This year has been one of many bizarre, remarkable and utterly unbelievable court cases in Essex. We’re sadly no stranger to the serious crime stories in the county, and every year we do sadly get a number of people killed on our streets, and behind closed doors.
2024 has been no exception for killings, and killers put behind bars for taking the life of another. However, this year has been particularly serious for the nature of the cases that have come through the courts. There are several killers on this list which took the lives of more than one person.
Luke D’Wit, a man who wormed his way into the life of a wealthy couple, only to murder them with fentanyl to try and take their fortune and business. Virginia McCullough, a woman who murdered both her parents, and then hid them from the world for four years, and Lee Clarke, a man who killed his friend and then dismembered him, leaving his remains scattered across ponds.
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We have also had deeply tragic and wholly unnecessary killings, such as that of Max Richardson, a father who died after simply standing up to a man who was antagonising children. Then there has also been Kevin Shepherd’s utterly pointless, nonsensical and brutal murder of his own sister, over an argument about something trivial.
These stories are not easy to digest, but it is important to hold these people to account. With this in mind, below are the stories of 16 killers from Essex that have been jailed in 2024.
The gang that brutally shot and killed two men in a house raid
Clockwise from top left; Zakarie Mohamed, Ayaanle Adan, Chibuike Ohanweh, Maha Gouled and Zain Mirza
(Image: Met Police)
Five men have been convicted following the murders of Saydi Abu Sheikh and Zakariya Jeilani Mohamed who were fatally shot inside a house in Ilford in October 2022.
Met Police detectives used DNA analysis and other technical and forensic techniques to identify and arrest the suspects. Four men were convicted of two counts of murder; two counts of attempted murder and perverting the course of justice.
They are Ayaani Ali Adan, 20, of East Street, Barking, Zain Mirza, 21, of Third Avenue, Newham, Mahad Gouled, 22, of Charles Street, Enfield and Chibiuke Ohanweh, 21, of Heath Park Road, Romford.
Police were called at 12.16am on October 25, 2022 to reports of a shooting inside a house on Henley Road in Ilford. Armed officers attended along with local officers and paramedics. Saydi Abu Sheikh, aged 23, and Zakariya Jeilani Mohamed, aged 32, who were both from Ilford, died at the scene. Two other men were found suffering injuries; both were taken to hospital for treatment before being discharged.
The killers who shot a man outside his home
Mohamed Moshaer Ali, 31, called Iron Miah minutes before his murder in 2019
(Image: Met Police)
Iron Miah, 40, was shot outside his home on Nelson Street, E1, on November 19 2019 and died in hospital two days later from a catastrophic brain injury.
Despite the fact that the murder weapon and getaway car were never found, officers from the Metropolitan Police managed to gather enough evidence thanks to the discovery of burner phones with evidence of communication between the killers. One of the killers had also attempted to insert himself into the investigation, providing false intelligence to police.
Mohammed Moshaer Ali, 31, of Western Avenue, Dagenham was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 36 years for the murder. He had also been convicted of perverting the course of justice.
Antonio Afflick-McLeod, 32, of Mayfair Avenue, Ilford was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and will serve a minimum of 34 years. He was also sentenced for drugs offences, as well as possession of a firearm and possession of pepper spray.
Antonio Afflick-McLeod, 32, was arrested. Drugs and a sawn-off shotgun were found at his home. Afflick-McLeod played a part in the police piecing together key evidence too after he was seen buying a SIM card in Barking
(Image: Met Police)
The ‘evil’ man who murdered his friend and dismembered him
Lee Clarke, 56 of Wedhey, Harlow, has been convicted of killing Phillip Lewis
(Image: Essex Police)
Lee Clarke, 56, of Harlow, was told he must serve at least 18 years before being considered for parole.
Clarke, who wore a blue shirt in the secure dock, showed no emotion as the murder sentence was delivered to him by Judge Morgan but family members said they loved him. Clarke was found guilty of murdering Phillip Lewis, 59, after a four-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
The sentencing hearing heard that parts of Mr Lewis’ body remain missing, including his head, and that it is “unlikely” they will be recovered. Mr Lewis, known as ‘Scottish Phil’ by many in the area, went missing in November but had never been reported to Essex Police.
The ‘cruel and senseless’ fentanyl killer
Luke D’Wit’s police mugshot, who on Wednesday, March 20, was found guilty of the double murder of Stephen and Carol Baxter
(Image: Essex Police)
Luke D’Wit showed no emotion whatsoever as Mr Justice Nicholas Lavender lambasted him for the calculating manipulation of Carol and Stephen Baxter.
D’Wit killed the Baxters using fentanyl after posing as a doctor and creating a fake Will to ensure he benefitted financially from their deaths. The 34-year-old of Churchfields, Mersea Island was found guilty by a jury earlier this week of the double murder in April 2023.
His web of lies and deception eventually caught up with him in what investigating police officers described as one of the most complex criminal cases they had ever undertaken. D’Wit posed as a fictional doctor to control Carol Baxter’s medication, pretending he was helping to cure her autoimmune disease but actually caused her health to deteriorate further.
Read more about the extraordinary case by clicking here.
The Essex drug dealer who killed a man in London
Drug dealer David Odunuga, 33 (02.01.91), of Rollason Way, Brentwood has been jailed for the murder of Brian Edwards
(Image: Met Police)
David Odunuga, 33, from Brentwood, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years for the murder of Brian Edwards. Odunuga stabbed Brian three times following an argument between the pair near Finsbury Park on September 19 last year. Emergency services rushed to the scene after being called at 4am when Brian, 53, was found injured outside his home.
Brian had gone outside to meet a drug dealer and they overheard him shouting for help. Neighbours informed officers there was arguing, the suspect was wearing a mask and had been rummaging in a silver vehicle left at the scene.
Detectives were able to link the silver BMW X5 to Odunuga by false details and addresses provided on insurance and registration documents. Their suspicion that Odunuga was the suspect was strengthened following the recovery of a car key for the BMW that scientists confirmed had his DNA on.
Further analysis of his car’s movements on the night of the attack and his mobile phone data also linked him to the crime. Extensive CCTV trawls were completed to track the offender to locations, one being the vicinity of a family address and where the victim’s phone was later found discarded.
The man who murdered his sister
Kevin Shepherd has been jailed for life for murdering his sister
(Image: Essex Police)
Kevin Shepherd sobbed in the dock as he was given a life sentence for killing his sister after he became enraged at her as she ate dinner. Shepherd, 55, of Whitehouse Meadows, Leigh-on-Sea, attacked and stabbed his 64-year-old sister Sharon outside their home in November last year after he “went at her” about money in the family home, and how the bathroom needed work doing.
Shepherd became angry over money despite the fact that Sharon was the only person in the home working, which the siblings shared with their elderly mother. The argument began on the evening of November 7 and progressed outside when their mother became upset over the rowing.
After rowing outside, Shepherd’s mother witnessed him re-enter the home and grab a knife before going outside. At his murder sentencing hearing at Basildon Crown Court on May 13, Simon Spence KC, prosecuting, said their mother heard Sharon shout “mum”, before Shepherd came back into the home and confessed to killing his sister. Judge Samantha Leigh gave Shepherd a life sentence with a minimum term of 13 years before he will be eligible for parole.
The brutal knifeman who murdered a dad that stood up to him
Tieran Carmody was convicted of murdering Max Richardson in Harlow
Max Richardson, 35, was stabbed to death on August 21 last year by killer Tieran Carmody, 19, close to a children’s park in Harlow. Carmody, of Berecroft in Harlow, was 18 when he fatally attacked Mr Richardson. The victim, who was a dad and due to get married, had quizzed the killer on what he was doing close to his home after children had been left feeling uncomfortable and scared.
Mr Richardson’s family sat united as one, listening to almost all of the evidence during an emotional four-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court. The cannabis-smoking killer attacked Max “with a forceful blow without any warning”, prosecutors said.
Carmody and Barnett showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was read to the court after seven hours of deliberation. The killer patted his head and ran fingers through his hair whilst people in the public gallery began to cry. Both are due to be sentenced at a later date with Carmody remanded in custody.
The gunmen who murdered a man and fled the country
Nana Oppong, 43, (left) and Israar Shah, 39, organised and carried out the killing of 50-year-old Robert Powell in Roydon
(Image: Essex Police)
Nana Oppong, 43, and Israar Shah, 39, organised and carried out the killing of 50-year-old Robert Powell in Roydon, Harlow, in the early hours of June 13, 2020.
Mr Powell, who had left a party at an address in Water Lane at around 4.45am, was shot eight times and later died in hospital. A Ford Kuga, later found to be on cloned number plates, stopped near Mr Powell in the seconds before the shooting, before an individual stepped out of the vehicle and gunned him down.
A shot went through Mr Powell and hit two nearby women, causing them injury. The Ford Kuga made off from the scene. Police investigation later traced this vehicle to an industrial estate in Epping, where it was dumped before being collected hours later.
Through analysis of CCTV and mobile phones, police were able to link Oppong and Shah to the killing. Essex Police’s work – together with the National Crime Agency’s successful cracking of EncroChat, an encrypted messaging service largely used by organised criminals – established Oppong had likely been out to get Mr Powell.
One of them was eventually located in Morocco, while another was found in Europe. Both have been remanded in custody and will receive a life sentence.
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The teen who stabbed a man to death in a park
19 year old Callum Taylor
(Image: Essex Police)
Terry Leeks was 46 when he was fatally stabbed in Northlands Park, Basildon, at around 1.30am on July 11 2021. He was captured on CCTV entering the park on his bicycle a short time before the assault before a confrontation with a group of three or four people.
Fishermen on the opposite side of the lake in the park, heard a disturbance and witnessed a coming together and Terry falling to the floor, they rushed to his aid and called emergency services. Terry was taken to hospital but, sadly, later died there. A homicide investigation began by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.
A total of 13 people were arrested as part of the investigation. Through these enquiries, detectives identified a teenager – 18-year-old Callum Taylor – who they believed was responsible and he was arrested.
In February of last year, he was charged with Terry’s murder. Initially, he denied the charge but at Basildon Crown Court on October 4 last year, he admitted manslaughter. At the same court, the now-19-year-old was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Machete gang jailed for murder of ‘precious’ teen at train station
Toluaslase Odunewu (left) and Michael Tommy Mbogba were found guilty of murdering Jordan Kukabu
(Image: Met Police)
A gang of thugs have been locked up for viciously murdering a “precious” teenager in a machete attack near an Essex railway station. Three teenagers and one man have been locked up for a combined 91 years after their 18-year-old victim was stabbed in Dagenham in May 2023.
Wazabakana Kukabu, known as Jordan to his loved ones, had parked at Dagenham Heathway station with his friend when they were approached by the gang who were brandishing machetes. One of them stabbed Jordan in the chest while he sat in the back seat. He managed to sprint away and stop a passing car for help, but quickly collapsed on the road. Police officers on patrol nearby provided CPR, but Jordan was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
One witness explained that he had seen the defendants sitting on the top deck of a bus after the murder re-enacting the fatal attack they had just carried out. Michael Tommy-Mbogba, 21, of Arkwrights, Harlow was sentenced to 29 years. Toulwalase Odunewu, 18, of Angel Way, Romford, was also jailed for 23 years.
A 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were jailed for 16 years and 23 years respectively. The 17-year-old was also convicted of the attempted murder of Jordan’s friend, whilst the others were convicted of GBH against the same victim. All were also found guilty of a separate incident of violent disorder, which had taken place two days previously.
Daughter jailed after murdering parents and living with their dead bodies
Virgina McCullough, of Great Baddow, has admitted murdering her parents
(Image: Essex Police)
A daughter who murdered her parents then lived alongside their bodies for four years has been told she will serve at least 36 years in prison. Virginia McCullough, 36, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term after she poisoned her father, John, and then fatally attacked her mum, Lois, 71, at their home in Great Baddow.
She used a cocktail of medication with alcoholic drinks to poison John before she brutally beat her mother with a hammer and repeatedly stabbed her with a kitchen knife in 2019, Chelmsford Crown Court heard. Virginia continued to live at the property in Pump Hill until her arrest in September 2023.
McCullough “built a makeshift tomb” for her father, who had worked as a university lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, whilst her mum’s body was wrapped in a sleeping bag and hidden in her mother’s bedroom on the home’s top floor. Her actions were uncovered after her parents’ GPs raised concerns over missed appointments.
The Judge said Virginia was “trapped by your own dishonest behaviour” and was involved in a “web of deceit that you spun over several years”. He added: “Your parents were entitled to feel safe in their own beds, in their own home and from their own daughter. Your conduct was a gross breakdown in the trust between parents and their children.”
The murderer who killed a man and then waited calmly for police
Gary Hindle was murdered in Westcliff
(Image: Essex Police)
Gary Hindle (pictured above) was just 53 when he was attacked by Barry Mooney in Hamlet Court Road at around 6pm on Thursday July 18. CCTV showed that in the moments leading up to the attack, Mooney and Gary had had a short conversation, possibly an argument.
Mooney got up from the bench, where they were both sitting, walked over to a nearby tree, and got out a large knife before attacking Gary with it. Gary sustained injuries to his face and back and, sadly, died at the scene.
Shortly after, Mooney also attacked another man who happened to be walking through Hamlet Court Road at the time. He was taken to hospital and his injuries are life-changing injuries to his face. Mooney stayed at the scene, sitting on a bench still holding the knife until officers pulled up in a police car.
Despite being told to drop the knife he refused, and officers had to taser him and were then able to arrest him. While in custody, Mooney made threats towards officers and admitted he had carried out the attack. Fifty-five year-old Mooney, of Crowstone Road, Westcliff, was charged. At Basildon Crown Court on Thursday November 28, he admitted murder and GBH with intent and was jailed for life and told he would not be eligible for parole for at least 26 years.