Crime

A man who knifed to death a devoted family man after lying in wait for him in a dark car park has been jailed for life.

Builder Christopher Small, 48, stabbed father-of-one David Nunney as he got out of a taxi in Roger Stone Court, Coombe Road, Neasden, on April 26.

Two young children watched in horror as their mother was beaten over the head by a masked attacker - in broad daylight.

The sickening incident took place in Barn Way, Wembley, on August 30, leaving the injured 34-year-old woman in hospital.

Brent police are hunting five men who went on the run while due in jail.

By Tom Lawrence

Three men who conspired to murder a special constable in Wembley have each been sentenced to life in jail.

Businessman Fadi Nasri, 34, hitman Jason Jones, 36, and drug dealer Rodger Leslie, 38, were all given life sentences today (Wednesday) by The Recorder of London, Judge Peter Beaumont QC, for the murder of Nasri's wife Nisha Patel-Nasri outside her Sudbury Avenue home.

The judge ruled Nasri and Jones must serve a minimum of 20 years and Leslie a minimum of 18.

Leslie and Jones were not present to hear the sentence, having unexpectedly returned to their cells earlier in the morning, but Nasri, in a dark pinstripe suit and flanked by security guards, displayed no emotion as the sentence was passed.

Nasri, who lived with his wife of three years, wanted her dead so he could pay off his debts with her £350,000 life insurance policy and start a new life with his prostitute lover Laura Mockiene.

Limousine company boss Nasri recruited Jones through underworld contact Leslie. Tony Emmanuel, 42, was the hired driver but was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

Nasri, Jones and Leslie were found guilty of murder on May 28 at the Old Bailey after the jury had deliberated for 26 hours.

Emmanuel insisted although he had driven Jones and Leslie to the scene, he knew nothing of the sinister plot.

The trial heard Nasri - who owed £54,000 to banks and building societies - arranged the murder for May 11 2006 and gave Jones the house keys.

He had organised a game of snooker to give himself an alibi, leaving his wife, 29, to count the takings of her hairdressing business and get ready for bed. He even told her to lock the doors as he left, knowing the hitman was on his way.

Mrs Patel-Nasri was in her pyjamas when Jones slipped into the house in Sudbury Avenue, Wembley, shortly before midnight.

Police believe he took a knife from the kitchen and found the petite 29-year-old at the bottom of the stairs where she had come to investigate a noise.

But Mrs Patel-Nasri may have grabbed the knife to defend herself before she was stabbed in the left groin as she struggled with the hitman.

She managed to get out on to her driveway but bled to death before emergency services could reach her.

Jones calmly walked away from the house and was driven away by Emmanuel. He then dumped the murder weapon in a drain but, crucially, was caught by a security camera, and phone records linked all four defendants on the night of the murder.

Sentencing Nasri Judge Beaumont said: "I find there was in the circumstances of the attack a significant degree of planning and premeditation.

"I find that Mrs Patel-Nasri was that night vulnerable, but not through age or disability, vulnerable because the plan left her defenceless in her home as Mr Nasri exercised the alibi that he constructed for himself.

"The aggravating factor was that there was gross abuse of the trust he owed her as a husband."

Ms Mockiene was in the packed public gallery and broke down in tears as the sentence was passed.

Nasri had been having an affair with Ms Mockiene since January 2006 and she may have been pregnant at the time of the killing.

She was with him when he was arrested nine months after his wife's death.

After sentencing, it emerged Nasri's father killed himself in prison in 2001 while on remand accused of killing his own wife and son in a house fire in Derby and that Nasri was planning to sue Leicester Prison over the incident.

By Tom Parnell

Brent Police are hunting two burglars who have gone on the run after breaching their bail.
Cops believe Richard Harding, 42, and Benjamin Clarke, 28, are staying in Brent and are calling on community members to help catch them.
Sergeant Johanne Hughes, of Brent Marshals, said: " Police would like to speak to both Richard Harding and Benjamin Clarke.
"We would like to hear from anyone who may know of either of the subjects' whereabouts.
"If you have any information, please contact us in confidence on 02087333159 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."

By James White

Police are investigating a possible double shooting which they believe took place at a house party in the early hours of this morning (Monday).

Officers were called at approximately 4am to Bleinheim Gardens in North Wembley where they found a woman in her 30s suffering from gun shot wounds.

At 4.10am, staff at a west London hospital also contacted police after a man in his 20s was admitted with gun shot injuries which are said to be life-threatening.

Police are linking both shootings.

Trident, the Met's black gun crime unit, is investigating and a police spokeswoman said no arrests have been made.

By Tara Brady

A servant girl was forced to sleep in a tiny cupboard after being smuggled from Africa on a bogus British passport, a court heard on Monday (16).
Ghanaian Elizabeth Adona, 24, told police she was promised money and a university education if she came to England but was forced to work long hours and survive on limited food during an ordeal that lasted more than two years.
Her alleged tormentor, Mary Tontoh, 60, of Roundtree Road, Wembley, denies trafficking the woman into the UK and assisting unlawful entry on or before May 7, 2003.
However, Miss Adona claims she was made to wait on her boss, look after Tontoh's young son and clean her home including hand washing dirty clothes before they went in the washing machine.
Jurors were told that eventually Tontoh got Miss Adona a cleaning job with the help of another false passport.
But any money the defendant's servant earned disappeared on household bills or was taken as 'repayment' for her air fare to London.
Alisdair Smith, prosecuting, said she waited on Tontoh and carry out other chores before bedding down on a mattress crammed into a hallway meter cupboard. He said: "She was expected to look after Tontoh's son, prepare meals and clean the flat. She was being exploited and was not paid for the work she did."
The barrister then told jurors that Tontoh would threaten to tell the police if Miss Adona refused to carry out the tasks.
Miss Adona says she was encouraged by friends to go to the police herself. When officers called round they found the mattress still in the cupboard with Miss Adona's belongings.
The trial continues.

A servant girl was forced to sleep in a tiny cupboard after being smuggled from Africa on a bogus British passport, a court heard on Monday (16).
Ghanaian Elizabeth Adona, 24, told police she was promised money and a university education if she came to England but was forced to work long hours and survive on limited food during an ordeal that lasted more than two years.
Her alleged tormentor, Mary Tontoh, 60, of Roundtree Road, Wembley, denies trafficking the woman into the UK and assisting unlawful entry on or before May 7, 2003.
However, Miss Adona claims she was made to wait on her boss, look after Tontoh's young son and clean her home including hand washing dirty clothes before they went in the washing machine.
Jurors were told that eventually Tontoh got Miss Adona a cleaning job with the help of another false passport.
But any money the defendant's servant earned disappeared on household bills or was taken as 'repayment' for her air fare to London.
Alisdair Smith, prosecuting, said she waited on Tontoh and carry out other chores before bedding down on a mattress crammed into a hallway meter cupboard. He said: "She was expected to look after Tontoh's son, prepare meals and clean the flat. She was being exploited and was not paid for the work she did."
The barrister then told jurors that Tontoh would threaten to tell the police if Miss Adona refused to carry out the tasks.
Miss Adona says she was encouraged by friends to go to the police herself. When officers called round they found the mattress still in the cupboard with Miss Adona's belongings.
The trial continues.

A 33-year-old man has been charged with sexually assaulting a man and a woman during attacks which allegedly took place on the same night in Neasden.
Adallah Khalidkhan, of Briarfield Avenue, Finchley, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Saturday (31) accused of raping a man, sexually assaulting a woman and two counts of assault on February 22 in Crest Road.
He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody and will appear at Harrow Crown Court on August 4.

By Tom Lawrence

A mother who went missing from her Sunderland home with her five young daughters may be hiding out in the Harlesden area, police believe.
Natalie Bracht went on the run with the youngsters on May 17 and has been evading the authorities by moving between various locations in the capital.
Investigators believe the mother, who hails from Dusseldorf, Germany, has radically changed her appearance a number of times and have growing concerns regarding her emotional well-being.
The 34-year-old left the north-east and travelled by taxi, to the Haymarket area of Newcastle, where she was seen at 1pm.
It is believed the family then travelled to Kings Cross by train.
DCI Roger Ford, from Northumbria Police, said: "The latest information we have places Natalie in the Harlesden area of London, a long way from her home in the North East and a long way from her daughters friends and school.
"So far her decision to change her appearance and avoid identification by moving away from her home shows a high degree of planning and a great deal of effort which further raises my concerns about her emotional well-being and the safety of her children.
"If Natalie is reading this I would like her to stop and think about what she is doing and whether it is in the best interests of her daughters to move them from place to place and keep them from their friends, school and education.
"I would also ask that any estate agents, landlords, hoteliers or B and B owners who may have been approached by Natalie to come forward."
Officers believe it is possible that Natalie may have moved on to another part of London with her daughters, who are aged between five and 13, but are urging the people of Brent to keep a look out.
She speaks good English, with a heavy German accent, but does not have access to much money or any family connections in the London area.
The father of three of the girls has travelled over from Germany to help with the investigation.
Anyone with information about Natalie or her children, is asked to call Northumbria Police, on 03456 043 043.