Two men jailed for life over Southall shotgun murder

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-45356856

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Two men have been jailed for life for the execution-style shooting of a "kind and lovable soul".

Khalid Farah, 26, was blasted with a shotgun at close range as he sat in a hire car on 11 November in Southall, west London.

Malique Thompson-Hill, 22, and Jermaine Paul, 23, were convicted of his murder following a trial at the Old Bailey.

At the court on Thursday, Judge Sarah Munro QC sentenced them to life with a minimum of 30 years.

Joshua Folorunso, 27, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and will be sentenced at a later date.

The court heard previously how Thompson-Hill and Paul had pulled up in a stolen Volkswagen Tiguan with false number plates.

One of the killers, wearing a hood, got out and shot Mr Farah through the car window at point-blank range.

The gunman then fired a second shot at Mr Farah's chest before jumping in the Tiguan and speeding off, jurors were told.

Mr Farah suffered massive blood loss and died in hospital.

Later that day, Folorunso, of Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, helped burn out the abandoned getaway car, the court heard.

Sentencing, Judge Munro QC said: "Whilst there must be a reason why Khalid Farah was targeted and while I strongly suspect a drugs background in this case, this is no mitigation.

'Lonely and isolated'

"The only mitigation is your relative youth and immaturity.

"It goes without saying that things must have gone very wrong in your childhood and adolescence for you to end up in the dock of the Old Bailey facing decades in prison."

Mr Farah's sister Hamda said in a victim impact statement: "We feel a piece of all of us is gone forever, especially for his twin brother whose life was integral to Khalid's from the very beginning and for my mother who has lost her child.

"We are left lonely and isolated, aware other members of the Somali community with whom we are so integral have jumped to their own conclusions and suspicions, forcing us to take a step back."