UK! Woman jailed after trying to smuggle drugs into music festival, I witnessed a phone snatching gang in action, Woman murdered a mother at child’s birthday party, Warrington child rapist jailed, UK Inquiry Seeks Answers Over Southport Girls’ Murders, Kamran Hussain from Shipley caught with heroin and cannabis, Man who urged vulnerable woman to kill herself so he could take pleasure watching is jailed 2025.7-12

Hope Rowe was convicted of murdering Charlotte Lawlor

A woman who knifed a mother to death after a row at a child’s birthday party has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years, police said.

Hope Rowe, 33, of Piazza Walk, Aldgate, was convicted of murdering Charlotte Lawlor, 31, with a knife at a property in Stepney Green, east London, in the early hours of September 15 last year, the Metropolitan Police said.

Rowe drove away from the scene with her partner, Leigh Holder, who accidentally left a voicemail on her phone, where she could be heard saying it was “good” that she had killed Ms Lawlor, the force added.

Holder, 38, who told her to get rid of the weapon and avoid the police, was jailed for 16 months for perverting the course of justice, Scotland Yard said. He encouraged Rowe not to surrender to the police, and helped her dispose of the murder weapon. Rowe’s phone was seized and analysed by forensic experts. A voicemail – accidentally left by Holder on Rowe’s phone while he was sitting next to her and driving away from the scene – was recovered. In the recorded conversation, Rowe told Holder that it was “good” she had killed Ms Lawlor, while Holder instructed his partner to dispose of the knife and to avoid the police.

The force said that Rowe claimed in court that her actions were due to a momentary loss of control. They were both sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday.

Detective Sergeant Dean Musgrove said: “Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Ms Lawlor, many of whom personally witnessed the murder. We hope that this sentence gives them some closure. Rowe and her partner behaved despicably. This sentence shows that killers will be pursued even in cases where they attempt to mislead investigators.”

Charlotte’s cousin, Jessie McBride said her death was a ‘devastating shock to the family’ and ‘completely traumatising’ for her boy, she wrote, adding that he will now have to live every milestone in life without his mother.

Describing the victim, Ms McBride said: “Charlotte was an amazing woman, she had drive, determination and a really big heart! She fought hard to make sure her son had the things he needed. She was his biggest supporter and absolutely adored him. She was loved by so many people and will be sorely missed. “

A SICK child rapist whose victim was just nine years old has been jailed for 17 years.

Odday El-Saddi appeared before Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Monday, after being found guilty of 15 counts of child sex abuse – including rape – after trial.

Prosecuting, Paul Becker said how El-Saddi’s horrific offending, for which he has shown ‘no remorse for’, took place over a four-year period.

Mr Becker read a victim impact statement to the court which revealed how the child has suffered greatly with their mental health.

They said how they have lost confidence, have been exposed to a life of fear and doubt and are unable to understand why this happened.

The court heard how El-Saddi, of Regency Square, Bewsey, has previous convictions – however they are unrelated.

Defending, Simon Christie said: “The last few weeks for Mr El-Saddi have been exceptionally difficult.

“It has been difficult for him to deal with life in the prison estate.”

Concluding, Judge Anthony Watson handed El-Saddi a 17-year prison sentence, with an extended licence period of one year.

He is also subjected to an indefinite restraining order against the victim and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Following the sentencing, detective constable Jessica Taylor said: “Firstly, I would like to commend the victim for the strength and courage they have shown throughout this case, and I hope the sentence handed to El-Saddi will provide them closure and a chance to move on with their life.

“El-Saddi is a dangerous individual, who sexually abused a child for years. He showed no remorse throughout the entire investigation, and even made his victim relive the experiences in court.

“Thankfully, as a result of the evidence gathered and the bravery of the victim, the jury were able to see through his lies and he is now being held accountable for his actions.

“Sexual assault of children causes terrible distress to all involved, not least the victim themselves, and I urge anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault – no matter how long ago the incident took place – to come forward and report it.“

We treat all reports of sexual offences extremely seriously, with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority, and any allegations will be thoroughly investigated.

LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) – A public inquiry into the murders of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport in Britain last year begins on Tuesday, seeking to determine whether the rampage could have been prevented and how to stop any similar atrocity.

Teenager Axel Rudakubana, who was obsessed with violence and genocide, launched the knife attack at the summer vacation event in northern England last July, killing the girls and wounding another 10.

The incident shocked the nation and was followed by days of nationwide rioting.

Just 17 at the time of the attack, Rudakubana was jailed in January for at least 52 years after he admitted the offences just as his trial was about to start. Prosecutors said his motive was not clear and it appeared to be simply the desire to commit mass murder.

After the conviction, Prime Minister Keir Starmer ordered the inquiry into state failings as it emerged in the trial that Rudakubana had been referred to a counter-radicalisation scheme three times, but no action had been taken.

Rudakubana had been involved in previous troubling incidents where he had been arrested carrying a knife. He had also admitted possessing an al Qaeda training manual and producing the lethal poison ricin.

“My focus throughout this inquiry will be a thorough and forensic investigation of all the circumstances surrounding the attack and the events leading up to it,” the inquiry chair, Adrian Fulford, said in a statement.

The inquiry will begin by looking at the teenager’s history and involvement with public bodies, before a second phase examines the wider issue of children being drawn into violence, an increasing concern for British authorities.

Lawyers for the three murdered girls – Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine – said they hoped it would uncover the truth.

“We know that nothing the inquiry reveals, or subsequently recommends will change the unimaginable loss felt by the families of Elsie, Alice and Bebe, but we all now have a responsibility to ensure that something like this never happens again,” they said in a statement.

A STREET dealer caught with heroin and cannabis has been locked up for more than three years.

Police who raided 20-year-old Kamran Hussain’s home in September 2021 found heroin worth £150 and cannabis worth between £1,575 and £4,850.

They also discovered £425 in cash plus 12 mobile phones, one of which contained adverts for cannabis, references to sales of crack cocaine and heroin, as well as pictures of cannabis and bundles of £5,000 in cash.

When interviewed, Hussain, now 24, of Stubbing Way, Shipley, said the cannabis was used to make cream and oil for his mother, who had cancer and who has since died, and that the heroin belonged to someone else.

Bradford Crown Court heard that the delay in the case being dealt with was partly due to Hussain not turning up. Two warrants were issued for his arrest.

Prosecutor Caroline Abraham said drugs were found throughout his home during the police search, including 2.17g of heroin in 15 packages, and 216g of cannabis in 58 bags, as well as drug-dealing paraphernalia such as digital scales and grip seal bags.

She said Hussain had previous convictions for possession of cannabis and possession of a bladed article.

She said he was selling directly to users and had an awareness of the scale of the operation.

Hussain later pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and cannabis.

Mitigating, Vince Blake-Barnard said Hussain had committed a cluster of offences when he was just 20, and the death of his mother had triggered his addiction to cocaine that had resulted in a debt of £8,000.

He said Hussain, who appeared via video link from HMP Leeds, had pulled away from criminality and stepped away from those “who would use him for their own purposes.”

He said the drugs recovered by police had become his debt, increasing it to £16,000, but that had been repaid by a relative, and Hussain was repaying the cash to them.

He said Hussain’s immaturity and naivety had allowed him to be exploited by others, but that he had shown remorse. He had given up drugs whilst in custody.

Mr Recorder Mark McKone KC sentenced Hussain to 38 months’ imprisonment, or three years and two months, for possessing heroin with intent to supply, plus 10 months for possessing cannabis with intent to supply, to be served concurrently.

He ordered the forfeiture of the cash and the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and related paraphernalia that were seized.

A man who urged a vulnerable woman to self-harm and end her own life for his own warped sexual thrills has been jailed for nine years.

Tyler Webb, 23, repeatedly told his victim to kill herself during weeks of what she called ‘calculated psychological violence’ because he wanted to watch her die on a video call.

He became the first person in the country to be charged with encouraging serious self-harm online under Section 184 of the Online Safety Act 2023.

Webb pleaded guilty in May to that charge and a separate charge of encouraging suicide between June 22 and July 11 last year.

Judge Timothy Spencer KC imposed a hybrid order, meaning he will begin his sentence in hospital until he is deemed fit for prison.

He told Webb: ‘Your persuasion extended over a substantial period of time. The two of you were not in any sort of suicide pact – it was always you hang yourself for my pleasure.’

Webb, with long black hair and wearing a blue t-shirt, sat in the dock with his head bowed down and hands clasped over his ears before hiding underneath his chair, where he remained for most of the hearing.

The victim, who cannot be named, contacted police in July 2024 because she feared Webb would encourage someone else to harm themselves after he asked her to ‘sacrifice’ herself.

She said Webb put her through a period of ‘calculated psychological violence’ because he wanted to watch her kill herself.

She met Webb on a Reddit forum where users shared mental health support. They then began to video call on the messaging app Telegram and their conversations turned ‘dark in nature’.

Prosecutor Louise Oakley told the Leicester Crown Court when Webb encouraged her to harm herself, ‘in [the victim’s] words, he loved it. Tyler Webb told her it turned him on.

‘He told her he wanted her to do it during a video call so he could watch. He would berate her and say she had nothing to live for and she should die.’

Webb once watched the woman make an attempt on her life and when it failed, told her to try again, the court heard.

Ms Oakley told the court Webb’s offending was pre-meditated, persistent and extensive: ‘He pressurised her and was at times unpleasant.

‘Importantly, it appears he was sexually motivated and genuinely wanted to see her die. He knew her vulnerabilities, her previous traumas and knew she had previously attempted suicide.’

The prosecutor also said he refused to turn his own camera on during the video calls, suggesting he knew that ‘what he was doing was wrong and he was in effect looking out for himself, not her’.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by the prosecutor, the woman wrote: ‘I don’t want to call this encouraging serious self-harm or suicide, I want to call this what it is – an attempted murder through psychological means.

‘What Tyler did was not a mistake, it was calculated psychological violence. He didn’t try to kill me with his hands but with his words.

‘He had no turmoil while torturing me. He told me that my only value was in dying for his entertainment.

‘I’m alive, but the life I have left is altered forever. My life is ruined – my mind and body have been severely damaged.’

Defence barrister Joey Kwong said Webb was struggling with his own mental health and ‘wrongly he adopted such warped behaviour and distorted thinking’ from content he saw online.

The court heard Web”s several diagnoses – including autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety and depressive disorders – had a ‘significant impact on his life’.

Dr Ajith Gurusinghe, a clinician who has been treating Webb in hospital because he is ‘unable to cope in the prison regime’, said the defendant had shown ‘some remorse but not completely’.

Webb’s Reddit profile was identified and a review of the account revealed several female anime or gaming characters in various erotic poses with fatal injuries.

Detective Constable Lauren Hampton, of Leicester Police, said: ‘This case is not only truly shocking but also deeply concerning.

‘Webb preyed upon a vulnerable woman at a time when she was reaching out to people in an online forum for help and support.

‘He quickly gained her trust and then he began with his barrage of vile requests – all the time knowing that what he was telling her to do could result in her ending her own life.

‘Thankfully, this did not happen, and the victim was able to report what had happened.’

Alex Johnson, a specialist crown prosecutor in the Special Crime Division of the CPS, said: ‘Tyler Webb contacted a vulnerable woman online and encouraged her to commit serious self-harm and to end her life by hanging.

‘He knew she was vulnerable and would act on his requests but went ahead with his persistent requests knowing she may well die.

‘Fortunately, his repeated and insistent suggestions did not result in a death.’