There were 114 homicides in London in 2011 compared to 122 the previous year, according to our own list of cases. This continues the downward trend since 2003.
The good news continues when we break down the cases by weapon. What had started to look like an increase in fatal shootings went into reverse while fatal stabbings showed a slight increase.
Fewer teenagers were killed in 2011 than in the previous year (reduced from 19 to 15). This continues the progress made since the peak of 2007/8 and the headline cases of Ben Kinsella and Rob Knox. Clearly the next group to target is the 20-29 year olds.
The percentage of female victims also reduced slightly from 25 to 23 per cent from 2010. Here is an unnecessary pie chart.
The low total for 2011 had not looked possible in the first two months of the year with 13 homicides in January and 15 in February. The only other significant spike was in August, which was the month of the riots.
Finally here are the figures broken down by borough for the last four years. Newham and Hackney had ‘good’ years while only Lambeth broke into double figures.
Borough
2008
2009
2010
2011
Barking and Dagenham
1
3
4
1
Barnet
3
2
7
4
Bexley
3
3
0
4
Brent
11
4
5
4
Bromley
0
5
1
4
Camden
1
2
3
2
City of London
0
1
0
0
City of Westminster
4
4
4
1
Croydon
5
7
6
6
Ealing
5
4
4
7
Enfield
9
4
3
5
Greenwich
5
6
4
5
Hackney
5
7
7
2
Hammersmith and Fulham
1
1
3
4
Haringey
4
9
3
8
Harrow
1
5
3
0
Havering
0
1
0
1
Hillingdon
3
2
2
2
Hounslow
1
1
2
0
Islington
7
4
6
4
Kensington and Chelsea
0
1
0
0
Kingston
0
1
0
1
Lambeth
13
7
8
11
Lewisham
5
7
8
6
Merton
5
1
0
1
Newham
6
7
15
3
Redbridge
4
1
2
3
Richmond
0
0
0
0
Southwark
12
8
6
7
Sutton
3
3
3
1
Tower Hamlets
6
8
5
9
Waltham Forest
7
5
6
5
Wandsworth
4
6
2
3
Total
134
130
122
114
Note: The Metropolitan Police’s rolling 12 month tables give figures of 124 homicides for 2010 and 117 for 2011.
These five murder cases in London from the year 2011 remain unsolved. Can you help? Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Samuel Guidera
Adeniyi Lateef Shode
Wayne Stockdale
Trevor Ellis
Ronnie Khan
Samuel Guidera, a 24-year-old university student, was stabbed to death in a suspected robbery in Sydenham, southeast London, on 12 February 2011. He had spent the afternoon watching football with friends before getting the 9.17pm train from Bickley to Penge East to see his girlfriend. He arrived at the station just after 9.30pm, crossed over the footbridge towards Newlands Park and entered a convenience store. Samuel, who was carrying a pink T-mobile carrier bag, was last seen at the bus stop opposite Bailey Place at about 9.38pm. Ten minutes later at 9.48pm his phone was used to dial 0740 4776433, a Lyca pay as you go number which was not connected to Samuel or anyone he knew and has never been activated. Seconds later the phone was used to dial 9999 and the call did not connect. At 9.55pm Samuel was found lying injured at the junction with Bailey Place. His wallet had been stolen. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead an hour later. A postmortem found he suffered a single stab wound to the heart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ex-ijWIJ64
Police appeal for information in 2016
In later police appeals, detectives said they were working on the theory that Samuel’s killer or killers may have got his attention on the pretext they wanted to use his mobile telephone. DCI Chris Jones said: “I believe the answer to this murder lies locally in and around the Penge area. I would appeal to anyone who knows anything about the incident to contact us. Someone out there has information which can help us to identify Samuel’s attackers and I would appeal to them to contact the police.”
From the moment Samuel was murdered, we as his parents started a life sentence from which we will never be released. We still feel a sense of anger and all we can do is continue to cope with each day as it comes, with the help of medication, family, friends, whatever it takes. We just want somebody out there who knows something that could help in the apprehending of the killers to come forward so they do not have the opportunity to take another person’s life and destroy another family. It could be somebody reading this who gets the call about the savage death of a loved one next. So please look at your son, brother, uncle, think how you would miss them and if you know anything come forward – don’t let the cowards who took my son’s life kill again.”
Statement by Samuel’s parents Chris and Sarah Guidera
Four people were arrested during the investigation but nobody has ever been charged. Contact detectives on 020 8345 3734.
Adeniyi Lateef Shode, 21, was stabbed to death in Ealing Road, Northolt, on 2 May 2011. He was found injured close to the junction of Rowdell Road, Ealing Road and Kensington Road at around 9.10pm. Adeniyi, known as Ade or Enda, of Whitchurch Avenue, Edgware, was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead an hour later at 10.12pm. Detectives believe that Ade was attacked by someone he knew. DI Andy Manning said: “Ade Shode was a young man who was murdered in the prime of his life. We still strongly believe that Ade knew his attacker and that he was murdered due to a previous disagreement between him and the killer. I am appealing to anyone who has any information about this senseless killing to come forward and give information to police. It may be that as time has passed someone may now feel able to help police bring someone to justice for this brutal killing.”
All our family thinks about Ade every day. We remember his laugh and smile and he always remains in our thoughts. It still hurts us to think that whoever killed Ade is still out there and we pray that it doesn’t happen to anyone else’s family. I’d ask anyone who may be able to help us to speak to the police. If you are not happy talking to the police then please tell someone and get them to pass the information on. What is important is that the police can track down whoever took my son from us.
Antonia Frances, Ade Shode’s mother
Eight people were arrested during the investigation but nobody has ever been charged. Contact the Incident Room on 020 8358 0300.
Wayne Stockdale, 42, was shot in Bromley-by-Bow, east London, on 6 May 2011. He was found with a bullet wound to the head in an underpass at a block of flats in Rounton Road near the junction with Knapp Road at around 10.20pm. Mr Stockdale, from Poplar, died four days later at 12.50pm on Tuesday 10 May. Detectives said he may have been targeted in a case of mistaken identity. They believe two men armed with handguns opened fire as the victim rode his bicycle down Rounton Road. The suspects, described as black or Asian and wearing face coverings, then fired a series of shots at a group outside a parade of shops in Devons Road before returning to Knapp Road to flee the scene by car. Renewing appeals for information in 2015, DI Peter Hine said: “We have always maintained that Wayne was not the intended target for this incident, which saw shots fired both at him and into the street. We are urging those who have remained silent all these years, to think about Wayne’s family and re-examine their consciences and help bring Wayne’s killers before a court.” Five men were arrested during the investigation but nobody has ever been charged.
Wayne left behind a loving partner, 3 children and a grandson. He was also a loving son, brother and uncle. Wayne’s murderers are still at large and continue to live their lives normally unaware and uncaring of the devastation they have caused to all of our family. We all as a family urge anyone out there that has any information no matter how small to please come forward and help us give Wayne the justice he so deserves
Wayne’s sister Jacqueline Stockdale
Anyone with any information can contact detectives, in confidence, on 020 8785 8267.
Trevor Ellis, a 26-year-old father-of-four, was shot dead during the 2011 London Riots. He was attacked by a gang of nine looters after a car chase in Croydon, south London, on Monday, 8 August 2011. Mr Ellis, from Brixton Hill, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in a dark-coloured hatchback at the junction of Duppas Hill Road and Warrington Road at around 9.20pm. He died in hospital the following day. Detectives appealed for anyone who captured footage of the killers looting during the riots in Croydon before they headed to Scarbrook Road. Fourteen men were arrested during the inquiry but nobody has ever been charged.
Trevor’s murder was even harder because this all happened when all the rioting was going on, the murderer made my son’s life insignificant. His life has not been portrayed as important as the building and material things, things that in time to come can be replaced. Some people have said that it serves him right for being out there, if only he had said no to his friends for picking him up and diverting him from his way home. But no matter where he was that does not give anyone the right to take his life. For many he is only just another black man taken off the streets. Thanks to the murderers there’s no need for racist killings, because we are killing ourselves and all they have to do is sit back and watch us kill each other. How can you live with yourselves knowing that you have killed someone, taking a life that’s not yours to take? WHY? I know on that awful night of my son’s murder it was witnessed by three car loads of people. What are you all doing by keeping your mouths shut? You are all no better than the murderers; he could have been your family member. You have destroyed many lives, taking him away from his children, family and everyone who loved him. I wish to appeal to anyone who was there on that night, who might have seen something before, during or after Trevor’s murder to please come forward and help take these people off the streets.
Trevor’s mother Joy Sanderson, in 2014
Contact the incident room on 0208 721 4005.
Azezur ‘Ronnie’ Khan, 21, was shot dead after leaving the funeral of a childhood friend in East Dulwich, south London, on 3 November 2011. Azezur, who was known as Ronnie by friends and family, was walking along Forest Hill Road near the junction of Rockells Place at around 3pm when he was caught in an exchange of gunfire. He was hit several times and died at the scene from a gunshot wound to his stomach. A 17 year-old man was also hit in the ankle. Detectives believe Ronnie was an innocent bystander. In 2013 DCI Graeme Gwyn said: “Despite extensive investigations we still cannot be certain of the motive behind the shooting that day, but I am confident that Ronnie was not the intended victim. We know that people’s allegiances shift over time and now that two years have passed I need people to come forward.” Police appealed for witnesses to come forward, including at least 50 people who were following the funeral cortege of 17 year-old Joel Morgan to Camberwell Old Cemetery in Forest Hill Road. It was later reported that Joel, who died in a car crash, was a rapper associated with the GAS gang from Brixton. Three people were arrested but nobody has ever been charged.
We have been stopped from getting on with our lives as his killer still has not been brought to justice. Whilst Ronnie is no longer with us, his killer is able to walk the streets freely. He is still able to enjoy his friends and family, whilst my little brother is dead. What’s more, his killer is still able to do what he did to Ronnie and put others through what we are going through. Ronnie was a good person. He wished nobody any harm and this reflected in his good-natured personality. He wished to finish his studies and to be able to provide a good life for our parents and family. Nobody deserves to have their life ended in the disgusting and vile way his life was cut short. Catching his killer will be a huge step forward in our healing process. Please, if anyone knows anything that will help us, do this. Do the right thing, and come forward. Ronnie deserves justice for what happened to him.
Ronnie’s older brother, Pinto, in 2013
Anyone with information that may assist the investigation can call the incident room on 020 8247 4554.
Notes:
This gallery does not include the cases of Wlodzimierz Szymanski and Aaron McQueen-Williams.
Wlodzimierz Szymanski, 59, was found dead with a broken neck at a house in Chandos Road, Willesden, on March 18, 2011. A woman was arrested on suspicion of murder but released with no further action following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.
Aaron McQueen-Williams, 23, died of head injuries after falling out of a car on the A40 in Ealing on May 26, 2011. Police classed his death as ‘unexplained’ and a coroner returned an open verdict at the inquest in 2013.
The Metropolitan Police have issued a list of 290 ‘undetected homicides’ going back to January 1999, following a Freedom of Information request.
When people talk of unsolved murders we tend to think of classic fictional mysteries or the crimes of fiendish killers like ‘Jack the Ripper’.
Deep down, of course, we realise that cases go unsolved every year – Suzy Lamplugh in 1986, Daniel Morgan in 1987 and until recently Stephen Lawrence in 1993. On top of that there are the names of victims who do not get as such mass media attention.
The Metropolitan Police do not use the term ‘unsolved’, preferring to call them ‘undetected’, and include all homicides (manslaughter and infanticide as well as murder). In their own definition:
‘Undetected’ could refer to Homicides which are currently being investigated, ‘Cold Cases’ which are being reviewed prior to investigation by the Murder Review Group, Homicides where the main suspect has died, Homicides where the case was dropped subsequent to arrest and charge, Homicides where the case was lost at Court or Homicides where the defendant was released on appeal.
The Lawrence case goes to show that the police don’t give up just because they don’t have enough evidence to charge someone immediately. Appeals for information are often issued a year, two years or even ten years after the event. New witnesses could come forward at any time and even ‘closed’ files can be reopened for what is called a ‘cold case review.’
Murdermap only recently discovered that the Met had disclosed a list of ‘undetected homicides’ between January 1, 1999, and September 2011, following a Freedom of Information request (many thanks to the creators of the London Street Gangs website for pointing us to the link).
The list contains 290 names spanning those 13 years, an average of 22 a year. A few of the names are familiar – Suzy Lamplugh, who went missing in 1986, is listed for May 2000 (presumably because that was when police received information from the girlfriend of the prime suspect) – but most are not.
Some of the cases on the list will have changed from undetected to detected since September 2011 because suspects have been charged. These include Jordan Jackson and Layla Djemal-Northcott (2006) and David Anthony Scott (1999) as well as more recent cases.
Apart from that, the list does provide some interesting insights for the full years 1999 to 2010. The year with the most undetected homicides is 2001 (36) and the lowest 2009 (10). The figures for 2010 (22) and 2011 (24 between January 1 and September 13, 2011) are likely to decrease as investigations continue. The month with the most undetected homicides is January 2007 (6).
The ratio of men to women victims in homicide figure is usually around 4:1, and this is roughly repeated in the undetected figures, although there is a wide variation. In 2008 women represent over 30 per cent of the total undetected, while in 2010 it is less than 5 per cent.
It is also noticeable that Afro-Caribbeans form the largest group among the figures for ‘Ethnic appearance’ as determined by the police.
The table below compares the undetected to total homicides for the five years between 2006 and 2010. The detection rate of just over 92 per cent for 2009 represents the best year for the Met. Although 2010 represents a large increase, this figure would be expected to fall as police investigations continue.
Year Undetected Total Homicides Percentage 2006 24 172 13.95 2007 24 163 14.72 2008 16 155 10.32 2009 10 129 7.75 2010 22 124 17.74 Total 96 743 12.92
Figures for the whole of 2011 haven’t been issued yet, but from our own database we believe the total number of homicides has further decreased to around 113 from 124 in 2010.
For 2011 we decided to look not just at the victims of homicide in London but also the defendants who have been arrested, charged and put on trial.
The year has seen several major convictions: the suspected serial killer John Sweeney was given a whole life sentence for two murders, seven teenagers were jailed for killing 16 year-old Nicholas Pearton and two gang members were convicted of shooting the 16 year-old schoolgirl Agnes Sina-Inakoju dead at a pizza shop.
More easily forgotten are the acquittals of nine men of the murder of 20 year-old David Cauchi Lechmere. Not guilty verdicts are for obvious reasons not given the prominence of guilty verdicts, unless it is a particularly notorious case.
So throughout the year we attempted to add each conviction or acquittal to a database in the hope that it might shed light on the workings of the justice system.
Now for the basics. There are 181 defendants, of which 174 were charged with murder and seven with manslaughter. But how did their cases end up? Here’s the obligatory pie chart.
Of the 174 defendants charged with murder, 37 ended up convicted of manslaughter (21 of those by pleading guilty), 14 were convicted of a lesser offence (not homicide) and 37 were acquitted of all charges (one was acquitted by reason of insanity). Three were found unfit to stand trial.
Only one of the seven defendants charged with manslaughter was acquitted (two pleaded guilty, four were convicted).
The punishment for murder is always a life sentence – the only variation is in the minimum term set by the judge before the defendant can apply for parole. The starting point for this minimum term is 15 years but it is increased depending on aggravating features such as the weapon used, the motive for the murder and the number of victims.
Disregarding those defendants who have not yet been sentenced, and the one defendant who was sentenced to a whole life term, the average minimum term appears to be just over 22 years and four months.
As for manslaughter, there are many more options. Three defendants were jailed for life with minimum terms of 20, 16 and 7 years. Four were given sentences of ‘imprisonment for public protection (IPP), which is similar to a life sentence but with a shorter minimum term. Twenty-four were given ‘determinate’ sentences of imprisonment (with release on parole after serving half), six were detained under the Mental Health Act and two walked free from court with suspended sentences (both were cases of ‘mercy killing’).
Another interesting statistic is that a quarter of all defendants were teenagers.
More than two thirds of defendants knew the person they were accused of killing (129 vs 52). The figure of 52 ‘stranger’ murders also includes those cases where the defendant first met the victim on the day of the attack. The number of random stranger murders is far less.
The breakdown of how the defendants knew their victim is roughly illustrated by this pie chart.
Finally we looked at the length of time it took from the date of the offence to the date the verdict was announced, rounding up to the next month (i.e one month 14 days is recorded as two months).
Generally cases are resolved in about a year, but there are some that take much longer. This is usually because the killer has not been identified, as in the case of James Citro, who murdered Nijole Siskeviciene in 1998 but was not convicted until October 2011.
We also tried to monitor which cases were associated with alcohol use, drugs, mental health and suspected gang links. This tends to be much more subjective, although it was of interest that 48 of the 181 defendants were accused of murders that were said to have gang links (either the victim or the accused was suspected to be a member of a gang).
There are several possible explanations for the decrease in the murder rate in London over the last decade: longer sentences, better living standards, better policing and detective work, a decline in drug use, or perhaps just a greater respect for human life in general.
All have a part to play, but it is easy to overlook the role of emergency medicine in saving the lives of victims of serious assaults who would otherwise be added to the homicide statistics.
One of those survivors is Daniel Alaile, who was 16 when he was stabbed in the chest while making his way home from a birthday party in Beckton, east London, in January 2010.
The knife penetrated his left ventricle, causing massive internal bleeding. He had just ten minutes before his brain died of oxygen starvation.
Five miles away the London Air Ambulance took off from the top of the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.
A stab victim being flown from Ilford, east London, to the Royal London Hospital. Photo by David Levene
Within seconds of its arrival Daniel was undergoing a major operation called a thoracotomy, right there at the roadside. His chest was cut open, the damaged left ventricle was sewn up and his heart restarted using a shot of adrenaline.
Although he was left wheelchair bound as a result of a blood-clotting disorder, Daniel would give evidence at the Old Bailey 16 months later. It could easily have been a murder trial, rather than attempted murder.
That year, 2010, the Air Ambulance attended 1,981 incidents in total. They included 318 stabbings and 73 shootings. The crew performed 26 thoracotomies, an average of one a fortnight. They have already exceeded that for 2011.
Long-term success rates for those who undergo the procedure are running at 18 per cent – meaning four or five people survive what would otherwise be fatal injuries. In the context of roughly 120 murders last year (down from more than 200 in 2003) it is a small but not insignificant proportion.
Formed in 1989, the London Air Ambulance now seems like a prototype ‘Big Society’ venture. It is a registered charity and has to find £2.2m a year just to keep going, including sponsorship from Virgin, HSBC and local businesses as well as fundraising events.
It is also a pioneering enterprise. In 1993 it became the world’s first medical service to successfully carry out a thoracotomy at the scene of the attack. Based at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, the helicopter can attend a patient anywhere within the M25 within 15 minutes. That includes even crowded public spaces like Trafalgar Square or the busy Euston Road.
The emergency services are also likely to benefit from medical improvements being developed in the battle zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, as featured in the fascinating programme ‘Frontline Medicine’ on BBC 2 last month.
In some cases casualties are given more than 150 units of blood (the human body usually contains between 10 and 12 units) as well as blood plasma and clotting factors. As a result they are saving a quarter of those expected to die, compared to rates for civilians of around five per cent.
Soldiers are trained to take act quickly to help their injured squadmates by stopping blood loss as soon as possible and ensuring they get treatment within the so-called ‘Platinum Ten Minutes’ (better than the old-style ‘Golden Hour’).
While this isn’t directly applicable to the streets of London, clinical trials of new blood transfusion procedures are now underway in England and Wales, including at the Barts and The London Trauma Centre, which includes the London Air Ambulance (also known as The Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS)).
At the moment the helicopter cannot carry blood supplies because of regulations concerning tracking of supplies and their storage at the correct temperature. However this could soon change. The Barts and The London NHS Trust say they are ‘close’ to resolving the issues and should have good news in ‘the very near future.’
This would give victims of knife and gunshot injuries an even better chance of survival. And while it doesn’t solve the problem of people using knives and guns on the streets of London, it at least reduces the human cost of crime.
_______
Recommended reading:
The excellent website of the London Air Ambulance provides much more information on this vital service and how you can help raise money to keep it going.
Photographer David Levene spent eight months with the team as they responded to emergency situations across the capital. The Guardian featured 16 of his pictures, including the one above.
