Two London police officers jailed for sharing crime scene photos of murdered sisters
- Police officers took pictures of two slain sisters and posted them on social media
- The victims were murdered by a 19-year-old British man obsessed with demons
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Two London police officers were on Monday each jailed for nearly three years after they admitted to sharing crime scene photographs on WhatsApp of two murdered sisters.
The case, which came after another serving officer was jailed for life for the kidnap, rape and murder of a woman, has added to a crisis of public confidence in the British capital’s police force.
Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis were each handed a sentence of two years and nine months for what judge Mark Lucraft called “appalling and inexplicable conduct”.
The duo took pictures of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, at the scene of their killing in a sprawling country park in northwest London last year.
That included taking a “selfie-style” image which Lewis had superimposed his face on.
The Metropolitan Police officers had been assigned to protect the crime scene but instead took “inappropriate” and “unauthorised” photos before sharing them on social media.
Their “shameful” behaviour also featured them describing the victims as “dead birds” on WhatsApp groups.
The men disregarded the victims’ privacy for “a cheap thrill” or “some form of bragging rights”, which undermined trust and faith in police, the judge at London’s Old Bailey court said.
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Social worker Henry and freelance photographer Smallman were killed in June last year as they celebrated the younger sister’s birthday at a late-night picnic.
Danyal Hussein, 19, was sentenced to life in prison earlier this year for murder after telling the court he had made a pact with “a demon” to kill women.
The women were reported missing by friends and relatives but police officers failed to properly record and act on the information.
As a result, the sisters’ family and friends went out to search themselves and the next day found their bodies in the park.
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The Met has already apologised to the black victims’ family, who have accused their initially botched investigation of being tarnished by racial bias.
In victim impact statements read in court, family members described the police defendants as a “disgrace”.
The women’s mother, Mina Smallman, said the officers’ actions were a “betrayal of catastrophic proportions” and a “sacrilegious act”.
As well as undermining confidence in the force, that case shocked the country and brought renewed attention on violence against women and girls – and how police respond.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
