London, July 16 A gang of five people, including three men and two women, have been found guilty of a 'honeytrap murder' of a 44-year-old Indian-origin man in Hertfordshire, England.
Vishal Gohel, 44, was found dead on the scene at his flat in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on January 23, 2022, the BBC reported.
A jury at St Albans Crown Court heard that Gohel was expecting a sexual liaison with the women, but was beaten when their male accomplices arrived to rob him.
The court was told that on January 22, 2022, a neighbour entered the flat and found Gohel with gaffer tape on his face, lying "lifeless on the floor of the bedroom".
A post-mortem examination showed that Gohel had suffered severe blows to his head.
Three female defendants arrived in Bushey at 01:00 GMT in a cab, while the three male defendants arrived on the scene at 02:25 GMT, prosecutor Charlotte Newell KC told the court.
"It was the culmination of a plan that had been brewing throughout the day," Newell KC said.
She said efforts were made to clean up the flat and an iPhone and an iWatch had been taken.
But "no attempts had been made to contact the emergency services", the BBC quoted Newell as saying.
Tevin Leslie, 23, who had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, was convicted of murder, and Sakeen Gordon, 22, was convicted of murder by a 10 to one majority and conspiracy to rob.
Yarley Georgia Bruce-Annan, 22, was convicted of murder after earlier admitting a charge of conspiracy to rob, while Brandon Browne was found not guilty of murder, but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.
Faith Hoppie was found not guilty of murder, but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.
All five of them will be sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on September 26.
A sixth defendant, Tiana Edwards Hancock, 20, was cleared of murder, manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.
--IANS
mi/dpb
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