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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Man jailed over house raid murder | Man jailed over house raid murder |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A burglar who battered a mother of two to death in her own home while wearing an electronic tag has been jailed for a minimum of 18 years. | A burglar who battered a mother of two to death in her own home while wearing an electronic tag has been jailed for a minimum of 18 years. |
| Lloyd Edwards, 19, had been convicted at Kingston Crown Court of murdering Laila Rezk, 51, who was found at her home in Kingston Vale in 2006. | Lloyd Edwards, 19, had been convicted at Kingston Crown Court of murdering Laila Rezk, 51, who was found at her home in Kingston Vale in 2006. |
| Edwards was issued with a tag when he was released early from an 18-month Detention and Training Order. | Edwards was issued with a tag when he was released early from an 18-month Detention and Training Order. |
| Edwards, of south-west London, admitted manslaughter but had denied murder. | Edwards, of south-west London, admitted manslaughter but had denied murder. |
| The teenager, who had a string of previous convictions, had been in trouble with police since the age of 10 and carried out a raid on another house just two weeks after leaving Mrs Rezk for dead. | The teenager, who had a string of previous convictions, had been in trouble with police since the age of 10 and carried out a raid on another house just two weeks after leaving Mrs Rezk for dead. |
| On curfew | On curfew |
| It emerged following the trial that Edwards had been released two months early from a young offenders' institute where he was serving part of an 18-month detention and training order for a previous offence. | It emerged following the trial that Edwards had been released two months early from a young offenders' institute where he was serving part of an 18-month detention and training order for a previous offence. |
| He was fitted with an electronic tag and on a curfew but after drinking all day on November 29 last year, he entered Mrs Rezk's home as she prepared a family dinner and launched a violent attack when she screamed. | He was fitted with an electronic tag and on a curfew but after drinking all day on November 29 last year, he entered Mrs Rezk's home as she prepared a family dinner and launched a violent attack when she screamed. |
| Laila Rezk died the day after the attack in her London home | Laila Rezk died the day after the attack in her London home |
| She was left with severe brain damage and her injuries suggested she had been punched a number of times and her head smashed against a wall. | She was left with severe brain damage and her injuries suggested she had been punched a number of times and her head smashed against a wall. |
| She was still breathing when daughter Dina, a PhD student at Girton College, Cambridge, who was then 22, and son Tamer, a medical student aged 20, walked in through the open doorway. | She was still breathing when daughter Dina, a PhD student at Girton College, Cambridge, who was then 22, and son Tamer, a medical student aged 20, walked in through the open doorway. |
| The court heard her daughter "could not recognise her mother's face" because of her injuries, which were so severe that paramedics thought a weapon must have been used. | The court heard her daughter "could not recognise her mother's face" because of her injuries, which were so severe that paramedics thought a weapon must have been used. |
| She was taken to hospital but had fallen into a coma from which she never recovered. | She was taken to hospital but had fallen into a coma from which she never recovered. |
| Print on key | Print on key |
| A single thumbprint on a bent front door key on a bunch recovered from a lock at the home matched that of Edwards from Roehampton, south west London. | A single thumbprint on a bent front door key on a bunch recovered from a lock at the home matched that of Edwards from Roehampton, south west London. |
| He later told police he pulled his sleeves over his hands when he went around the house. | He later told police he pulled his sleeves over his hands when he went around the house. |
| He denied unlocking the door with the key but officers believe that in his agitation, his jumper slipped from his hands, leaving the print on the key. | He denied unlocking the door with the key but officers believe that in his agitation, his jumper slipped from his hands, leaving the print on the key. |
| The Judge, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, said Mrs Rezk's screams resulted in Edwards losing his temper and launching a "ferocious attack". | |
| He said: "She must have heard the noise of your entry and took exception to the presence of a stranger in her house. | |
| "You could, of course, have left the house and gone elsewhere but you continued your assault long, long after you had disabled her. | |
| "You must have seen the dreadful injury you had done to a woman that could have been your own mother. | |
| "I accept that you didn't intend to kill Mrs Rezk and didn't intend when you went into the house to cause anyone really serious injury. | |
| "But when Mrs Rezk resisted, you clearly lost your temper and formed the intention which resulted in you assaulting her so seriously she died." |