Nikitta Grender trial: Boyfriend’s cousin Carl Whant guilty of rape and killing pregnant teenager
- Carl Whant yawned as jury delivered guilty verdicts before he is jailed for life with minimum tariff of 35 years
- Killer, 27, torched Nikitta Grender’s flat in attempt to disguise crimes
- Nikitta’s parents say: ‘For us to see our grandchild for the first time in a mortuary was the most heartbreaking thing we’ve ever had to do’
- Heavily pregnant teenager two weeks from giving birth
- Father-to-be Ryan Mayes, 17, had vowed to be ‘perfect dad’
- Whant took flowers to her grieving family as he tried to cover up
By Rob Cooper
Last updated at 3:58 PM on 22nd February 2012
Mother-to-be: Nikitta Grender, 19, who was raped and killed by her boyfriend’s cousin Carl Whant
A former nightclub bouncer was today jailed for life for raping and murdering a young mother-to-be in her home just two weeks before she was due to give birth.
Heavily pregnant Nikitta Grender, 19, was repeatedly stabbed in an attack by Carl Whant in her flat.
Tattooed Whant raped Miss Grender, who was the girlfriend of his closest friend and cousin Ryan Mayes, then slashed her throat and stabbed her in the abdomen.
In an attempt to disguise his crimes, he then set fire to her home in Newport, south Wales, which was ready for the imminent arrival of baby Kelsey May.
The blaze also claimed the life of Miss Grender’s pet dog which was discovered burning by a frantic neighbour.
But ‘arrogant’ and calculating killer Whant, who left Miss Grender’s parents sickened with his claims that he had consensual sex with their daughter just hours before her death, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years today.
Father-of-one Whant appeared to yawn as the jury at Newport Crown Court unanimously found him guilty of murder, rape, child destruction and arson.
Mr Mayes looked at Whant and shook his head gently at each verdict.
Despite throwing away the murder weapon, Whant, 27, of Bettws, near Newport, was caught after DNA evidence was found at the scene and in his car.
The jury rejected his claim that the reason he was driving near Miss Grender’s flat near sunrise was to ‘pick up fags’ from his grandmother’s house.
The bouncer returned to the party he had left more than an hour later without cigarettes and coolly slept on the sofa before leaving for work.
After the verdict, Nikitta’s parents Marcia Grender and Paul Brunnock said today in an emotional statement: ‘For us to see our grandchild for the first time in a mortuary was the most heartbreaking thing we’ve ever had to do.’
As he handed down his sentence, Judge Mr Justice Griffith Williams told Whant he was ‘calculating and devious’.
He told the defendant that he had left a party on the night of the teenager’s murder and went to her flat because ‘you fancied Nikitta and wanted to have sex with her’.
He said that because he knew that she would not agree, ‘you went armed with a knife, prepared to rape her.
‘The likelihood is that she let you in, believing that Ryan was with you.’
The judge told Whant that the murder of Ms Grender had ‘left her family, Ryan Mayes, and her friends bereft.
‘The subsequent loss was compounded by the knowledge that her murderer had raped her and then tried to destroy her body.
‘The grief was made all the more deep because you did not scruple to make the wholly false allegation that she had consensual sex with you.’
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Guilty: Carl Whant, 27, raped and murdered his own cousin’s pregnant girlfriend Nikitta Grender, 19, two weeks before she was due to give birth
The judge said Whant had acted with ‘quite extraordinary hypocrisy’ after the murder of the teenager was discovered.
‘You even took flowers to the Grender household.’
He added that the 6ft 3in bouncer was a ‘calculating, vain and devious’ individual and said that the full facts of what happened in the early hours of February 5 last year may never be known.
But he added: ‘The explanation for these crimes lies in part in your vanity.’
Grief: Nikitta’s father Paul Brunnock and mother Marcia Grender make an emotional statement after Whant was jailed
‘TO SEE OUR GRANDCHILD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A MORTUARY WAS HEARTBREAKING’
The grief-stricken parents of murdered mother-to-be Nikitta Grender described the first time they saw their dead granddaughter as the most harrowing experience of their lives.
Kelsey-May was due to arrive in the world around February 21 last year, but she was killed just two weeks beforehand.
Miss Grender’s uncle Michael Brunnock said his brother Paul and his niece’s mother Marcia Grender had found the events of the past 12 months incredibly difficult.
Speaking on behalf of Miss Grender’s family, as well as Ryan Mayes, he said: ‘Nikitta was so young and beautiful. Together with Ryan, they were to become very proud set of parents to Kelsey-May.
‘This has been ripped from them by Carl Whant, who has never had the decency to tell us the truth.
‘For us to see our grandchild for the first time in a mortuary was the most heartbreaking thing we have ever had to do.
‘The last 12 months has been harder for us than you could ever imagine. We remain in total disbelief as to what happened.
‘We will never deal with the tragic events that have stolen our family from us, but we hope we can at least start to understand what has happened.’
Mr Brunnock also praised the work of Gwent Police and the Crown Prosecution Service in getting justice for their family.
After the verdict was delivered in court, Miss Grender’s father approached prosecuting barrister Gregg Taylor to thank the leading QC – while family and friends embraced in tears of relief and joy.
‘You told the police that she was “feisty” and in my view she told you that she was going to report you to the police for raping her, and that is why you murdered her.’
Father-to-be Ryan Mayes and Nikitta were ‘well-prepared’ for the birth of their baby girl – and had bought a cot and pram ready for the big day.
But on the night of Miss Grender’s death, Mr Mayes went for a night-out with family and friends and returned to discover her dead in the burned-out flat.
During the trial, prosecutor Greg Taylor said: ‘Nikitta was alone at home in the flat in the early hours where she should have been safe for the rest of the night.
‘Her boyfriend Ryan was out in pubs, nightclubs and a house party with his cousin Whant.
‘Someone entered that flat, someone raped her, someone murdered her and in the process destroyed her unborn child.
‘She was stabbed right through the neck cutting her carotid artery.
‘She was also stabbed in her stomach and the knife penetrated the unborn baby.’
The court heard the bed Miss Grender was found lying in was deliberately set on fire.
Mr Taylor said: ‘This was an attempt to cover up these crimes making it appear Nikitta Grender had died in a tragic house fire. The man who did that was Carl Whant.’
He added: ‘Nikitta fell pregnant and was expecting her child in February 2011. They moved into a new flat the previous September – Nikitta’s mother lived around the corner to help her out.
‘Nikitta visited the midwife regularly with Ryan and they were both looking forward to the birth of their child.
‘Nikitta and Ryan knew the baby was going to be a girl and had already given her the name Kelsey-May.
‘They had decorated one room in the flat and had bought a cot and pram – they were well prepared.’
Killer: Whant, 27, with his girlfriend Rachel Bird who gave evidence against him in the month-long murder trial at Newport Crown Court
Thug: Tattooed Whant, a 6ft 3in bouncer, was jailed for a minimum term of 35 years after unanimously being found guilty by the jury today
Damage: The fire was started by murderer Carl Whant, 27, in a desperate attempt to cover up for the killing of the 19-year-old mother-to-be
Charred: Inside Nikitta Grender’s upstairs flat which was almost completely destroyed by the blaze which ripped through it after she was murdered
Guilty: Police mugshot of murderer Carl Whant who was today jailed for 35 years
Mr Taylor told how Miss Grender disliked Whant – and ruled out that she had consented to sex with him.
He said: ‘It was common knowledge that Nikitta disliked Carl Whant – he was a self-confessed cocaine user and she thought he was a bad influence on Ryan.’
Mr Taylor said firefighters arrived to see smoke billowing out of the windows of the first-floor flat.
Mr Taylor said: ‘The fire was started deliberately there is no doubt about that. It was to mask the murder.
‘The firefighters broke through the door and inched their way across the floor when a five-foot ball of flame rolled across the ceiling from Nikitta’s bedroom.
‘When they got into that room they could see Nikitta’s body on the bed. It was heavily charred.’
Miss Grender was just 5ft 3in and weighed 7st 10lbs even though she was heavily pregnant.
Her parents Marcia Grender and Paul Brunnock said today following the verdict: ‘Nikitta was so young and beautiful and together with Ryan they were to become a very proud set of parents to Kelsey-May.
‘This has been ripped from them by Carl Whant who has never had the decency to tell us the truth.
‘We will never deal with the tragic events that have stolen our family from us.
‘But we hope we can at least start to understand what has happened.’
Serviceman: Carl Whant, 27, when he was in the Welsh Guards a few years ago
Detective Chief Superintendent Geoff Ronayne said police and the Crown Prosecution Service had ‘worked tirelessly and thoroughly’ to put the prosecution case together.
‘We are satisfied that justice has been served today with the conviction of Carl Whant for the horrific murder of Nikitta and Kelsey-May.
‘Whant has never admitted his guilt, given any indication as to why he committed this terrible crime or provided Nikitta’s family with any answers.’
He added that expert advice had been sought from across the UK in an effort to strengthen the case against Whant.
‘We have also done our best to provide support to Nikitta’s family and our thoughts, as they have always been, are with them today.
‘With the murder of Nikitta and Kelsey-May, they have lost their daughter, sister and granddaughter, and Ryan has lost his girlfriend and daughter.
‘The family and Ryan must be commended for their bravery and dignity, and for the support they have given to the police investigation over the last 12 months.
‘This process has undoubtedly been a harrowing ordeal for them.
‘I am hopeful that this conviction brings to an end one part of the process, although, without a doubt, they will continue to mourn the family and grieve for Nikitta and Kelsey-May for the rest of their lives.’
Murdered: Nikitta Grender, 19, was ready to give birth to her first child, Kelsey May, and had bought a cot and a pram
Cousins: Bouncer Carl Whant 27, left, raped and murdered the girlfriend of his cousin Ryan Mayes, right, killing their unborn baby
Torched: Nikitta Grender’s flat which was set on fire by drugged-up Carl Whant after he had stabbed her and her unborn baby to death in Newport, South Wales
Killer: Carl Whant 27, who murdered pregnant 19-year-old Nikitta Grender is pictured holding a child
Carl Whant sat composed and seemingly unemotional for weeks as he listened to the prosecution case in his murder trial.
As the quality and quantity of evidence against him built up, any residual doubt that he might be innocent rapidly disappeared.
Juries are warned at the start of any trial that they should reach their verdict only on the facts as set out in court.
But the case against Whant quickly appeared so overwhelming, expectations were raised that he would change his plea to guilty.
When that failed to happen many concluded that what his plea really amounted to was a denial of the truth.
The picture which emerged of Whant during the trial was that of an ineffectual loser living an aimless life.
A stint working as a nightclub bouncer had given way to work as a canvasser for a double glazing firm.
He had a cocaine habit and was regarded as unreliable and basically untrustworthy by his girlfriend and friends alike.
Habitually short of cash, his money seems to have been largely spent on cigarettes, drink and drugs.
Despite his faults he had won the friendship and respect of his youthful second cousin, Ryan Mayes.
The 17-year-old boyfriend of murdered mother-to-be Nikitta Grender, 19, was also the father of the unborn child.
Whant’s murderous act was all the more brutal for robbing his closest friend of a partner, a daughter and fatherhood.
Whant: A stint working as a nightclub bouncer had given way to work as a canvasser for a double glazing firm. He had a cocaine habit and was regarded as unreliable and basically untrustworthy by his girlfriend and friends alike
A year later he forced him to re-live the trauma suffered at his hands by insisting on his innocence in court against all the evidence.
‘PREGNANT MOTHER’S BABY COULD HAVE BEEN BORN ALIVE’
Carl Whant was charged with killing Nikitta’s unborn baby under a rarely-used law.
As the baby had not been born, legally he could not be accused of murder so instead he faced a child destruction charge.
The offence is rarely used in court and Whant is believed to be one of the few people charged with it in the last 10 years.
It covers those who kill unborn babies who are ‘capable of being born alive’.
It usually applies if the woman has been pregnant for 28 weeks or more – Nikitta had been pregnant for 38.
The crime was created in the 1929 under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act.
The act read: ‘Any person who, with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother.
‘Shall be guilty of felony, to wit, of child destruction, and shall be liable on conviction thereof on indictment to penal servitude for life.’
The crime is punishable with life in prison – the same as murder.
David Wooler, Crown Advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service in Wales, said: ‘I decided that Carl Whant should also be charged with the offence of child destruction, under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act of 1929.
‘This is an offence which prohibits wilful acts causing the death of any child capable of being born alive – and given the advanced stage of Nikitta Grender’s pregnancy, Kelsey-May certainly fit that description.
‘Child destruction is, thankfully, a very rarely used charge; we are not aware of another case like this one in Wales.
‘When the legislation was originally drafted in the 1920s, it was intended to be used to curb the activities of back-street abortionists.
‘But in a more modern setting, it can be applied to cases where an offender deliberately takes the life of an unborn child through a violent or aggressive act.’
His denial was all the more unpalatable for the victim’s loved ones because of a belated claim that he had consensual sex with his victim.
Coming as it did little more than one month before the start of his murder trial, the claim smacked of desperation.
It was vital for Whant’s defence that he explain how his semen came to be found inside the dead body of Ms Grender.
His claim that he had sex with the heavily pregnant teenager on the evening of the murder at the invitation of Mr Mayes always appeared outlandish.
That he claimed the invitation was made moments after Mr Mayes had had sex with her himself sounded like the fiction of desperation.
Mr Mayes vehemently dismissed that either he or Whant had had sex with Ms Grender on the evening in question.
The claim meant that despite being a victim himself, his own sexual conduct came under scrutiny of Whant’s defence.
The teenager, aged only 16 at the time of his partner’s murder, was forced to stand and publicly deny ever sharing women with his cousin.
His obvious repugnance at the very idea was a final insult forced on him by his former friend. But Whant could not explain how Ms Grender’s blood came to be on his shirt and in his car.
He could not explain how his car was identified on CCTV by experts travelling a route on the morning of the murder which led to her Broadmead Park flat.
He admitted leaving a party in Newport at a time which gave him the opportunity to commit murder, claiming he was going to get cigarettes.
He claimed that he had visited his grandmother’s home to ask for them but failed to wake her.
Despite being able to describe his nine minute drive across Newport in detail, he went on to claim he had no memory of returning to the party.
His account was so riddled with inconsistencies and lies that nobody who sat through the trial could ever believe him innocent.
It was a measure of the man that to escape justice he was willing to force his friend through the added ordeal of a trial in spite of everything he had already done to him.
Family: Nikitta’s father Paul Brunnock, mother Marcia Grender, the victim’s boyfriend Ryan Mayes and Nikitta’s younger brother Luke exit Newport Crown Court (left). Right: Mr Mayes arrives at the court earlier in the case
FATHER-TO-BE TOLD MURDERED NIKITTA HE WOULD BE ‘PERFECT FATHER’
Stabbed to death: Nikitta Grender, 19, was in a long-term relationship with Ryan Mayes, Carl Whant’s cousin
Heartbroken father-to-be Ryan Mayes told how he was counting down the days to the arrival of his baby girl with partner Nikitta Grender.
The young couple had already named her Kelsey-May and painted her nursery pale pink.
Nikitta, 19, had bought nappies and baby clothing ready for the day she would proudly bring her back from hospital. Ryan, just 17, kept the ultra-sound scans of their baby on his mobile phone to show his friends and family.
Ryan had gone along to Nikitta’s ante-natal classes and had told family he planned to be the ‘perfect dad.’
He said: ‘After we moved in together our relationship improved – it went better. We just had ourselves and may have had one or two friends each.
‘We wanted each other and didn’t want to go out drinking and finding other people.
‘We just kept ourselves to ourselves and stayed strong. I was over the moon she was expecting a baby and she felt exactly the same.’
Eight and-a half-months pregnant Nikitta was due to give birth on Ryan’s 18th birthday – February 17th 2011.
But in the early hours of February 5 Ryan’s cousin Carl Whant called at the couple’s first-floor flat and murdered Nikitta.
Although Ryan loved and respected his older cousin – Nikitta didn’t like him.
Ryan said: ‘She didn’t like Carl because I spent a lot of time with him. Maybe she was a bit jealous.
‘She just couldn’t like him. The way he came across to her she didn’t like that. She didn’t like what he was about or what he liked doing.’
Ryan wore a pink shirt – Nikitta’s favourite colour – to the funeral of his girlfriend and unborn baby who were buried together.
He left a teddy bear wreath for Nikitta and Kelsey-May. It read: ‘My beautiful angels taken too soon. Sleep well my Princesses. Love Ryan (Daddy).’
Categories: News Tags: boyfriend's, Carl, cousin, Grender, Guilty, killing, Nikitta, pregnant, rape, teenager, trial, Whant
Sex predator Kajus Scuka allowed into UK to carry out knifepoint rape and string of attacks
- Kajus Scuka, 48, jailed for life today with a minimum term of 12 years
- Rapist slipped into Britain undetected and signed on for benefits
- He stabbed wife three times in row over his infidelity and was jailed for life in 1988
- Also convicted of gross indecency, indecent assault and attacking a woman with an axe in his homeland
By Rob Cooper
Last updated at 6:40 PM on 27th January 2012
A dangerous sexual predator from the Czech Republic who murdered his wife at home came to the UK and carried out a knifepoint rape and three serious sex attacks on women, a court heard.
Kajus Scuka, 48, raped a woman on her 54th birthday as she walked her dog in a park and groped his other victims and offered them cash for sex.
The convicted killer was claiming £67-per-week in benefits after coming to the country in 2009.
A judge today expressed dismay that despite his serious convictions and lengthy sentence, Scuka was ‘free to enjoy the same freedom of movement as any other European citizen.’
Jailed: Kajus Scuka, 48, who had served 11-and-a-half years of a 13 year sentence in his homeland
He was allowed into the country despite serving 11-and-a-half years of a 13 year sentence for murdering his wife.
He had been jailed in 1988 for stabbing her three times in his homeland when they argued over his infidelity.
Scuka also has convictions in the Czech Republic for gross indecency, indecent assault and assaulting a woman with an axe for which he was jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Although he was already a convicted killer, as he was not deemed high profile enough he is likely to have slipped into the country unnoticed because border officials would not have known of his criminal past.
Judge Peter Kelson told the defendant: ‘It seems to me that even with your convictions for murder and assaults you were free to enjoy the same freedom of movement as any other European citizen’
Any EU citizen is entitled to come into the country unless border officials can show that the individual represents a danger under free movement of labour laws.
The system is reliant on criminal records databases being shared – and a conviction alone is not enough to keep someone out.
The Sheffield attacks all happened within a two-mile radius of the city’s giant Meadowhall Shopping Centre between March 2010 and May 2011 and – police did not even know the killer was in the country.
Jailing Scuka for life with a minimum term of 12 years at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Peter Kelson told him: ‘I regard you as a very, very dangerous man.’
He said he was ‘unwilling to control his sexual urges and was a grave danger to women’ and he would be recommending Scuka for deportation after he has served his sentence.
The judge said: ‘If there is ever such a day you are released in this country you should be deported. I have no doubt that the public will be terribly alarmed.
‘It seems to me that even with your convictions for murder and assaults you were free to enjoy the same freedom of movement as any other European citizen.’
After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Ian Harding said it was worrying that Scuka could slip into Britain under the radar.
‘It is a concern that people of this nature move freely about the EU without any restriction,’ he said.
‘This man has been living in Sheffield since 2009 and we were not even aware of his presence.’
Scuka first struck in March, 2010 as a 51-year-old grandmother walked her two-year-old granddaughter home in a pram at Sheffield Lane Top.
WHY ARE WE NOT WARNED ABOUT EU CRIMINALS?
Britain’s ‘open borders’ agreement with the European Union means millions of people with criminal records can get into the country unchecked.
Any citizen of an EU country, including the 8 countries of Eastern Europe, can get into the UK without a visa, just as Britons can travel freely around the continent.
When EU nationals arrive at the border, their passport details are checked against a ‘watch list’ of serious criminals and terror suspects compiled by the UK Border Agency.
But the database contains giant holes – as the British authorities are reliant on other countries to share their criminal records.
Unless an offender is high profile, is known to have committed crimes in several countries, or is on the Interpol wanted list – the system is unlikely to be aware of their previous convictions.
And even if a new arrival does have a conviction – or indeed several – and the authorities are aware of them, they cannot automatically be refused entry.
European free movement rules mean they can be barred to ‘maintain public security’ but convictions in themselves do not necessarily mean they will be turned away.
Even more worrying is that many foreign nationals do not undergo rigorous background checks even after they have been arrested.
Each year around 30,000 pass through the criminal justice system without police exploring the full extent of their criminal pasts.
By comparison, criminals from outside the EU who want to come to Britain must obtain a visa before entering – and are required to declare any previous convictions.
He approached the woman from behind and put his hand between her legs while making ‘sexual grunting noises’, said prosecutor Mike Smith.
His victim turned round and swore at Scuka who fled.
The second attack happened on April 14 when a 23-year-old was approached by Scuka who pretended to be jogging as she walked alongside the River Don.
His victim said he appeared to be wanting directions but he then grabbed her and tried to push her into nearby undergrowth and said: ‘I give you 30 quid.’
The woman, who escaped, told the court: ‘At first I thought he was going to mug me but then I realised he wasn’t after money.’
Two hours later Scuka raped his third victim as she walked her dog on playing fields after work just a mile away at Wincobank.
The victim told the court a man speaking broken English asked her for directions then knocked her into a ditch.
He slapped her hard on her thighs before taking out a penknife and raping her.
She said: ‘He tried to kiss me. He kept slapping me. At one point I was thinking I didn’t want to die in this ditch, I didn’t want to die with my clothes off and be found by children.’
The final attack was on May 17, 2011 when a student in her 20s was walking through a park in Firth Park.
Scuka grabbed her from behind and said ‘let’s have sex’ but she managed to break free and escape as he tried to rip off her coat.
He was arrested minutes later at his home half a mile away.
Scuka’s DNA was found on the rape victim while fibres from a hooded top he wore for the last attack were found on his victim’s coat.
Scuka, who spoke through an interpreter in court, was convicted by a jury of one offence of rape and three offences of sexual assault.
He told the court he lost his footing as he spoke to the rape victim and they both fell to the ground on a public footpath.
Scuka claimed the woman touched him sexually first and he found her attractive but did nothing against her will.
Police believed he returned home for brief periods by bus during his time in Sheffield. Det Sgt Harding said: ‘He claimed he came here looking for work but he hasn’t done any and just signed on.’
Categories: News Tags: Allowed, attacks, Carry, into, Kajus, knifepoint, predator, rape, Scuka, string
He’s a teenager at 42, says the sister of rape case aristocrat accused of attacking schoolgirl as she slept
By Neil Sears
Last updated at 4:14 AM on 13th January 2012
Support: Murray’s sister, Lady Georgina Bullough, gave evidence to the court yesterday, where she described her brother as ‘kind’ but ‘naïve’
The aristocrat on trial for raping a schoolgirl yesterday received support from his titled sister who took to the stand in his defence.
Lady Georgina Bullough praised the character of the Honourable James Murray, 42, over allegations he spiked a 16-year-old truant’s Ribena drink before assaulting her in her sleep.
The 44-year-old said her younger brother was a ‘kind’ but ‘naïve’ man whose emotional intelligence was ‘somewhere around the teenage mark’. His tendency to only see the good in people had often led to him being taken advantage of, she added.
Murray denies the rape charge, insisting he and the girl had been in a consensual sexual relationship since she reached the age of consent, although he admitted he had ‘deep feelings of unease’.
The court also heard him speak in his own defence for the first time. He denied he had ‘groomed’ the alleged victim – a troubled foster child – from when she was 15.
Instead, the Old Etonian son of the Earl and Countess of Mansfield told the jury: ‘I feel she was grooming me.’
Murray’s brother Viscount Stormont, 55, the heir to their father’s £60million fortune, has been at Oxford Crown Court throughout his trial. But the only witness called to speak on his behalf was Lady Georgina.
Giving her name to the court as Georgina Dorothea Mary Bullough – stressing that her surname was pronounced ‘Bullow’ – she said she knew nothing about the alleged rape incident, but was there to talk about her brother’s character.
Lady Georgina, of Logiealmond near Perth in Scotland, said: ‘For the last year, since this court case started, James has been living with my husband and I. I’m very fond of James, I know him well and like most people that know him well I’m quite protective of him.
‘He’s very kind and generous with his time and his possessions, and as a result he’s socially popular.
Accused: James Murray, right, arrives at court with his brother Viscount Stormont. Murray took to the stand in his defence for the first time yesterday
Copy of a letter written by James Murray to the parents of his alleged victim. The letter was produced as evidence at Oxford Crown Court
‘But he is naïve – he always thinks the best of people. He would not possibly see trouble coming that other people would spot very quickly. He’s easily taken advantage of.’
As an example, she told the court of a time when he was a student at Oxford Brookes University, when he lent his car to a friend for a day and ‘didn’t have the assertiveness’ to ask for it back even a week later.
‘Intellectually he’s very clever,’ Lady Georgina said. ‘He understands all about technology and computers and science. But emotionally, I would say his intelligence is not good… somewhere around the teenage mark.’
Earlier, Murray said he became close to his alleged victim after she took him for a walk to show him hedgehogs.
Underage sex with her would have been wrong he said, but he began sleeping with her days after she turned 16 because he felt she expected it – adding that on the night of the alleged rape he joined her in the spare room at his flat in Oxford when she asked him to read her a bedtime story.
The case continues.
Categories: News Tags: accused, aristocrat, attacking, Case, he's, rape, says, schoolgirl, sister, slept, teenager
H&M forced to defend Girl With The Dragon Tattoo fashion line after rape victim accuses chain of glamorising sex attacks
By Daisy Dumas
Last updated at 2:30 AM on 15th December 2011
H&M’s new Girl with a Dragon Tattoo collection, which hits the major retailer’s stores today, has been accused of glamorising rape.
In an open letter to the retail giant on her blog, rape victim Natalie Karneef said that she recognises the type of clothes in the new fashion line because they give the message to men to ‘stay the f*** away’ – but that they also put a ‘chic, consumerist finish’ on sexual violence.
The collection’s place in glamorous fashion circles was secured by its worldwide début at trendy Paris boutique, Collette, last month. But while the designs may be associated with rape – an important part of the movie’s plot – the chain says the clothes are simply all about a ‘strong woman who stands up for her ideal.’
Stockholm syndrome: H&M’s Dragon Tattoo clothing line is full of dark colours and edgy street fashion, but it has been accused of glamorising rape
Designed by Trish Summerville, who was in charge of the new film’s costumes, the clothes take a direct lead from the films’ heroine, Lisbeth Salander.
Packed with black, dark browns and greys, the line’s hooded tops, skinny coated jeans, chunky black boots, U.S. flag T-shirts and leather jackets are all a nod to Lisbeth’s dark side and the gritty self-preservation that is attributed to her being raped by a guardian as a teen.
The story, set in snowy Sweden, hinges upon the loner protagonist’s edgy strength and survival and her outer image – including no-nonsense wardrobe, spiky black haircut, piercings and, of course, that tattoo – is very much part of her persona.
Writing in the Montreal Gazette, Ms Karneef says: ‘What message is H&M sending to the world? “Look at the trendy rape survivor? Look how strong she is, that she can get through all that hell and still wear cool leather jackets?”‘
Victim: Lisbeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara, is ‘severely emotionally scarred’ rather than being a strong, independent woman, says rape victim Natalie Karneef
The namesake book’s late best-selling author, Stieg Larsson, was inspired to write the shocking, raw trilogy after witnessing a gang rape aged just 15.
Ms Karneef points out that while Division Designer at H&M, Anna Norling, says she is ‘proud’ of the line because Lisbeth is the ‘very essence of an independent woman,’ the film’s star, played by Rooney Mara, is in fact ‘severely emotionally scarred’ after years of abuse and violence.
The line is irresponsible, says Ms Karneef: ‘Sexual violence is an epidemic. Putting a chic, consumerist finish on it glosses over the lives it destroys and the spirits it breaks.’
Stars: Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara at the film’s Swedish première last night
‘If H&M really believed in promoting the essence of independent women, it would donate to organizations that promote prevention and help the survivors of gender-based violence, not create a fashion line to glamorize it.’
The original open letter found its way to Fashionista.com, sparking a debate about the real roots of Lisbeth’s ‘armor.’
In response, the corporation released a statement to Fashionista denying any intent to offend.
Accompanying the apology, H&M says that ‘though we think Lisbeth is a strong woman who stands up for her ideal, we are not trying to represent her specifically. Our goal is to rather offer a collection that we see in today’s trend picture that will appeal to many customers.
‘We do not view this collection as provocative – it contains pieces that are staples in many people’s wardrobes: jeans, biker jackets and t-shirts. It’s all about how you wear them. We encourage our customers to find their own personal way to wear our products.’
One reader on the fashion site, Danielle Raymond Neff, says that the ‘armor’ was not simply down to rape, but was ‘response to childhood trauma (witnessing and later protecting her mother from the abuse of her father [and] being kept in an asylum by the Swedish government.’
Categories: News Tags: 'victim', accuses, after, attacks, Chain, defend, Dragon, Fashion, forced, girl, glamorising, Line, rape, Tattoo
Mundil Mahil ‘enlisted gangsters to set fire to ex Gagandip Singh’ over rape claim
- Gagandip Singh, 21, beaten, put in a car, driven to London and set on fire
- Student Mundill Mahil, 20, ‘got two men to take revenge’
By Rob Cooper
Last updated at 11:16 PM on 6th December 2011
Accused: Mundill Mahil is accused of luring her ex-boyfriend to her flat in Brighton where she was attacked. She denies murder
Two ‘gangsters’ set fire to a TV executive after locking him in the boot of his car on the orders of his ex-girlfriend, the Old Bailey heard today.
Medical student Mundill Mahil, 20, enlisted the men to take revenge on Gagandip Singh, 21, after he attempted to rape her, it was claimed.
She lured him back to her basement room in Brighton, East Sussex, before Harinder Shoker, also known as Ravi, and Darren Peters, both 20, beat him unconscious, it is alleged.
The victim was then allegedly bundled into the boot of his Mercedes and driven back to London before the vehicle was set ablaze with him still inside.
Mr Singh’s body was found in Blackheath, south east London, in the early hours of February 26 this year.
A post-mortem revealed he had suffered severe head injuries.
Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC said Mr Singh and Mahil were both members of the Sikh community and had begun a relationship in 2009.
‘Gagandip Singh was plainly, on the evidence, besotted with her,’ he told jurors.
He wooed her with gifts, while she provided him with emotional support – particularly when his father was murdered on a visit to India in September 2009 – and would spend hours chatting with him on the phone and internet, the court heard.
Gagandip’s father’s packaging business had been turning over more than £2million year when money started going missing from the firm.
His accountant was based in India and the father went to investigate but was murdered there. His son took over the firm and also started the Sikh TV channel on Sky.
However Gagandip’s relationship with his girlfriend Mahil broke down in August 2010 after Mr Singh ‘attempted to rape’ her in her student house.
A housemate, Becky Edwards, described Mahil as an ‘agony aunt’ and said: ‘During our first year she talked to him about very intimate, personal things.
‘He was a millionaire who offered her lots of gifts which she refused. After his father died they became closer and he was dependent on her.’
But Mr Jafferjee said the attempted rape changed everything.
He said: ‘It is common ground that he tried to have sex with her by getting into her bed.
Murdered: Gagandip Singh, 21, was in a car that was set on fire
‘Both were to describe it as an attempted rape – although in fact her description of events, even to her friends, suggest it did not get as far as that.
‘She forced him away, he broke down in tears and he left.’
Mahil became increasingly upset and angry, and spurned Mr Singh’s attempts to strike up further contact with her, jurors were told.
She became so resentful that after the attempted rape she referred to him only as s***face,’ the court heard.
‘That she disliked him intensely there can be little doubt,’ the barrister said.
‘She can be extremely manipulative. She knew that he was completely besotted by her and would jump at the chance of contact with her.’
At the same time, she also began a relationship with Shoker, who Mr Jafferjee told jurors was also ‘besotted’ with her.
‘She told her housemates about how on occasions certain of her male friends, which she referred to as gangster friends, wished to exact revenge and retribution on him (Mr Singh) but that she would discourage it,’ he added.
‘Unfortunately by February this year, far from discouraging anyone from harming him, she lured him to Brighton, suggesting a meeting at the same house at 11pm.’ The victim was both ‘excited’ and ‘wary’, he said, adding: ‘He asked her whether she was sure this was such a good idea.’
Mr Jafferjee added: ‘On February 25 he drove down in his sister’s Mercedes.
‘But laying in wait for him in the basement of the house, where her bedroom was, were Ravi and Darren Peters.
‘He had no idea what lay in store for him. He was attacked and beaten unconscious.
‘He was then wrapped up in Mahil’s duvet and carried by Ravi and Peters and dumped in the boot of the Mercedes he had arrived in.’
After the car had been driven to Blackheath it was set on fire with Mr Singh still in the boot.
Tributes: Flowers next to the charred tree where the dead body of Gagindip Singh was found in the boot of a burnt out car
‘Petrol was poured onto the car, including onto him as he lay either still unconscious or on any view completely helpless inside the boot,’ said Mr Jafferjee.
‘It is scientifically clear beyond any doubt that he was still alive at that point.
‘The car was then set alight with him in the boot and that is how his life was ended.’
The prosecutor added that Mahil was key to the killing and initiated it.
‘Her role was central. If she had agreed to lure him to Brighton that fateful evening the deceased would have been safe and alive today,’ Mr Jafferjee said.
‘No-one else had the ability to get the deceased to a place where he was completely vulnerable.’
Her new boyfriend, Shoker, ‘almost certainly had his own agenda and it was not of the righteous crusader protecting a young woman’s virtue,’ the barrister added.
‘He being besotted with her was more than happy to get rid of Gagandip.’
Peters was hired to help deal with the victim who was one grade below black belt at Taekwondo, the court heard.
‘Mahil was the person who lured the victim into the trap that had been laid,’ Mr Jafferjee said.
‘Peters and Ravi were the hired muscle who would draw this plan to its awful conclusion.’
Housemate Live Thorsen said on the night of the killing she saw sobbing Mahil coming up from the basement.
‘She was shaking with tears in her eyes. She was very traumatised. She said “He’s been here.” She said she had a flashback (to the attempted rape) on seeing his face.
‘I could hear noise coming from down the stairs. It was very loud like someone was trying to tear the house down. It was a loud fight.’
Mahil told her she had asked Mr Singh to come to the house and he had turned up with a teddy bear for her.
‘She said that she was told to get him into the house and get him downstairs and then open the door to her room and then run upstairs.
‘She described how once she had opened the door they had leapt straight on him and she remained on the stairs unable to move.
‘The deceased had been screaming her name asking for help, but she couldn’t bring herself to help.’
Later Mahil told her the two men were taking the victim to the car, the court heard.
Shoker, from Charlton, London, Peters, from Kidbrooke, London, and Mahil, from Chatham, Kent, all deny murder.
The trial continues.
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