UK officers jailed after sharing murder victim photos online

LONDON – Two London police officers were yesterday 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.

‘Sacrilegious act’

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 found their bodies in the park the next day.

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 are a “betrayal of catastrophic proportions” and a “sacrilegious act”.

Earlier this year, Met officer Wayne Couzens was jailed for the rest of his life for raping and murdering a 33-year-old marketing executive, after falsely arresting her on the pretence she had broken coronavirus restrictions.

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. – AFP, December 7, 2021