Three people have been convicted of murder as a longstanding Bushey trial concluded today (Wednesday, July 12).
Tevin Leslie, 23, Sakeen Gordon, 22, and Yarley Georgia Bruce-Annan, 22, have been convicted of the murder of Vishal Gohel, 44.
Brandon Browne, 22, and Faith Hoppie, 22, have been convicted of manslaughter.
Meanwhile, Tiana Edwards Hancock, 20, was cleared of murder, manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.
Prosecutor Charlotte Newell KC told St Albans Crown Court that on the morning of January 23, 2022, a neighbour saw Mr Gohel’s front door was ajar and the kitchen light was on.
When he returned to the second floor of the flats on Bushey High Street at 10pm, he noticed the door was still open and decided to check.
She said he knocked on the door and went in to make a “horrifying discovery”.
She said: “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.”
The prosecutor said the second floor flat had been tidied in an effort to clean the scene. Mr Gohel’s iPhone and iWatch had been taken.
She said he was the victim of a “honeytrap” where the women had gained access on the promise of sexual liaisons that never happened. They allegedly gained entry to allow the males in to steal property.
The jury heard the victim had been in contact with Bruce-Annan on January 22, 2022, on Craig’s List, an online market website where goods and services are offered.
The female defendants had left Barking in a cab and arrived in Bushey at 1am.
The men arrived at the scene in Leslie’s Audi at 2.25am. Browne had been picked up in Bromley. Leslie then drove onto Ealing to pick up Gordon, who is his cousin.
“It was the culmination of a plan that had been brewing throughout the day,” said Ms Newell.
Earlier, Mr Gohel had been recorded on CCTV at a convenience store near his home at 10.25pm where he bought alcohol, soft drinks, cigarettes and condoms.
He had borrowed £100 in cash from his mother, who lived nearby, and also withdrew £100 from a cash machine.
The prosecutor said he had been seen on CCTV wearing the iWatch. This was missing when his body was found. She said the watch, the £200 cash and his iPhone were stolen.
“No attempts had been made to contact the emergency services, but there had been efforts had been made to clean the flat. He was dead or dying when they left the flat. There was no attempt to provide assistance to him,” said the prosecutor.
Judge Richard Foster remanded the three men and two women in custody for sentence on September 26.
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