Man guilty of murdering teenager and hiding body in attic

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/28/gary-hopkins-abdi-ali-man-guilty-hiding-teenager-body-attic

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A man nicknamed The Magician is facing life imprisonment for murdering a teenager and hiding his body in his attic for eight months.

Gary Hopkins, 37, attacked and killed 17-year-old Abdi Ali at the home he shared with his partner and their three children in Enfield, north London.

Abdi, a drug dealer linked to the Get Money Gang (GMG), was hit over the head with a claw hammer and repeatedly stabbed on 21 December 2017. Hopkins then bundled the teenager’s body into a duvet cover and hid him in the attic with the murder weapons.

An Old Bailey jury found Hopkins guilty of murder after 16 hours of deliberations. Hopkins had admitted perverting the course of justice and preventing the lawful burial of a body.

The jury cleared his partner Stacy Docherty, 28, of murder but was unable to reach verdicts on the two other charges. Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC discharged jurors and adjourned sentencing of Hopkins until 26 April.

The court heard how Hopkins took about £400 from the victim to give his own family a good Christmas and took them to Leominster, in Herefordshire, to lay low.

Despite Abdi being reported missing by his family, his body lay undiscovered for eight months.

When it was finally found, the body was badly decomposed and infested with insects, Gareth Patterson QC said. The prosecutor told how Hopkins let slip what had happened to friends who visited the flat last August.

Hopkins, who was known for performing magic tricks, had threatened to kill another drug dealer saying: “I’ve done it before. He’s in the loft.”

Docherty wept as Hopkins got a ladder and encouraged the friends to look for themselves, jurors heard. When police searched the roof space, they found Abdi’s body. Giving evidence, Hopkins blamed a senior member of the GMG called Gaille Bola for the killing.

By the time Abdi was found, Bola had been found guilty of the manslaughter of 18-year-old drug dealer Meschak Dos Santos, jurors heard.

Hopkins, who was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking in 1999, told jurors he feared he would be blamed. He said: “I was scared my kids would wake up and see the body, so I wrapped it up and put it in the attic.

“I was trying to investigate what the reason was behind it.”

But in her evidence, Docherty said her “controlling” and “aggressive” partner had killed “respectful” Abdi, who used their flat to sell drugs. Docherty said she “froze” and was “petrified” when Hopkins told her he “lost it” and they had to leave. She said: “He had blood on him. I didn’t want to look. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”

Explaining why she helped Hopkins push the body into the loft, Docherty said: “He could have hurt me. He had just killed someone. He’s a loose cannon.”

The prosecution was given seven days to decide on whether to seek a retrial for Docherty.

Abdi was a “very respectful, helpful son”, according to his sister Kowsar. Speaking outside court on behalf of his mother Iisha, she said: “I am aware that Abdi had trouble with police before but as a family we were hoping that he would change since he was still very young. However, he does not have that opportunity now.”

DCI Paul Considine, of the Metropolitan police, said: “I am pleased to have received this verdict today in what has been a tragic case to investigate.

“Not only was a young man brutally murdered, but his body being hidden put Abdi’s family through the anguish of not knowing where he was. Hopkins showed a callous disregard for the consequences of his actions, which were driven by money and drugs.

“If the friend had not done the right thing and informed police, Abdi’s family would have had to endure even longer than they did without knowing where he was or what had happened to him.”