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Sharif Demirsay murder: Bungalow raid teens convicted | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Three teenagers have been found guilty of murdering a grandfather during a raid for gold and cash at his bungalow. | Three teenagers have been found guilty of murdering a grandfather during a raid for gold and cash at his bungalow. |
Sharif Demirsay, 65, was stabbed 11 times in Kempston, Bedfordshire on 14 May. His partner was also stabbed. | |
Courtney Glynn, 19, Muhammed Rashed, 17, and Hameedur Rahman, 16, were armed with long knives when they burst into Mr Demirsay's home, demanding: "Where's the gold, where's the money?" | |
They will be sentenced at Luton Crown Court on Friday. | |
Turkish-born Mr Demirsay, whose real first name was Serafettin, was killed during the three-minute raid, in which £1,000 worth of gold was taken. | Turkish-born Mr Demirsay, whose real first name was Serafettin, was killed during the three-minute raid, in which £1,000 worth of gold was taken. |
Witness intimidation | |
The trial heard the three teenagers forced their way into Mr Demirsay's Vineyard Way home after he answered a knock at the door. | The trial heard the three teenagers forced their way into Mr Demirsay's Vineyard Way home after he answered a knock at the door. |
Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff QC said he was stabbed almost immediately. | Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff QC said he was stabbed almost immediately. |
She added that the intruders appeared to "encourage" each other to stab Mr Demirsay, with shouts of "kill him". | |
The court heard Mr Demirsay's partner Parshini Salhotra tried to defend him by hitting one of the youths with a vacuum cleaner pipe, before she was stabbed in the arm. | |
Glynn, of Williamson Road, Kempston, and Rashed and Rahman, both of Bedford, were also found guilty of unlawfully wounding Ms Salhotra. | |
Glynn and Rashed were convicted of aggravated burglary. Rahman had previously admitted the offence. | |
Additionally, Glynn was found guilty of a charge he alone had faced, of intimidating a witness and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. | |
A fourth defendant Travis Dixon-Charles, 18, who was said to have acted as a lookout outside the property, was cleared of all charges. | |
Speaking after the hearing, Det Insp Tim Redfearn said: "The needless level of violence used and the ferocity and merciless nature of it for so little gain beggars belief, even for an experienced murder detective. | |
"The killers didn't give either one of the old couple a chance to hand over what money they did have before launching into this appalling attack." | |
Mr Demirsay's family said in a statement that an innocent man's life had been "tragically taken" and Ms Salhotra left "severely traumatised" by what she saw. |