Four men have been found guilty of the murder of Bill Henham at a new year party at a squat in Brighton.
Gregory Hawley, Lamech Gordon-Carew, Alize Spence and Dushane Meikle were convicted after a three-month trial at Maidstone Crown Court.
The trial was delayed at times because of the coronavirus, the Christmas break and Storm Eunice – and computer problems held up the jury’s deliberations.
But the jury returned unanimous verdicts on all four men this morning (Thursday 24 February) to convict the four men accused of killing 24-year-old Mr Henham at a new year’s party in the squat in North Street, Brighton.
All four men denied murdering William Henham, known as Bill, on New Year’s Day 2020.
Hawley, 29, formerly of Poynings Drive, Hove, and North Road, Brighton, was said to have been the ringleader.
Shortly after the murder, the jury was told that Hawley and 20-year-old Gordon-Carew, of Cheeseman Close, Hampton, Richmond Upon Thames, boasted to others about what they had done.
Spence, 18, of Makepeace Road, Northolt, London, was just 16 at the time of the murder.
Forensic evidence linked the murder to Hawley, Gordon-Carew, Spence and 28-year-old Meikle, of Amberley Drive, Hove, and formerly of Belvedere Terrace, Brighton.
The court was told that Mr Henham was beaten in a room referred to as the “torture room” before his body was dragged away and dumped in an outside recess below.
James Mulholland, prosecuting, told the jury at the start of trial: “After the attack, those involved in the assault showed a significant degree of forensic awareness as they attempted to cover their tracks.
“An examination of the inner door of the first-floor room where Mr Henham had been injured revealed attempts had been made to clean it.
“The prosecution case is that each defendant either joined in the physical attack upon William Henham or deliberately helped or encouraged one or more of the others to do so.
“And that each, as they did so, intended that he be caused, at least, really serious injury and that they are all guilty of murder.”
The judge, Sir John Cavanagh, known as Mr Justice Cavanagh, will sentence the four men at a date to be fixed.
He thanked and praised the jury and paid tribute to the courage and dignity of Mr Henham’s family who had followed the trial in court.
it’s a great shame the death penalty is no longer in existence for cases like this because if it was, it’s likely that it would prevent terrible and pointless tragedies such as this – I think they must have killed him for some sick sort of fun.
RIP BILL
The death penalty DIDN’T prevent murders. If it had done, it wouldn’t have been used. There are plenty of murders committed in the United States despite the death penalty being used in many of the states. These boys will get well-deserved long sentences but they won’t be hanged and that marks us and the rest of Europe out as civilised countries.
Very sad.