A group comprising three men and two women has been found guilty of a ‘honeytrap’ k!lling. The victim, Vishal Gohel, 44, was expecting to engage in sexual activity with three women, but he was gagged and assaulted when their male accomplices appeared to rob him, as per Mail Online.
During the trial at St Albans crown court, prosecutor Charlotte Newell KC revealed that on the morning of Sunday, January 23 last year, a neighbor noticed Mr. Gohel’s partially open front door and a lit kitchen.
Upon returning to the second-floor flats on Bushey High Street, Herts at 10 pm, the neighbor observed the door still ajar and decided to investigate. Upon entry, the neighbor made a grim discovery.
It was revealed that “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,” said the prosecutor.
Further details indicated that the second-floor flat had been tidied in an attempt to clean the scene, and Mr. Gohel’s iPhone and iWatch had been stolen.
The prosecutor described the incident as a ‘honeytrap’ where three women gained access with the promise of sexual encounters that never occurred. They allegedly allowed the males to enter and steal property.
Tevin Leslie, 23, of Hurst Street, Brixton, London, was convicted of murder, having confessed to conspiracy to rob. Sakeen Gordon, 22, of Uxbridge Road, Ealing, was found guilty of murder by a 10 to one majority and conspiracy to rob.
Brandon Browne, 22, of Laburnham Road, Rochester, Kent, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob. Yarley Georgia Bruce-Annan, 22, of Harts Lane in Barking, was convicted of murder and had admitted to conspiracy to rob.
Faith Hoppie, 22, of Blake Avenue, Barking, was not found 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.
Details emerged during the trial that the victim had been in contact with Bruce-Annan on Saturday, January 22, via Craig’s List—an online marketplace where goods and services are offered.
The female defendants traveled from Barking to Bushey in a cab, costing £42.75, and arrived at 1 am. The men arrived at the scene in Tevin Leslie’s Audi at 2:25 am. Browne was picked up in Bromley, and Leslie then proceeded to Ealing to pick up Gordon, who happens to be his cousin.
‘It was the culmination of a plan that had been brewing throughout the day,’ said Ms. Newell.
Earlier on the night of the incident, Mr. Gohel was captured on CCTV at a convenience store near his home at 10:25 pm where he purchased alcohol, soft drinks, cigarettes, and condoms. He had borrowed £100 from his mother, who lived nearby, and withdrew £100 from a cash machine.
Further details revealed that he had been seen wearing the iWatch on the CCTV, but it was missing when his body was discovered. Moreover, his watch, £200 cash, and iPhone were stolen.
‘No attempts had been made to contact the emergency services, but there had been efforts to clean the flat. He was dead or dying when they left the flat. There was no attempt to provide assistance to him,’ the prosecutor concluded.
Judge Richard Foster remanded the three men and two women in custody for sentencing on 26 September. The 11 jurors were excused from jury service for the next 10 years after deliberating their verdicts for 21 hours and 36 minutes over the 9-week trial.
