This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/8073659.stm
The article has changed 20 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 10 | Version 11 |
|---|---|
| Two men guilty of student murders | Two men guilty of student murders |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Two men have been found guilty of murdering two French students in a bedsit in south-east London. | Two men have been found guilty of murdering two French students in a bedsit in south-east London. |
| Gabriel Ferez and Laurent Bonomo, both 23, suffered hundreds of stab wounds after being tied up during the attack in New Cross on 29 June 2008. | |
| Dano Sonnex, 23, of Peckham, south London, and Nigel Farmer, 33, of no fixed address, had both denied murder. | |
| Justice Secretary Jack Straw has apologised over the probation blunders which left Sonnex free to kill. | |
| 'Sadistic murders' | |
| The chief officer of London Probation David Scott has resigned as a result of the mistakes. | The chief officer of London Probation David Scott has resigned as a result of the mistakes. |
| Sonnex was jailed at the age of 17 for violent attacks and robberies, and told a prison doctor he feared he "could kill" in the future, but the confession was never disclosed to authorities. | |
| Six weeks before the murders, magistrates had granted Sonnex bail on charges of handling stolen goods. | |
| Jack Straw: 'I've apologised personally' | Jack Straw: 'I've apologised personally' |
| He was expected to be recalled to prison to serve the remainder of an earlier sentence for various assaults and robberies, but the paperwork was not ready and he walked free from court in April 2008. | |
| Lydie Bonomo said her son would still be alive if the mistakes had not been made. | |
| The student's father Guy said in a statement: "We have sat in court for the last six weeks, hoping for answers, trying to find out what happened. | |
| "But you have lied in court and have refused to tell the truth. This is what we have been waiting for. | |
| 'Serious failures' | |
| "Without knowing what happened that night and why, we cannot move on and find peace. I ask you again, 'Why'?" | |
| Mr Straw, who has apologised to the students' families, condemned the killings as the "most appalling, sadistic, and gratuitous murders". | |
| He said: "The direct responsibility for these killings must lie - as the jury found - with the criminals Sonnex and Farmer. | He said: "The direct responsibility for these killings must lie - as the jury found - with the criminals Sonnex and Farmer. |
| What the firemen found was a scene of almost unimaginable horror Prosecutor Crispin Aylett class="" href="/1/hi/uk/8083470.stm">'You've taken my heart and soul' class="" href="/1/hi/uk/8072939.stm">In pictures: The murder scene (Contains disturbing images) | |
| "But it is also the case that Sonnex could and should have been in custody at the time he committed these murders. | "But it is also the case that Sonnex could and should have been in custody at the time he committed these murders. |
| "It was the consequence of very serious failures across the criminal justice system that he had not been arrested and incarcerated some weeks before." | "It was the consequence of very serious failures across the criminal justice system that he had not been arrested and incarcerated some weeks before." |
| Mr Straw added that a number of reviews had since taken place, the result of which was that 100 new probation officers would be recruited in the capital over the next two years. | |
| Farmer was also found guilty at the Old Bailey of burglary, a charge Sonnex had already admitted. | Farmer was also found guilty at the Old Bailey of burglary, a charge Sonnex had already admitted. |
| Both men were also convicted of false imprisonment and arson and will be sentenced later on Thursday. | |
| Students Gabriel Ferez and Laurent Bonomo were tied up and stabbed | |
| During the trial, prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said Mr Ferez and Mr Bonomo had been tortured then murdered because Sonnex and Farmer were unable to get cash from a machine using one of the students' bank cards. | During the trial, prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said Mr Ferez and Mr Bonomo had been tortured then murdered because Sonnex and Farmer were unable to get cash from a machine using one of the students' bank cards. |
| Mr Aylett said: "To take revenge for the fact that they had been unable to steal money from Mr Ferez, both men were murdered in a way that can only be described as inhuman. | Mr Aylett said: "To take revenge for the fact that they had been unable to steal money from Mr Ferez, both men were murdered in a way that can only be described as inhuman. |
| "What the firemen found was a scene of almost unimaginable horror." | "What the firemen found was a scene of almost unimaginable horror." |
| Sonnex and Farmer had blamed each other, but Mr Aylett described the crime as a "joint enterprise of unmitigated evil". | Sonnex and Farmer had blamed each other, but Mr Aylett described the crime as a "joint enterprise of unmitigated evil". |
| As he was led away from court, Sonnex looked at the families of the two students and shrugged. | As he was led away from court, Sonnex looked at the families of the two students and shrugged. |
| Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez were biochemistry students at the Polytech Clermont-Ferrand. | Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez were biochemistry students at the Polytech Clermont-Ferrand. |
| They were weeks away from finishing a research project at Imperial College when they were killed. | |
| Advertisement | Advertisement |
| Farmer and Sonnex were caught by CCTV several times on the day of the murders |