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Mary Konye guilty of acid attack on friend Naomi Oni | Mary Konye guilty of acid attack on friend Naomi Oni |
(35 minutes later) | |
A woman has been found guilty of throwing acid in the face of a friend while disguised in a veil. | A woman has been found guilty of throwing acid in the face of a friend while disguised in a veil. |
Naomi Oni, 21, suffered burns to her face and chest in the attack near her home in Dagenham, east London. | Naomi Oni, 21, suffered burns to her face and chest in the attack near her home in Dagenham, east London. |
Mary Konye, also 21, dressed in a veil and attacked Ms Oni after following her home, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard. | Mary Konye, also 21, dressed in a veil and attacked Ms Oni after following her home, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard. |
The court heard that Ms Oni also lost her hair and eyelashes and needed skin grafts after Konye, from Canning Town, attacked her. | |
Konye attacked Ms Oni, an assistant at a Victoria's Secret lingerie shop, because she once called her ugly, the court heard. | |
The pair, who had been friends since secondary school, fell out in April 2011 when Ms Oni allegedly accused Konye of texting her boyfriend and called her an "ugly monster". | |
CCTV footage obtained by police showed a figure in a niqab following Ms Oni as she left work at Westfield shopping centre in Stratford at about 23:30 GMT. | |
Following the attack on 30 December 2012, Konye pretended to give Ms Oni a shoulder to cry on. | Following the attack on 30 December 2012, Konye pretended to give Ms Oni a shoulder to cry on. |
The jury heard the following day, Konye texted Ms Oni in hospital, saying: "OMG, I can't believe it." | |
After the attack, Konye posted a picture of the burnt faced Freddy Krueger character from the horror film Nightmare on Elm Street, together with the message: "Who looks like Wrong Turn now?" | |
The attack is said to have been a copycat of that suffered by model and TV presenter Katie Piper, who was badly scarred and left blind in one eye in an assault arranged by her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, in 2008. | |
Ms Oni told the court that Konye was aware of how much of an impact Ms Piper's ordeal had had on her after watching a television documentary about it. | |
Dressed in black, Konye remained calm as the jury of eight men and four women returned their verdict. | Dressed in black, Konye remained calm as the jury of eight men and four women returned their verdict. |
Judge David Radford warned Konye that she will face a "substantial" jail sentence. | |
He thanked the jurors for their efforts, saying they had looked at the evidence "with great thoroughness, taking your time to reach your verdict". | He thanked the jurors for their efforts, saying they had looked at the evidence "with great thoroughness, taking your time to reach your verdict". |
Ms Oni burst into tears as she left the courtroom and was hugged by friends and family. | Ms Oni burst into tears as she left the courtroom and was hugged by friends and family. |
As they left court, her friends said they were "glad that a truthful verdict had been reached". | |
Following the verdict, investigating officer Det Ch Insp David Whellams said: "Konye was almost obsessively jealous of the victim's good looks and, after a previous argument between them, hatched an almost unbelievable plan to attack her with acid. | Following the verdict, investigating officer Det Ch Insp David Whellams said: "Konye was almost obsessively jealous of the victim's good looks and, after a previous argument between them, hatched an almost unbelievable plan to attack her with acid. |
"The victim's life has been changed forever and she will always bear the scars of what happened, but she has been incredibly brave and I am pleased she has seen justice done today." | "The victim's life has been changed forever and she will always bear the scars of what happened, but she has been incredibly brave and I am pleased she has seen justice done today." |
Konye will be sentenced at the court on 7 March. | |
She had denied throwing or casting a corrosive fluid with intent to burn, maim, disfigure, disable or do grievous bodily harm. |