UK Police Officers Who Took Pictures of Murdered Sisters at Crime Scene Plead Guilty, Face Jail
10:28 GMT 02.11.2021 (Updated: 12:22 GMT 01.03.2022)
© Photo : Metropolitan Police
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In June 2020, Nicole Smallman and her sister Bibaa Henry were stabbed to death as they celebrated the latter's birthday in Fryent Country Park in northwest London. The murders took place during the first coronavirus lockdown, when pubs and restaurants were closed.
Two police officers have pleaded guilty to taking and sharing photographs of the scene of a horrific double murder in London.
PC Deniz Jaffer, 47, and PC Jamie Lewis, 32, admitted misconduct in public office on Tuesday, 2 November, after they took pictures of the bodies of Nicole Smallman, 27, and her sister Bibaa Henry, 46, in June 2020.
Jaffer and Lewis, who were guarding the bodies overnight and were supposed to be "maintaining the integrity" of the crime scene, shared the images on WhatsApp and in one Lewis' face was superimposed onto it.
Danyal Hussein
© Photo : Metropolitan Police / Danyal Hussein
The sisters were stabbed to death by Danyal Hussein, 19, who was jailed for life last week for the murders in Fryent Country Park in northwest London.
The Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft QC, told the pair: "On 7 June the bodies of two women were found in undergrowth at Fryent Country Park. You were supposed to preserve the scene".
"The two of you were assigned to guard that scene overnight. You were to maintain the integrity of the bodies", he added.
Warned Of Jail Term
Judge Lucraft adjourned sentencing until next month but warned the pair - who were both given bail - they were likely to be sent to jail for the offence.
Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman
© Photo : Metropolitan Police / Bibaa Henry Nicole Smallman
Jaffer took four photographs and Lewis two, and both shared them with friends and colleagues - including members of the public - on WhatsApp.
It is understood they were arrested after one of the people who received the images reported the matter because they were so disgusted by the "inappropriate" photos.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched an investigation which led to the pair being charged.
On Tuesday 2 November the regional director of IPOC, Sal Naseem, said: "The actions of PC Jamie Lewis and former officer Deniz Jaffer, were sickening. They should have been protecting a crime scene but instead they treated it with contempt and disrespect. In doing so they insulted Nicole and Bibaa, their families, their loved ones, and their colleagues. There can be no place in policing for anyone behaving this way."
At a previous hearing Jaffer and Lewis said, through their lawyer Luke Ponte, they were "sorry beyond measure for the pain they have caused".
Ms Henry, a social worker, and Ms Smallman, who worked in the hospitality industry, spent the evening in the park with a group of friends celebrating Ms Henry's birthday.
Their friends left them around midnight and they are believed to have been killed about an hour later.
Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry were attacked in Fryent Country Park (pictured) and their bodies were deposited in a hedgerow
© Photo : Metropolitan Police
The bodies were found in a hedgerow in the park on the morning of 7 June of last year.
The pair's mother, Mina Smallman, said the photographs had "dehumanised" her daughters and "taken our grief to another place".
Watchdog Criticises Police 'Culture'
IPOC said three other police constables will face disciplinary charges for misconduct because "they were either aware of, received or viewed the inappropriate photographs and failed to challenge or report them."
Mr Naseem added: "Sadly, as today’s events highlight, police officers falling below the standards of behaviour expected of them are not one-off events. A culture where some officers do not see anything wrong with sharing deeply offensive messages, and where others feel unable or unwilling to challenge this, has to change. And it has to change now."
