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Joint Enterprise

The legal doctrine of Joint Enterprise remains controversial in murder cases because of the stakes involved.

For the families of victims, it is a law that helps to bring to justice all those who took part in a gang attack and not just the person who inflicted the fatal injury.

But for some suspects and their families it feels more like ‘guilt by association’, condemning young men to spend decades in prison for a crime they did not personally commit.

The law is not always simple and depends on the individual case (see the CPS guidance on the subject). The most common example used to explain joint enterprise to jury involves a robbery. Under joint enterprise the lookout and the getaway driver are just as guilty as the robber. This makes sense, as they knew what the plan was and the robbery would not be as successful without them.

In murder cases, joint enterprise is used when the prosecution claim that a suspect took part knowing or foresaw that really serious harm might be inflicted. So if a group attack the victim but only one of them uses a knife to inflict fatal injuries, the jury has to decide whether the others knew that principal suspect was armed with a knife and foresaw that he might use it to inflict really serious harm.

Two weeks ago this issue was highlighted by a report by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, prompting renewed calls for reform of the law (just as there were in 2012).

To illustrate joint enterprise in murder cases in London we looked at a single year, 2012, when it was used in at least nineteen of the 99 cases (just under 20 per cent). There are also several examples of only one person being charged even though the murder took place against the background of gang or group violence. Two of them are the case of Thomas Overton, who was stabbed to death in Leyton in August 2012 and Liam Woodards, who was stabbed to death in Stratford in June 2012.

So it is clear that juries are capable of rejecting prosecutions based on joint enterprise. Does that mean the system is working well or is there still need for reform to remove the risk of injustice?

2012 Joint Enterprise cases:

1 January – Aaron McKoy, 22, was shot dead in Clerkenwell after a mass brawl broke out at a bar. The gunman and five other men alleged to be part of the gang violence were charged with murder. Only the gunman was convicted of murder.

1 February – Ali Armagan, 32, was shot dead in a gangland execution in Turnpike Lane. Five men were charged with murder although none were alleged to be the gunmen. All were cleared.

2 March – Kwame Ofosu-Asare, 17, was chased and stabbed to death in Brixton. Two men were charged with murder. Both were convicted.

16 April – Carole Waugh, 49, was stabbed to death at her home in Maida Vale. Two men who admitted defrauding the victim were charged with murder but only one was convicted.

18 April – David Petch, 55, died of a head injuries after being attacked in New Addington. A man and a woman were charged with murder as it was the prosecution case that both took part in the fatal attack. The woman was acquitted and the man was convicted only of manslaughter.

19 May – Luke Fitzpatrick, 25, was stabbed to death in Dollis Hill. Three men were charged with murder. Two of them (one was said to have inflicted the fatal injury and another was linked by DNA to a knife found at the scene) were convicted by the jury. The third was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter.

28 May – Luke Harwood, 28, was battered to death in Woodford Green. Four men and a woman were charged with murder. The charge against one man was dropped before trial. The jury convicted the woman and two men of murder and acquitted the third man.

8 June – Prabjot Singh Rayat, 54, was stabbed to death in a robbery in Thamesmead. Two men and a woman were charged with murder. Only one of the suspects inflicted the fatal injury. The two men were convicted of murder while the woman was convicted only of robbery.

15 July – Umar Tufail, 25, was shot dead in a drive-by attack in South Norwood. Two men were charged with murder. One suspect blamed the other for the shooting and claimed he had no knowledge of what was to happen. Both were convicted.

1 August – Nathaniel Brown, 16, was stabbed to death at a party in Downham. Three teenagers were charged with murder. One admitted inflicting the fatal injuries in self defence. The other two were present and fled the scene with the first man. The jury cleared all three of murder.

21 August – Hanad Osman, 24, was stabbed to death in Streatham. Two men were charged with murder. CCTV captured one man stabbing the victim and the prosecution claimed the second bought the knives beforehand and provided a safe house. The jury convicted only the first man.

13 September – Arron Payne, 36, was fatally stabbed in the stomach and thigh in Wembley. Although only one man inflicted the fatal wounds, five men were charged with murder as it was alleged to be a planned revenge attack. The jury convicted only the knife wielder of murder.

27 September – Junior Nkwelle, 15, was stabbed to death in Brixton. Two youths were charged, the boy who inflicted the wounds and the girl accused of encouraging or inciting him to carry out the attack. The jury cleared both of murder but convicted them of manslaughter.

25 October – Jamie Sanderson, 20, was stabbed to death at a nightclub in Kingston. Four men were charged with murder. Two men were convicted, the man who inflicted the stab wounds and the man who handed him the knife.

3 November – Thomas Cudjoe, 29, was stabbed to death in Ilford. Five men were charged with murder, although only one caused the fatal stab wounds. All five were convicted.

10 November – Thierry Gnanakumar, 22, was beaten to death in a suspected gang attack in Lewisham. Eight men were charged with murder but only one was convicted.

19 November – Marcus Innocent, 35, was shot dead with a shotgun after being confronted by a group of up to 20 people. Twelve men were charged with murder although only one fired the fatal shot. The trial is due to take place in June.

20 November – Paula Castle, 85, died after being pushed to the ground by two teenage muggers. Two boys were charged with murder but the prosecution accepted pleas to the charge of manslaughter, accepting that they did not intend to cause really serious harm.

30 December – Darryl McClymont, 23, was stabbed in the heart outside his home in Isleworth. Four men were charged with murder but only two were convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Offering No Evidence

One of the more unusual conclusions to a murder case is the decision by the prosecution to offer no evidence.

This happened in two of last year’s cases with the result that the suspects were acquitted without the need to stand trial. Only one of these was reported in the media and no reasons were given for the decision.

The first case concerned the death of Gilbert Barber, an 80 year-old man who died after a suspected assault at his home in Harley Street, central London, in early March 2013.

It took another eight months for further medical evidence to cast doubt on the link between the attack and Mr Barber’s death ten days later and the suspect was acquitted.

The second case concerned a fight in Finsbury Park, North London, which ended in the death of Matthew Fallon, 45, on 21 March 2013.

This time further evidence emerged that supported the suspect’s claim to have acted in self defence and he was acquitted seven months later in October 2013.

It could now be argued that both of these cases should be removed. However it is our current policy to retain all cases in which a suspect is charged with murder or manslaughter, no matter how they are resolved.

UPDATE: In February 2014 the prosecution dropped the case against Ali Tasci, who was accused of the murder of Selhouk Behdjet in 1994.

London Homicides 2013 – Review

Homicides in London have increased year-on-year for the first time since murdermap launched in 2010.

As it stands we have counted 108 victims for 2013 compared to 100 in 2012.

Taking a more detailed look at the figures, the most striking change is in the percentage of female victims – up to 37 per cent of the total (39 out of 108) compared to around 23 per cent in previous years (e.g. 23 out of 100 in 2012) .

Here’s a chart showing the changes in weapon type compared to the overall total of homicides over the last six years.

In terms of borough by borough totals, Hackney has the most at eight, followed by Ealing, Newham, Lambeth and Enfield on seven and Islington and Croydon on six.

NOTE: This post has been updated as new cases come to light.

On 16 January 2014 it was updated to include the murder of Paula Newman in New Addington in November 2013 (previously categorised as a suspicious death).

On 8 February 2014 it was updated to include the manslaughter of Shenol Shevka-Ahmed in January 2013. (Health and Safety at Work investigation)

On 7 March 2014 it was updated to include the manslaughter of Amani Abdi in October 2013 (previously causing or allowing the death of a child).

On 11 March 2014 it was updated to include the murder of Ellie Butler in October 2013 (previously classed as unexplained/suspicious).

In June 2014 it was updated to include the manslaughter of Mark Haley, who spent two years in a coma before dying in August 2013.

In July 2014 it was updated to include the manslaughter of Ram Gharu in July 2013.

On 12 July 2014 it was updated to remove the death of Zbigniew Michniewicz, whose death was found to be due to drug abuse rather than an assault.

On 29 July 2014 it was updated to add the manslaughter of Sylwester Mendzelewski, who died in a fire in a derelict building in Croydon.

In October 2014 it was updated to include the death of Oliver Farrell, who was hit by a car in Islington.

Unsolved Murders in London: 2013

These six London murder cases from 2013 remain unsolved. Can you help? Call the police, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Joseph Burke-Monerville, 19, was shot dead in a suspected case of mistaken identity in Clapton on 16 February 2013.

The teenager, a forensic science student at the London Metropolitan University, was sitting in a parked car with two of his brothers in Hindrey Road.

At around 8.20pm a gunman approached the car with a second suspect before opening fire.

Joseph was hit in the head and died at 11.20pm after being airlifted to hospital. His older brother David, 33, was shot in the arm. Joseph’s twin brother Jonathon, 20, was unharmed.

Three men were charged with murder but the case was dropped in May 2015. An inquest heard evidence the shooting was part of a feud between the Amhurst Road (A-Road) gang and rivals from the Pembury estate.

Call the incident room on 020 8345 3982.

Yassin Omar Mohammed, 28, died at a care home on 14 May 2013, four years after he was left paralysed from the neck down as the result of being hit over the head with a bottle.

He had been attacked in Greenhill Road, Wembley, as he made his way home from a party at around 3am on 1 April 2009. A special postmortem found the cause of his death was bronchial pneumonia linked to the spinal injuries he suffered during the assault. Prior to his death, police charged a man with GBH but the suspect was acquitted.

Surjeet Singh, 23, was stabbed in the neck during a brawl at a fairground in Southall Park, Southall, on 26 August, 2013.

His killer has never been identified. Seven men were charged with conspiracy to commit GBH but they were all acquitted after a trial at Isleworth Crown Court in April 2014.

The body of Damian Chlywka, aged around 30, was found in a well in the garden of 11a Audley Drive, Warlingham, Croydon, on 15 November 2013.

He had last been seen alive in March 2011.

A postmortem revealed he had suffered multiple broken bones. In 2015 an inquest recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

Antonio Rodney-Cole, 22, was stabbed to death in Stoke Newington at around 11.30am on 2 December 2013.

Detectives believe he was attacked during a robbery of the mobile phone he used to deal drugs to customers in the area.

He managed to drive a short distance up Marton Road before collapsing. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital as a result of a stab wound to the leg.

Five men were arrested during the investigation but nobody was charged. The inquest in 2020 heard a suspect had been identified but had fled the UK.

Rowan Thomas-Williams, 20, was shot dead after spending the evening celebrating a friend’s birthday on 6 December 2013.

Detectives believe he was attacked near an address in Mulberry Court in Neasden, northwest London, at around 1.30am, when residents reported hearing gunshots. Rowan was taken to hospital by friends but it did not have an accident and emergency department and an ambulance had to be called. Police were alerted about his injuries just before 2am. He was pronounced dead at 9.40am and a postmortem confirmed the cause of death as gunshot wound to the chest.

Rowan’s mother Ruth Thomas said in a statement: “Rowan’s loss is not only felt by me, but also his father, his children and his younger sisters. Rowan was only a young man when his life was taken. Rowan had his whole life ahead of him. He was at the age where he wanted to build a future for himself and his children.”

Contact the incident room on 020 8721 4805.

Homicide and Mental Illness

Following a series of stories about the number of people killed by mental health patients (1,200 in Britain in a decade, said The Sun), we decided to look at a single year in depth to illustrate the situation in London.

In 2011 there were a total of 119 homicides. Twelve out of those 119 (just under ten per cent) were killed by suspects who were genuinely suffering from a mental illness.

Here are a breakdown of the cases, followed by another nine cases where suspects claimed that their responsibility was diminished by mental illness but were convicted of murder.

Suspect was being treated for mental illness in the community:

Kasey Gordon, 15, was stabbed to death by a man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia in January 2011. The killer was being treated while staying at a care home.

Badi Saleem, 35, was stabbed to death by a a paranoid schizophrenic in May 2011. The killer had been released from a secure hospital the previous year.

Sally Hodkin, 58, was stabbed to death in the street by Nicola Edgington in October 2011. Edgington was a diagnosed schizophrenic and attempted to admit herself to hospital shortly before the attack.

Carmel Charles, 20, was stabbed to death at her home in November 2011 by her partner Richard Henry, a diagnosed schizophrenic. He had stopped taking his medication after being discharged from hospital.

Suspect had undiagnosed/untreated mental illness:

Ram Bhasin, 80, and his lodger Sunil Koosuru, 29, were killed in a house fire started by Mr Bhasin’s son in March 2011. Aaron Bhasin had developed a mental illness after suffering a heart attack.

Clarence Larteh, 23, was stabbed to death in May 2011 by a man suffering from a mental disorder as a result of alcohol dependency.

Sarwat Malik, 60, was stabbed to death by her husband in June 2011. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity after doctors said he was suffering from depression at the time of the attack, but had recovered by the time of trial and was sentenced to a conditional discharge.

Mary Quinn, 81, was strangled by her son in June 2011. Thomas Quinn admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility (depression). The prosecution did not accept the plea but the jury cleared him of murder.

Umesh Chaudhary, 41, was battered to death with a brick by a complete stranger in July 6, 2011. The killer was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

Maymoun Zarzour, 39, was strangled in his office in September 2011. The killer was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Desbert Welsh, 50, was stabbed to death by his uncle Ezekiel McCarthy in November 2011. McCarthy pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility (dementia and acute alcohol delirium) and received a suspended sentence.

Suspect’s claims of mental illness rejected by the jury:

Wing Ho, 18, was stabbed to death by his younger brother Andy in January 2011. Andy Ho claimed his responsibility was diminished by mental illness but was convicted of murder.

Lorna Smith, 45, was killed by her ex-boyfriend, who claimed his responsibility was diminished by reason of a split-personality / schizophrenia. He was convicted of murder.

Alan Smith, 63, was stabbed to death in March 2011. His killer claimed his responsibility was diminished by reason of schizophrenia but was convicted of murder.

Zandra Maxwell-Nelson, 24, was stabbed to death by her estranged husband in April 2011. He claimed his responsibility was diminished by reason of his depression but was convicted of murder.

Alice Adams and Tibor Vass, both 20, were stabbed to death in August 2011. Killer Attila Ban claimed he was suffering from mental illness but was convicted of murder.

Sashana Roberts, 24, was stabbed to death by her former partner in September 2011. He claimed he suffered from a mental illness and heard voices telling him to kill her but was convicted of murder.

Charito Cruz, 37, was battered to death by her partner Asad Niazi in September 2011. Niazi claimed diminished responsibility (severe depression) and loss of control.

Richard Ward, 37, was beaten to death in Battersea by Cameron McFly, who claimed to be suffering from a borderline personality disorder.

Ruby Love, 23, was strangled and dumped in a canal by her boyfriend Manzar Juma in December 2011. Juma denied murder on the grounds of loss of control (previously known as ‘provocation’) and diminished responsibility (depression and personality disorder).