A gang of three men and two women have been convicted of a ‘honeytrap’ k!lling.
The victim, Vishal Gohel, 44, had been expecting to have sex with three women, but was gagged and beaten when their male accomplices arrived to rob him, according to Mail Online.
Prosecutor Charlotte Newell KC told St Albans crown court that in the morning of Sunday, January 23 last year, a neighbour saw Mr. Gohel’s front door was ajar and the kitchen light was on.
When he returned to the second floor of the flats on Bushey High Street, Herts at 10pm he noticed the door was still open and decided to check.
She said he knocked on the door and went in to make a ‘horrifying discovery.’
‘Mr. Gohel was lifeless on the floor of the bedroom. Gaffer tape was round the lower part of his face. A post-mortem examination found he had suffered a significant blow or blows to the head.
‘Both sides of his face were injured. There was internal bruising to his scalp, eyes and jaw.
‘There was brain damage and his voice box had been fractured, consistent with squeezing of the neck.’
The prosecutor said the second-floor flat had been tidied in an effort to clean the scene. Mr Gohel’s iPhone and iWatch had been taken.
She said he was the victim of a ‘honeytrap’ where three women had gained access on the promise of sexual liaisons that never happened.
They allegedly gained entry to allow the males in to steal property.
Tevin Leslie, 23, of Hurst Street, Brixton, London was convicted of murder. He had admitted to conspiracy to rob.
Sakeen Gordon, 22, of Uxbridge Road, Ealing was convicted of murder by an 10 to one majority and conspiracy to rob.
Brandon Browne, 22, of Laburnham Road, Rochester, Kent was found not guilty of murder but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.
Yarley Georgia Bruce-Annan, 22, of Harts Lane in Barking was convicted of murder and had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob.
Faith Hoppie, 22, of Blake Avenue, Barking was found not guilty of murder but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.
Tiana Edwards Hancock, 20, of Fresh Wharf Road, Barking was cleared of murder, manslaughter, and conspiracy to rob.
The jury heard the victim had been in contact with Bruce-Annan on Saturday 22nd January on Craig’s List – an online market website where goods and services are offered.
The female defendants had left Barking in a cab, that cost £42.75p, and arrived in Bushey at 1am in the morning.
The men arrived at the scene in Tevin Leslie’s Audi at 25 past 2 in the morning. Browne had been picked up in Bromley. Leslie then drove onto Ealing to pick up Gordon, who is his cousin.
‘It was the culmination of a plan that had been brewing throughout the day,’ said Ms Newell.
Earlier Mr Gohel had been recorded on CCTV at a convenience store near his home at twenty-five past ten at night where he bought alcohol, soft drinks, cigarettes, and condoms.
He had borrowed £100 in cash from his mother, who lived nearby, and also withdrew £100 from a cash machine.
The prosecutor said he had been seen on CCTV wearing the iWatch. This was missing when his body was found. She said the watch, the £200 cash, and his iPhone were stolen.
‘No attempts had been made to contact the emergency services, but there had been efforts had been made to clean the flat. He was dead or dying when they left the flat. There was no attempt to provide assistance to him,’ said the prosecutor.
Judge Richard Foster remanded the three men and two women in custody for sentence on 26 September. He excused the 11 jurors, who had sat on the trial for 9 weeks, for jury service for the next 10 years. They had been deliberating their verdicts for 21 hours 36 minutes.
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