely. She wasn’t the travelling type and she absolutely adored gardening. She was a very small lady not taller than 5ft 2ins with sparkly blue eyes. She used to be married many years ago and has lived in this property for 27 to 30 years, certainly since we’ve been here.” During the trial, the court heard Ms Goodband had been friends with Symons for more than 30 years and had run a road haulage and agricultural business with him as her business partner from her home in Woodham.

The prosecution said Symons killed Ms Goodband in a “cold blooded, planned murder for financial gain”…”motivated purely by greed”,

Symons told police he dropped Ms Goodband off at Milton Keynes station so she could go away over Christmas. His defence admitted this was untrue.

Detective Superintendent Chris Ward from Thames Valley Police said Symons’ actions were “pre-meditated and motivated purely by greed”. He said: “In order to inherit her property and share of their business, [he] devised a cruel and calculated plan to murder Patricia and make it appear as if she vanished without a trace….This has been a complex inquiry in which we have had to unpick all of Symons’ lies in order to uncover the truth.”

Joanna Glynn QC, prosecuting, said: “This was not a normal friendship; this was not a normal relationship.” Ms Glynn told the court that Ms Goodband’s body was thrown into the shaft “in the most callous way you can imagine”, covered in soil, large stones and plastic bags full of rubbish, the jury heard.

The jury heard that in 2008, Ms Goodband had a will drafted in such a way that almost everything she owned would be left to Symons when she died. Her own home was worth in the region of £550,000 to £600,000 and another house she owned was worth in the region of £170,000 to £200,000. She also had bank accounts which were in both her name and Symons’s name containing £230,000 – money he stood to acquire if she died.

Ms Glynn said Symons “used” his sister Kathleen Adams (74) and his lover Jennifer Creasey (73) to hide his crime. Ms Adams of Princes Risborough, was found not guilty of one count of perverting the course of justice.

Creasey of Benson, Oxfordshire, was found guilty of one of two counts of perverting the course of justice. Symons’ friend Robert Taft (59) of Westcott, Aylesbury, had previously admitted perverting the course of justice and possession of ammunition without a certificate.

The court heard Symons’ sister signed a police statement after Ms Goodband had been killed saying Ms Goodband had told her she was going to visit her daughter in Yorkshire over Christmas.

Creasey, who was “passionately in love” with Symons, wrote an “entirely fabricated card” which suggested “Pat” would meet with a “Sue” in Stockton on 22nd December.

Detective Superintendent Chris Ward led the investigation.

In the week before her body was found, a police search team of more than 20, backed by tracker dogs and a helicopter, were drafted in to search Ms Goodband’s gated home.

Note: This report is drawn from reports in the Mail OnLine and the BBC.

0 Categories : Deaths, Deaths in 2012, Domestic killing, Homicide for Money, Murder, Mutilation Desecration, Older Victim
Jul
16

Linda Sheard

by Jean Calder
Died 11th July 2012

Linda Sheard (63) was found dead at home in Port Mer Close in the Brixington area of Exmouth, Devon, on Wednesday 11th July 2012. She worked as a secretary for a local building company DJH.

She had been strangled with a belt by her son, Andrew Cane (then 30). In July 2013 he was found guilty of her murder at Exeter Crown Court. Cane admitted manslaughter but denied murder. He was jailed for life and told he would serve at least 15 years.

Cane was drunk and high on cocaine when he attacked Ms Sheard. The attack followed an argument over his drug use. It was reported that Cane had moved into Linda Sheard’s house. He worked as a roofer for the same company as Ms Sheard.

The court heard Ms Sheard had found a wrap of cocaine in Cane’s bedroom at the house.
The jury was told she had already lent him £60,000 to pay off debts and warned him she would evict him if he ever took drugs in the house.

Cane told police Ms Cane pulled him back and slapped him as he tried to get away, knocking her to the floor of her bedroom. He also told police he could not remember how the canvas belt got around her neck and that he had been “trying to calm the situation” saying he “panicked” and let go after she started coughing.

In a later police interview, he admitted he took his mother’s purse and used her cash point card to buy cocaine.

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Gregg Dawe, of Devon and Cornwall Police said officers were “very satisfied” with the verdict and the sentence in “what was a unprovoked violent assault”.

He said: “Andrew Cane’s actions have left a family grieving for the loss of a loving mother, daughter, auntie and grandmother; and three children without a father for at least 15 years.”

Ms Sheard had previously lived in Blandford Forum, Dorset, before moving to Exeter and bought her home in Exmouth in 2006. Those who knew her described her as a friendly woman who always had a smile and a wave. After her death, colleagues from DJH joined other mourners laying flowers outside Ms Sheard’s home. One said: “She was the nicest woman ever. She was helpful and said hello no matter what. Even if you walked past her she would say hello, she was very polite.”

After Ms Sheard’s death, Cane’s father Michael Cane, said to be a former police officer, made an appeal through the media for his son to give himself up.

Note: This report was drawn from reports from the BBC and Exmouth People.

0 Categories : Deaths, Deaths in 2012, Domestic killing, Domestic Violence, Drugs/Alcohol, Homicide for Money, homicide with theft, Murder, Older Victim, Parent/Child, Police Response

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