Two Nigerians among four jailed for killing man over wristwatches in UK (Photos)
Two Nigerians: Temidayo Awe and Ikem Affia, are among four persons arrested for killing a man, Saul Murray, in the United Kingdom.
According to available information, the man was killed by the gang in order to have access to his Rolex wristwatches.
Murray was said to have flaunted his wristwatches on the social media, a move that attracted the gang to him.
Apart from Affia, 31, and Awe, a 21-year-old student of Coventry University, others arrested and sentenced after trial were Surpreet Dhillion, 35, and Cleon Brown, 29.
The police tagged the murder of Murray: “Honeytrap killing.”
A video seen by The Eagle Online on Channel 4’s “24 Hours in Police Custody”, showed how the killers had access to Murray.
A report on https://onenigerianbritico.com/ also chronicled the event that led to the killing of the man.
He was said to have posted himself with two watches on Instagram.
Awe and Dhillion saw the display and began a conversation with Murray.
They then agreed to meet Murray at his flat.
The two lades along with two Affia and Brown, both men, drove in a Mercedes A Class Brown had hired from London to Luton on February 27, 2023.
In the video from the CCTV in Murray’s apartment, Awe and Dhillion are seen entering the communal entrance to his flat in New Town Street, Luton.
They engage in sexual activity before using GHB, a date rape drug, to knock him out.
The girls then ushered the boys: Affia and Cleon, into the flat and stole the watches, as they have done to at least six other men, before leaving the building.
Murray, a dad of six, can be seen moments later on the CCTV limping completely naked towards the communal door before falling and dying.
At the trial, prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC said: “Mr Murray can be seen just a few seconds after the men.
“He is hobbling and completely naked. He opens the communal door and falls over and dies.”
It was a night shift worker that discovered the man covered in a pool of blood and called 999.
An autopsy revealed he had died as a result of blood loss from a knife wound.
Affia, from Hackney in London, was carrying a large knife in his right hand.
He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years on March 3, 2023.
Dhillon, Brown and Awe were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10, 11 and seven years respectively.
In a victim personal statement, Murray’s father, Colin Murray, described his son as a wonderful son.
He said he had watched him die on CCTV.
He said: “It is the last thing I think about before going to sleep and first thing I think about when I wake up.”
During sentencing, Judge Michael Simon said: “Nothing this court says or does can possibly repair the cavernous void in the hearts and lives of those to whom Saul Murray meant so much.
“Something went wrong with the primary plan.
“Exactly what went wrong is beyond the court’s capacity to be sure of within the available evidence.”
After the sentence, Detective Inspector Dale Mepstead, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “This was clearly a planned attack facilitated by Dhillon and Awe and carried out by Affia and Brown.
“It’s obvious from the way the two women used a sedative substance on Murray and the fact Affia was armed with a knife that they were prepared to get what they wanted at any cost – which sadly was Murray’s life.
“This was a very lengthy and complex investigation, which involved scrutinising hours of CCTV, phone data, vehicle telematics and other evidence to place each of them at Murray’s flat at the time of the offence.
“I hope that the knowledge that all four people involved in this horrific incident will be locked up for a very long time can bring some justice to Saul’s loved ones.”