Four On Trial For Loftus Road Killing


Murder was "revenge attack"

A man who was murdered in a Shepherd's Bush street last Christmas eve was killed in a revenge attack, a court has heard.

Craig Brown was fatally shot in Loftus Road on 24 December 2008 as he unpacked his Christmas shopping from the boot of his car.

An Old Bailey jury has heard that 20-year-old Brown was killed in revenge for biting off part of another man's ear.

In a fight last summer, Brown is said to have bitten off part of the ear of Khalid Elsheikh, who comes from Hammersmith.

The jury heard that a 15-year-old friend of Elsheikh's, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spotted Brown in Loftus Road last December. He is then alleged to have contacted three youths including Elsheikh in a series of mobile telephone calls.

Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC told the jury that shortly after the telephone calls, Brown was killed outside the home of his girlfriend, Denica Date.

"Revenge was going to be as swift as it was brutal. In less than 35 minutes Craig Brown was
shot dead outside Denica's house. Those responsible had swift access to firearms and could move with chilling speed," he said.

“The Crown cannot say which of the four fired the weapons,” Jaffarjee added.

The four defendants, Adil Saed, 21, of Shepherd's Bush, Elsheikh, 22, of Hammersmith, a 17-year-old who cannot be named, and the youth, now 16, who is alleged to have made the telephone calls, all deny the charge against them.

The trial continues.

2 September 2009