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00:00In the UK, a 999 call is made to the police every three seconds.
00:25It's all right, don't panic. There's people on their way.
00:28Are we going to go to a murder scene? Because it's entirely possible at that point.
00:32But not every call is as it seems.
00:35The dagger that he had is designed that could even go through somebody's skull.
00:39Oi! What's going on? Oi! I'm going to need an ambulance.
00:43It's the investigating officers who must hunt for the truth.
00:47Keep your hands out of your pocket.
00:49Hey, listen.
00:508-6, we have a mobile phone in the bushes here.
00:53And prove it.
00:54I can't remember anything at all.
00:55My gut was saying that he was lying to me.
00:58Examining every angle.
01:00What measures are they prepared to take to try and throw us off the Senate?
01:03We don't know.
01:04To bring the guilty to justice.
01:06She needs to stop lying.
01:09The girl's deceased.
01:10Yeah.
01:11The call came in about half ten on a Friday night. And initially, the 9-on-9 call went through and then dropped off.
01:25It's what we refer to as a dropped nines. So in those kind of instances, we called back to find out what the situation was.
01:44I'm the on duty manager at local Cobham High Street door.
01:49I hung up the phone because the fight had actually finished.
01:52There was two guys, quite a vicious fight outside.
01:55Is he there at the location now?
01:57Is the male still there now? I just say yes, he is.
01:59Yes.
02:00I'm just going to get you some help there with me.
02:02Is he still in the car park?
02:03He's parked just out the front. He looks quite agitated.
02:10Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
02:12Oi!
02:13What's going on?
02:14Oi!
02:15Enough!
02:16Right, it's in the shop and the guy who's now injured with his...
02:20What's going on?
02:21Get out!
02:22Get out!
02:24Shit, I'm going to need an ambulance.
02:33Cobham is quite a well-to-do area, quite a nice area, sort of rural part of Surrey.
02:37It's an area we might term as quiet in the police.
02:43On Friday evening in October 2023, two duty managers are on shift in a local high street supermarket.
02:51One is Farhad Habib.
02:54Around half past 10, I was in the back and my colleague was on the shop floor.
02:59Two customers came inside the store and they had an argument.
03:02The supermarket CCTV captures the men arguing.
03:06And on a 999 call earlier, the female duty manager describes the fight.
03:15The older guy was the one starting it.
03:19He actually started it in the shop and I refused to support him and asked him to leave.
03:25Because the younger guy came in to get some baby milk and the older guy was just giving it all the mouth then that he was looking at him.
03:35The duty manager steps in to try and calm the situation.
03:39But the older man in shorts turns his anger on the manager.
03:44And that time my colleague asked him to leave the shop floor.
03:48While on the 999 call, the manager realises the older man has left his wallet behind.
03:54He's got cars. He's got a name on that.
03:57Oh, I've got a driving license.
03:59Say it first for me.
04:00Is there a home address on there?
04:03CCTV shows the man returns to the store looking for his wallet.
04:08Police in the patrol car in case the man returns and becomes aggressive again.
04:36What skin colour is the male?
04:39He's white British. He sounds white British.
04:42And what kind of build?
04:44Medium.
04:45Medium height.
04:46He's about 5'7".
04:505'7".
04:51And what's he wearing?
04:54Um...
04:59Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
05:01Oi!
05:02What's going on?
05:03Oi! Enough!
05:04Literally in one second, he just went back inside the store and two attackers followed him.
05:10I saw they striking him three or four times with a baseball bat and two or three times with a large knife.
05:18The man who started the argument earlier is brutally attacked.
05:22Right, it's in the shop and the guy who's now injured put his...
05:26What's going on?
05:27What's going on?
05:28Ouch!
05:29Ouch!
05:30Holy shit!
05:31I'm gonna need an ambulance.
05:36What's going on?
05:37The guy I've got has now got a head injury.
05:40I realized there was a heavy bleeding from his head.
05:43Is he bleeding?
05:44Is he bleeding?
05:45Is he bleeding?
05:46I just quickly ran in the back room to grab the first aid box.
05:50Is he bleeding?
05:51He's bleeding.
05:52Head injury.
05:53Blood is pouring from his head.
05:54Blood is pouring.
05:55Can you try and put pressure on the blood for me, please?
05:57Put some pressure on the head.
05:58Stop the bleeding.
05:59All right, mate. All right.
06:00I was a police officer in the Metropolitan Police.
06:22Started my career in 2003 and I transferred to Suffolk in 2016.
06:28The Met's the biggest police force in the UK.
06:31Suffolk's one of the smallest.
06:32Obviously, the level of criminality is quite different.
06:35Suffolk is a very safe place to live.
06:38People generally feel very safe.
06:54Police emergency?
06:55Yeah, my neighbour's just been broken into.
06:57I'm standing there shaking like a leaf.
07:00What happened?
07:01I could hear her shouting.
07:03And I thought, I need to go and check she's all right.
07:06I just came round.
07:07The back door was wide open.
07:09Yeah.
07:10And I could see there was somebody crouching down beside her bed.
07:14What I didn't realize was somebody was holding her down.
07:17In her bedroom?
07:18Yeah.
07:19Yeah.
07:20The victim then recalls the events to her neighbour while she's on the 999 call.
07:25The call taker would have prioritised this as what we term an A grade in the constabulary.
07:31That's the highest priority we can give to a call.
07:32The victim was elderly in her late 70s.
07:33She lived alone at the address.
07:34Thankfully, she had the address.
07:35Thankfully, she had an A grade in the constabulary.
07:36That's the highest priority we can give to a call.
07:37The victim was elderly in her late 70s.
07:38She lived alone at the address.
07:39Thankfully, she had the neighbour next door who she could rely on.
08:06but a truly horrifying incident, I would imagine.
08:12The elderly woman is 77 years old.
08:16Three men broke into her home just after midnight
08:19with one pinning her down on the bed.
08:22Her neighbour came to help when she heard the woman scream.
08:25She went round and found the front door open
08:27and as she's entered, she was confronted by two white males
08:30who pushed past her and obviously gave her a bit of a fright.
08:32I think she said that she'd shouted,
08:34what the hell are you doing here?
08:36As she's then advanced further into the property,
08:38she's then found a black male stood within the bedroom of the victim
08:43and she challenged him.
08:45Is she all right?
08:47No, she's absolutely terrified.
08:49Apart from holding her down, he hasn't hit her or anything?
08:53Not that I know of.
08:55She's scared to do.
08:56I'm sure she is.
08:58Shut and lock the door.
09:00Yeah, good plan.
09:01The number one priority really for that point
09:03is to get to the victim and the witness
09:05and make sure that they're safe
09:06and start gathering the information that we need
09:08to begin the investigation.
09:11Police are here.
09:12They are, are they?
09:13Yeah.
09:13Excellent.
09:14OK.
09:15I'll let you go out and talk to them.
09:18There's a lot of information that she gives in the call,
09:21which is really helpful to give the police officers
09:23who were initially attending.
09:24The whole house is upended.
09:26It's, it's fairly well ransacked, yeah.
09:30Have they gone through the whole place?
09:32Well, looks like it.
09:34Chester Jaws in the victim's bedroom had been pulled out.
09:37They'd clearly gone through various areas
09:40looking for whatever they were looking for.
09:42Do you know if they had a vehicle at all?
09:45No idea.
09:46That's fair enough.
09:46They left here on foot is all I can tell you
09:49because there was no car out the front.
09:52At that point, we had no idea
09:54whether the suspects were on foot.
09:56Vehicles, whether they were local or otherwise.
09:59To draw everybody's minds back to April 2020,
10:02the time when the, the burglary happened,
10:04we were two weeks into a national COVID lockdown.
10:07So there weren't many people about,
10:08so we didn't have any witnesses.
10:10Because of the nature of the village
10:12and its rural location,
10:14there isn't any local CCTV held by the council.
10:17So at that point, all that we had in terms of identity
10:19for suspects were two white males
10:21who'd been described as short and stocky
10:23and a tall black male
10:24who'd been seen in the bedroom with the victim.
10:26But then detectives make a disturbing discovery at the house.
10:30An item that doesn't belong to the woman
10:32and a clue to their horrifying plans.
10:36They'd obviously left it at the address
10:38in their haste to leave.
10:39It was specifically packed
10:40with the purpose of committing a serious offence.
10:51In Cobham, Surrey,
10:58police are investigating a vicious attack in a supermarket.
11:01Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
11:04Oi!
11:05What's going on?
11:06Oi!
11:07Enough!
11:08Right, it's in the shop,
11:09and the guy who's now injured
11:11because he's in the side with...
11:12What's going on?
11:14Yes, ouch!
11:16Shit, I'm gonna need an ambulance.
11:19Staff are treating the man
11:20who has a serious head injury.
11:22Those humanists felt like ours.
11:26Where are the suspects?
11:27No, they've run off.
11:33Hi, how are you?
11:34You okay?
11:34I just tried to stop the bleeding.
11:36I already had a first-year training.
11:38Actually, that's the part of our job.
11:40Set me up.
11:41We told you.
11:42How happened?
11:43Come to help you.
11:45Our officers were on scene within minutes
11:46because we'd already started deploying
11:48before the actual assault took place.
11:51So from where the bleeding is coming from?
11:53From the head.
11:53From the head, yeah?
11:54Okay.
11:55The light that you've got on the arm as well.
11:57The victim's on the floor.
11:58Quite a few injuries, lots of blood.
12:01The blood was squirted out here.
12:02This is a serious one.
12:03Quite a busy, chaotic scene for them,
12:05especially when they're the first officer on scene.
12:07I've been first on scene for stabbings
12:08and you go there and it's terrifying, quite frankly,
12:11because you don't know what you're gonna come across.
12:13Are you always having to do?
12:14No, no, no.
12:15It's just a baseball bat.
12:16It's sore.
12:17The injured man is rushed to hospital.
12:20Police now need to find the armed attackers.
12:23They could have easily killed him.
12:24I don't know whether the intention was there for that,
12:27but obviously the intention was to do him a lot of harm.
12:32So at that point, we're looking at unknown suspects
12:35committing an offence for unknown reasons.
12:39One was the suspect and the victim known to one another.
12:43Something we considered was,
12:44is this just a random attack?
12:46Is this perhaps people don't know each other
12:48and it's just kicked off and it's an argument?
12:50Or is it some sort of organised hit?
12:53Is this some sort of, like, mistaken identity?
12:55And it's from those inquiries
12:56that we then start building up the picture.
13:00The victim was arguing with one of the attackers
13:02in the supermarket earlier that evening.
13:05Officers need to gather a more detailed picture of events.
13:08There's quite a few witnesses,
13:11both inside the store and outside the store.
13:13One of them had a baseball bat
13:15or something that looked like a baseball bat.
13:17Early on, we can solve investigations
13:19by what we call golden hour inquiries.
13:23The very start of an investigation
13:24quite often tends to be the most fruitful.
13:28We managed to piece together what happened
13:30by talking to lots of different witnesses,
13:32both inside the store and on the high street.
13:35One witness captures vital evidence.
13:39I was over there when it was all going on.
13:42Yep.
13:43I managed to get a picture of the car
13:44with no number plate.
13:45So it's also black.
13:47The Vara pickup.
13:49Fucking Nissan.
13:50Play the Vara.
13:51The witness was able to give us this photo of this vehicle
13:54as it fled the scene.
13:56It's not clear enough to make out the registration plate,
13:59but it is clear enough to make out a colour,
14:02a make and a model, roughly.
14:05The description of the car is circulated to local patrols.
14:11Officers then analyse the supermarket footage
14:13leading up to the assault.
14:16So what we're seeing here at the moment
14:17is the CCTV of the initial incident.
14:20When the argument first occurs,
14:22we've just seen the victim walk into the stop
14:23and he's starting to select items from the shelves.
14:27From the footage,
14:29it appears that the victim and the attacker
14:31only encountered each other
14:32when they were in the supermarket.
14:33They're going to both appear at the tills
14:36and that's the point where they see each other
14:38and then the argument occurs from there.
14:39In the initial incident,
14:42the victim was the aggressor.
14:44Obviously, the CCTV doesn't have audio,
14:46so we can't tell what was said and by who.
14:48So we've only got the store manager
14:50and the victim's statements to go on.
14:53After the argument,
14:54the suspect can be seen leaving his shopping behind
14:57and following the victim outside.
14:59So outside the store and the suspect continued their argument,
15:03the victims then got into his van and driven off,
15:05followed by the suspect.
15:06So there was no actual physical altercation
15:08during the first incident.
15:11But the store manager finds the victim's wallet
15:14and he comes back.
15:15Victims got into the store,
15:16found his wallet,
15:17come back out,
15:18got in the van.
15:19The victim is in his white van,
15:21about to drive away.
15:23At that point is when the Nissan Navara pulls up
15:25with the two suspects in.
15:29And one of the suspects comes up
15:31and smashes the window of the vehicle.
15:35The victim comes out of this side
15:36where he's then attacked by both men
15:38as he makes his way towards the store.
15:41From this angle,
15:42we can see as we go into the store,
15:43the attack continuing on the pavement outside.
15:45Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
15:48What's going on?
15:51It's a really vicious attack.
15:52Right, it's in the shop
15:54and the guy you've now injured
15:55puts his inside with...
15:57What's going on?
15:58The store manager was on the call to the police
16:00during this entire incident,
16:01so he is relaying to us
16:03exactly what's happening on the phone.
16:05Get out!
16:06I'm going to need an ambulance.
16:10I was very close to the attackers.
16:13I was thinking
16:14when they were attacking the victim,
16:16anything could happen with me as well.
16:20Both men,
16:21then run off,
16:22get back into their vehicle
16:23and leave,
16:24leaving the victim on the floor with injuries.
16:27This is obviously a very brutal attack
16:29and it's sheer luck
16:30that it wasn't a murder
16:31and didn't result in much more serious injuries.
16:35The weapons they've chosen,
16:36very serious weapons,
16:37very strong weapons.
16:38One has got a machete,
16:39one has got a baseball bat,
16:40something that's going to inflict
16:41huge amounts of damage.
16:42We knew they must have been local
16:45because ultimately,
16:46the time it took to leave the store
16:48and come back to the store
16:49with backup was minutes.
16:53With the attackers at large,
16:55police quickly widened their search
16:56for the two men.
16:57They've got to then do CCTV
16:59and house-to-house inquiries
17:00for the entire road.
17:02You know,
17:02on a high street,
17:02there's lots of CCTV
17:03at the time of night,
17:05Friday night.
17:06Using that,
17:07we managed to piece together
17:08where the vehicle went,
17:09what the direction of travel was,
17:10what roads it went down.
17:13Detectives also managed
17:14to piece together
17:15where the victim went
17:16after the initial argument.
17:18We've then picked up CCTV
17:21from the forecourt
17:22of the petrol station
17:23and it shows the victim
17:25pulling up,
17:26looking for his wallet.
17:27Obviously,
17:27he doesn't realise
17:28he's left it at the store.
17:29We've got that CCTV
17:30to establish,
17:31is he being followed?
17:33Is that how they knew
17:34he was going back to the store
17:35or was it just a coincidence?
17:37We didn't see him being followed
17:39on that petrol station footage.
17:41He's really unlucky.
17:42There's every chance
17:43that they would have gone back
17:43to the store
17:44and had he not forgotten his wallet,
17:46they would never have found him.
17:48We were able to narrow it down
17:49as an argument
17:50that's kicked off
17:51into escalating violence.
17:53The immediate thing
17:54that jumps out for me
17:56with this case
17:56is how disproportionate
17:58the response was
18:01to a minor disagreement
18:02in a supermarket
18:04that then ends up
18:06in an extreme,
18:09sustained violent attack.
18:11That shows two people
18:13who view violence
18:14as a very normal
18:16and perfectly appropriate way
18:18to resolve conflict.
18:22We don't know
18:23what else they're going to do
18:24and what other violence
18:25and what other harm
18:26could occur
18:27in the time it takes us
18:28to identify and catch them.
18:46Police emergency?
18:48Yeah, my neighbour's just
18:49been broken into.
18:51I need to go and check
18:52she's all right.
18:53I just came round,
18:54the back door was wide open.
18:56Yeah.
18:56And I called her name
18:58just as I shouted
19:00that these two
19:01white males appeared.
19:03The two blokes
19:04had come out
19:05and gone down the path
19:06and I could see
19:07there was somebody
19:08crouching down
19:09beside her bed.
19:11What I didn't realise
19:12was he was on there down.
19:13In her bedroom?
19:14Yeah, he was a very tall
19:16black man.
19:18In Cavendish,
19:19three men have broken
19:20into the home
19:21of a 77-year-old woman
19:22in the middle of the night.
19:24Is she all right?
19:25No, she's absolutely terrified.
19:29There's a lot of information
19:30that she gives
19:30in the call.
19:32She'd just gone to bed.
19:34She'd recently
19:34have drifted off to sleep
19:35just after midnight
19:36in the darkness.
19:38Struggling to breathe,
19:39the elderly woman
19:40screamed,
19:40raising the alarm.
19:42Her neighbour
19:42heard the call
19:43of distress.
19:44She went round
19:45and found the front door open.
19:46She found the victim
19:47obviously seriously distressed.
19:49The cowardice involved
19:51to go in
19:51and physically restrain her
19:53and put her through
19:53that ordeal
19:54was horrific, really.
19:56You can hear
19:57there's a level
19:57of distress in there.
19:58I think she's very much
19:59in shock
19:59at that time as well.
20:00She said she had gloves
20:04on, the black man
20:05that held her down
20:06because he had them
20:07on her face
20:08and she didn't breathe.
20:11She felt she was going
20:12to be a victim
20:12of serious sexual assault
20:13at that point.
20:16DS Toms and his team
20:17need to find her three men
20:19and determine why
20:20they broke into
20:21a vulnerable woman's home.
20:22The property
20:24concerned in this burglary
20:25is a small,
20:26modest bungalow.
20:28There were no other
20:29incidents that night
20:30in the Cavendish area
20:31suggested to us
20:32that it was a targeted attack.
20:34It was clear
20:35that she wasn't very mobile,
20:36that she lived alone.
20:38She lived quite a modest life.
20:40It was difficult
20:40for her to understand
20:41what they'd been
20:42trying to get from her.
20:43Most burglaries
20:46will happen
20:47when people
20:48aren't at home.
20:49Most burglars
20:50do not want
20:51to confront
20:52the homeowner.
20:53Nighttime burglaries
20:55are actually
20:56quite rare.
20:58So these people
21:00would have known
21:01that the victim
21:02was at home.
21:03So this is a different
21:04type of burglar.
21:06They know
21:07they're going to
21:08confront somebody
21:08and they went
21:10ready for it.
21:11The men were clearly
21:13searching for something
21:14valuable they believed
21:15was in the victim's
21:16possession.
21:18She had recalled
21:19that the male
21:20who'd come in
21:21and put their hand
21:21over her mouth
21:22had been asking
21:23for the queens.
21:24It was difficult
21:25to understand
21:25what that could mean
21:26because she didn't
21:27understand what that
21:28meant when it was
21:29put to her.
21:30We worked around
21:30the working hypothesis
21:31that potentially
21:32it was coins
21:33or whether it referred
21:35to banknotes.
21:36We weren't really sure
21:37as to why
21:38they were using
21:39that word
21:39but she was adamant
21:40that they'd come in
21:41and asked for the queens.
21:43Bar some jewellery
21:44and a small amount
21:45of cash
21:46nothing of monetary
21:47value was taken.
21:49DS Tom's team
21:50discover a crucial
21:51piece of evidence
21:52to assist in
21:53identifying the
21:54unknown thieves.
21:56Within the property
21:57was a bag
21:58that was quickly
22:00ascertained
22:00had been brought
22:01there by the suspect
22:02which obviously
22:03became something
22:04they left behind
22:05in their haste to leave.
22:06The bag was
22:07like a black
22:08holdall bag
22:08and contained inside
22:10it was a number
22:11of items
22:11some gaffer tape
22:12some rubber gloves
22:13and a crowbar.
22:15These items
22:16are regularly used
22:17in burglaries
22:17and in terms
22:18of the gaffer tape
22:19our concern is
22:20that they may have
22:21been used in order
22:21to try and restrain
22:22people.
22:23That bag was
22:24forensically seized
22:25that gave us
22:26an opportunity
22:27to conduct
22:28some forensic testing.
22:29I was intrigued
22:31with the holdall
22:33and in particular
22:34the contents
22:35so gloves
22:36for example
22:37the tape
22:38it's a wealth
22:39of evidence
22:40there for us
22:40to work with.
22:42There are multiple
22:42methods you can use
22:43to recover
22:44that material
22:45one could be
22:46swabbing
22:47or one method
22:48would be where
22:49we take small
22:50sections of tape
22:51and we tape lift
22:52surfaces where
22:53someone may have
22:54had contact with it.
22:56In certain DNA
22:57techniques
22:58you need very minimal
22:59amounts of material
23:01so we're talking
23:03a few skin cells
23:04or flakes of dandruff
23:06even.
23:07While they await
23:08the DNA evidence
23:09the bag and its contents
23:11also gives investigators
23:12a clue
23:13as to the type of person
23:14who left it behind.
23:16The bag was
23:17containing gloves
23:18which suggested to me
23:19that perhaps they were
23:20aware of criminal
23:21procedures.
23:22I suspect
23:23given the lengths
23:24that they had been
23:24gone to to commit
23:26this terrible crime
23:27would suggest
23:27that we were
23:28dealing with people
23:29who had a criminal
23:30background previously.
23:35DS Toms returns
23:36to the scene
23:37to search for more
23:38evidence from the
23:38surrounding area.
23:41So this here
23:42is the Five Bells
23:42Public House
23:43which is situated
23:44on Peacock's Road.
23:45I've got the green
23:46just to my right there.
23:48This is the point
23:48where we had one
23:49of the major
23:50breakthroughs
23:50with the CCTV
23:51camera on the pub
23:53there.
23:53We were able to
23:55identify two vehicles
23:56which approached
23:57the victim's address
23:58just prior to the
23:59burglary
23:59and were seen to
24:00make off at speed
24:01away from the
24:02victim's property
24:03just after the
24:04burglary.
24:05Because of the
24:05COVID-19 pandemic
24:06we were aided in
24:07that particular footage
24:09only showing those
24:10two vehicles
24:10approaching and
24:11leaving in that
24:12time frame.
24:13One was a Ford
24:15Mondeo
24:15the other one
24:16was a silver
24:17Peugeot
24:18they split
24:19in two different
24:20directions.
24:22From the direction
24:23of the travel
24:24that the Mondeo
24:24vehicle took
24:25they had likely
24:26travelled off
24:27in a direction
24:28towards Essex
24:29and London.
24:31The team capture
24:32an image showing
24:33one of the cars
24:34but further
24:36investigation
24:36reveals this
24:37uninsured
24:38and unregistered.
24:41That's a common
24:42tactic used by
24:43suspects in order
24:44to avoid
24:45detection
24:45and it's at this
24:47point that we get
24:48our next major
24:49breakthrough.
24:51The forensic
24:51evidence comes
24:52back off of the
24:53holdall bag.
24:54It provides us
24:55with the
24:55identification of
24:56our first suspect.
25:08Oh fuck, fuck,
25:10fuck, fuck, fuck.
25:11Oi!
25:11What's going on?
25:12Oi!
25:13Enough!
25:14It's in the
25:15shop and
25:16the guy
25:16who's now injured
25:17put his
25:17suicide
25:18what's going on?
25:20In Cobham,
25:21Surrey,
25:22police are
25:23investigating a
25:23vicious attack
25:24in a supermarket.
25:26Ouch!
25:28Shit, I'm gonna
25:29need an ambulance.
25:31Which has left
25:32the man with
25:32serious injuries.
25:36Is he bleeding?
25:36He's bleeding,
25:37head injury.
25:38Okay, I'm gonna get
25:38your help, bear with me.
25:40The attack occurred
25:41after an earlier
25:42altercation between
25:43the two men.
25:45Obviously, we knew
25:46that these people
25:47were dangerous
25:47and we knew that
25:48catching them was
25:48a priority for us.
25:51DC Bell and his team
25:52need to identify the
25:53pair and look at the
25:55evidence on the scene.
25:57Forensic inquiries at a
25:58supermarket are really
25:58difficult because the
26:00high levels of footfall,
26:02sheer amount of people
26:02coming in and touching
26:03things, and on this
26:04occasion there was
26:05items in a basket
26:06that the suspect had
26:07touched but were put
26:08back before the attack
26:09occurred, the chance
26:11of identifying those
26:11were almost impossible
26:13and then even if we
26:14do identify the exact
26:15one, how many more
26:16people have handled
26:17those items?
26:18But the suspects
26:19didn't hide their
26:20faces during the attack
26:21and this could be the
26:24key to identifying
26:25them.
26:26You've really got to
26:26ask yourself what the
26:27intention was.
26:28Why were they so angry
26:30and so aggressive
26:31towards this individual
26:32that they've, you
26:34know, neglected to
26:35take precautions?
26:36They are thinking
26:38about regaining
26:40dominance over
26:41another person,
26:43causing as much
26:44harm as possible
26:45to the individual
26:46who they've perceived
26:47has slighted them
26:48in some way.
26:51A still of the
26:52footage is not good
26:53enough quality for
26:53the police database
26:54but is used for
26:56a public appeal.
26:58The public are really
27:00key when it comes
27:01to identifying
27:01suspects because
27:02they're our eyes and
27:03ears.
27:04So we approached
27:05our media department
27:06with still images
27:07of the suspects
27:08from the CCTV
27:09and said,
27:11can you help us
27:11put out a media
27:12appeal about this
27:12to identify these
27:13people?
27:14Social media is
27:15really powerful
27:15because it is so
27:16quick, especially
27:17when it comes to
27:18suspect identification.
27:20You know, you can
27:20reach hundreds of
27:21thousands, if not
27:22millions of people
27:23at the click of a
27:23button.
27:25Within 24 hours,
27:27the suspects are
27:28identified as Alfie and
27:29Alfred Chambers.
27:31We had them named
27:32quite quickly as
27:33father and son.
27:34We had Alfie named
27:36as the son and
27:36Alfred as the father.
27:38Alfie was 22 years
27:40old at the time and
27:41his father was in
27:42his late 40s.
27:42It suggests this type
27:45of violence has been
27:46learned.
27:46This is a generational
27:47passing on of
27:49violence from father
27:50to son and a
27:51reinforcement of those
27:53behaviours.
27:54Alfie wasn't actually
27:56particularly well
27:57known.
27:57He was quite young
27:58at the time of the
27:59offence.
28:00Alfred, on the other
28:00hand, had previous
28:02convictions for violent
28:03offences with
28:04weapons.
28:05He had settled a
28:06dispute with somebody
28:07in a restaurant using
28:08a knuckle duster and
28:09had spent some time
28:10in prison.
28:12They were quite
28:12aggressive people.
28:14They didn't solve
28:14disputes through
28:16conversations.
28:18The next step is
28:19obviously trying to
28:20get them in, you know,
28:21get them under arrest
28:21and the address was
28:22quite local.
28:25Knowing Alfred had
28:26a criminal record for
28:27violent offences, an
28:29armed response team
28:29are sent to the
28:30property to arrest
28:31the father and son.
28:33So they go there,
28:34the house is in
28:35darkness, nobody
28:36answers the door.
28:38They've then spoken
28:39to people in the area
28:40who have said that
28:41they've actually fled
28:42the address quite
28:43quickly the night
28:44before.
28:45So now I'm looking at
28:46people on the run,
28:47so now it's become a
28:47manhunt.
28:56In Suffolk, a 77-year-old
29:03woman has been held
29:04down and burgled by
29:05three men.
29:07Police emergency?
29:08Yeah, my neighbour's
29:09just been broken into.
29:11Don't worry, they will
29:13be with you as soon as
29:14I possibly can.
29:16The victim has
29:17described her attackers
29:18as three men, two white
29:21and one very tall and
29:22black.
29:24Having discovered the
29:24bag the thieves left
29:25behind, DNA analysis
29:27reveals a positive hit.
29:30Sammy Okat-Uma, who's a
29:32black male based in the
29:34Ilford area in London.
29:36He's a tall male, around
29:37six foot five in height,
29:39a small bit of criminality
29:40previously, nothing of
29:42this type.
29:43Based on the DNA
29:44identification, the fact
29:46that he so strongly fit the
29:48description that had been
29:49provided by the witness, he
29:50was very swiftly arrested.
29:55Sammy Okat-Uma is
29:57questioned under caution,
29:58opting to proceed without
29:59a solicitor.
30:01The reason for that could
30:03have been, he was
30:04completely innocent, why
30:05would I need a solicitor?
30:07Yeah, I'm going to be
30:07helpful officer, I'm going
30:09to give you all the
30:09information I can because
30:11actually I'm a good guy and
30:12this was nothing to do with
30:13me.
30:13That's quite possibly the
30:15strategy that he was
30:17using.
30:17In this case, it did
30:19backfire on him.
30:21Do you know anything about
30:22this incident at all?
30:24No.
30:25No.
30:25OK.
30:25Is it you that this lady
30:26described in the tall
30:27black male that was in the
30:28bedroom?
30:30Tall black male?
30:32No.
30:32It's not you?
30:34It could be in it.
30:36Did you take any gold
30:38jewellery, gold bracelet or
30:40gold necklace from her?
30:41No.
30:43He was so confident that we
30:44didn't have enough evidence to
30:45pin on him that he could do it
30:47without a solicitor and that
30:48was probably his downfall.
30:50The bag that was recovered by
30:51the police should have nothing
30:54to do with you inside of it.
30:55I hope not.
30:57Why do you hope not?
30:59You must know for a fact,
31:00surely.
31:00Because you're saying it.
31:02Hmm.
31:04Except it does.
31:05So why is your DNA on the
31:06glove that's in that bag?
31:07My DNA.
31:08Hmm.
31:08That's how we've arrested you.
31:11How else do you think we've
31:12worked out who you are?
31:13Don't know.
31:14You've been a bit sloppy here,
31:15haven't you, Sammy?
31:16It should be my football bag.
31:18Why should it be your football
31:19bag?
31:20Because it's in the back of my
31:22car.
31:24Is it?
31:25Yeah.
31:27Sammy claims he'd left his home
31:28in Ilford earlier that night
31:30to help a friend nearby.
31:31Sammy says he was nowhere near
31:55Cavendish, but gives the name
31:57of another person, Ash.
32:01He then claimed another
32:03acquaintance had borrowed his
32:04car later that night, and his
32:06Holdal was still in the car.
32:09In respect of the DNA evidence
32:11we had off the Holdal, he'd
32:12stated that the Holdal had
32:14been actually a football bag
32:15that he used and regularly
32:16kept in the back of his car.
32:18He stated that he believed
32:19whoever had used his car on
32:20that evening had just simply
32:21taken that bag.
32:23During the interview, Sammy
32:24also gives detectives a piece
32:26of information that proves key.
32:29Sammy Oka-Umo was quite happy
32:31to tell us about his work.
32:33He was a delivery driver at the
32:34time, told us where he worked.
32:36We conducted a search at his
32:38locker, his place of work,
32:40which located his mobile phone.
32:43We'd done some call data
32:45analysis, and that information
32:46was able to locate his device in
32:49the area of Cavendish on the night
32:51of the burglary at the victim's
32:53address.
32:53That was a really significant bit
32:55of information.
32:57We were then able to do a secondary
32:59interview with him and challenge
33:00him about some of the accounts
33:01he'd given.
33:02The fact that he said he'd never
33:03left London that evening, that
33:05somebody else had been using his
33:06vehicle.
33:06It was difficult then for him to
33:08come up with answers.
33:10You've got another phone,
33:11haven't you?
33:13Your employers have been very
33:14helpful with us, actually.
33:15You've got a locker there, is that
33:16right?
33:17Yeah.
33:17What was in that locker, Sammy?
33:19Sat-nurves and a bag.
33:21Sat-nurves?
33:22Bag and boots.
33:24Bag and boots.
33:26And a Sony Xperia Z5 model
33:28mobile phone, yes?
33:30This is the phone that went to
33:31Cavendish.
33:32His demeanour changed.
33:33It became quite quiet.
33:35It gave sort of monosyllabic
33:37responses, and I think the penny
33:40dropped for him that actually we had
33:41some good evidence.
33:42Who were the other two, and why
33:44did you do this?
33:45Your DNA is in the bag in the
33:48property, Sammy.
33:50There's evidence all over the
33:51place here.
33:51I think that was a moment where he
33:53really realised he was in a lot of
33:54trouble.
33:57I mean, it was serious.
34:00Oh, it is.
34:00That woman.
34:02What, she'd have had a heart
34:03attack.
34:04You'd be sitting here in a
34:06completely different interview
34:07then, wouldn't you?
34:08So, he was charged with the
34:09offence of robbery initially,
34:11based on the fact that he'd used
34:12violence in order to steal.
34:14from the victim.
34:15It was a really satisfying moment
34:17to be able to charge one of the
34:18suspects.
34:19I was aware there was still a lot of
34:20work to do.
34:21We still were no further forward
34:22understanding the motive behind
34:24what he did.
34:25And we had two other people we
34:27needed to identify at this point.
34:29Sammy's first interview gives the
34:31team another possible lead in
34:33identifying one of the other men
34:35involved in the break-in.
34:37He'd also made the mistake of
34:38introducing this friend by the name
34:40of Ash, who he was in regular
34:42contact with during that evening
34:43and was most likely another
34:45suspect.
34:46The information conducted around
34:48that telephone number, which
34:50attributed it to a gentleman by the
34:52name of Ashton Seymour from the
34:53Wanstead area in London.
34:56We then received notification from
34:57the laboratory that DNA evidence
34:59was present on the hold-all bag,
35:02which also identified Ashton Seymour.
35:04With Ashton's DNA on the same
35:08hold-all bag found at the
35:10property, he is arrested and
35:12brought in for interview.
35:14Did you make a decision with
35:16anybody to go to Cavendish on the
35:1816th of April?
35:19No comment.
35:21If so, how did you get there?
35:23No comment.
35:23What were your intentions once
35:24you arrived?
35:25No comment.
35:26Tell me how you entered the
35:27property if you did.
35:28No comment.
35:31Ashton elected to have a solicitor
35:32for his interview, I suspect.
35:34At this point, word had got out
35:36from Sammy that he'd been
35:37arrested and that he'd maybe
35:38dropped Ashton in it a little
35:40bit.
35:40He refused to answer any of our
35:41questions.
35:44Police have Ashton Seymour's
35:46DNA on the hold-all, but with
35:48no positive ID, he's released on
35:50bail while detectives carry out
35:52further inquiries.
35:55Keen to find a third suspect,
35:57police return to the mobile phone
35:59recovered from Sammy's locker.
36:01On analysing the call records at
36:03the time of the offence, I
36:04identified two numbers to us of
36:05significance.
36:07One came back saved in the phone
36:08book of Sammy's mobile phone
36:11device, TCOS, which didn't mean a
36:13great deal to us at that stage.
36:15The number for TCOS is unregistered,
36:18a so-called burner phone.
36:20There's this idea that burner phones
36:21are completely untraceable.
36:23Of course, they're not completely
36:24untraceable.
36:25These are usually pay-as-you-go
36:27phones.
36:27So you've only got to trace back
36:30where they charged it or where they
36:32bought the cards to top up their phone.
36:35And that might be on CCTV.
36:38Further digital investigations give
36:40DS Toms and the team the next break.
36:42We found out that there'd been a top-up
36:45at a petrol station in the
36:47Chingford area in London.
36:49So we did some inquiries at a petrol
36:50station, which unfortunately led to us
36:53recovering some CCTV.
36:55And that identified a white male
36:57stocky build topping up that mobile
36:59phone device.
37:00Following an argument, a man has been
37:17viciously attacked in a supermarket
37:19in Cobham.
37:20Detectives have two suspects.
37:22But father and son, Alfred and Alfie
37:25Chambers, have already fled their
37:26home address.
37:27It's incredibly frustrating because
37:30you're back to square one.
37:33Ultimately, we've got to find these
37:34people.
37:35They're on the run.
37:36They commit serious violence.
37:37Have they got these weapons with
37:38them?
37:38Are they going to commit more serious
37:39violence?
37:40We don't know.
37:41The hunt is on.
37:43Police investigations show the pair
37:44using their bank cards in Devon.
37:47And we quickly established there was a
37:49first cousin living in the Devon area.
37:52We know from studying the behaviour of
37:56offenders time and time again is they
37:58will have gone to places that were
38:01meaningful to them.
38:03That's meaningful in terms of the
38:04people that provided them with the
38:06cover and the security that they need.
38:10Alfred and Alfie had family members
38:12down in Devon.
38:13That physical distance was quite a long
38:15distance, but the psychological distance
38:17was actually very short because they
38:19were moving from a safe home environment to
38:21another safe family environment.
38:24DC Daniel Bell and his investigators start
38:27to apply pressure to the family and
38:29Alfred and Alfie's criminal contacts.
38:31So we start asking Devon and Cornwall,
38:33where can we start making arrest attempts?
38:35People in that criminal fraternity do not
38:37want the old bill turning up.
38:38You're not going to want the police at your
38:39door knocking on your door because it's
38:40bad for your business.
38:42Over a period of 10 days, police continue
38:45with arrest attempts at all of Alfie and
38:47Alfred's Devon contacts.
38:49By putting pressure on not only
38:52extended family, but the criminal
38:55networks associated with these
38:56individuals, what the police were doing,
38:59they were creating kind of a pressure
39:01cooker environment where it must have
39:03been increasingly uncomfortable to be in.
39:08Almost two weeks after the attack.
39:10Hello, it's Alfred and Alfie.
39:12Hiya.
39:13Do you mind if I speak to you over there?
39:14My colleague will speak to herself.
39:15Let's go over there.
39:17Alfred and Alfie Chambers hand
39:20themselves in at Staines Police
39:22Station in Surrey.
39:24On Friday, 27 October, 2023,
39:26approximately 22, it's 38 hours,
39:27suspect yourself.
39:29It's attended as safe as High Street
39:30common, allegedly caused criminal
39:32damage to the victim's van in exceed
39:34of £5,000 and value is also alleged
39:36that you hurt yourself if it was
39:37debatable back to cause a victim
39:38GBH-level injuries.
39:40Therefore, you are currently under
39:42arrest for a suspicion of GBH.
39:44You don't have to anything, but you may
39:45harm your 20s.
39:45You do not mention your mind
39:46caution to something you've
39:47tried to call, and if you do so,
39:48you're getting out of the dentist.
39:49So I can cuff you to that.
39:51I'll do it to that.
39:54I was over the moon when they
39:55handed themselves in, because it
39:57meant the pressure we were
39:58applying, the attacks we were using
40:00were working.
40:00Oh, and just to say you're further
40:02arrested for criminal damage, less
40:03than £5,000 and a offensive weapon
40:05in a public place.
40:06So both Alfie and Alfred were
40:08interviewed that night, and both of
40:10them were shown the CCTV, they were
40:11shown all the evidence we had, they
40:13were asked a number of questions about
40:14it and about the incident in general.
40:16Alfred, you are entitled to free and
40:18independent legal advice.
40:20Mr. Chambers will be exercising his
40:21right to remain mute to all of your
40:23questions put in.
40:24OK, thank you.
40:25Mr. Chambers will be remaining mute to
40:27all of your questions put in.
40:29OK, thank you.
40:30And both stayed silent throughout the
40:32interview, and they didn't put anything
40:33to us to suggest that they had a
40:35defence for what they did.
40:36With positive IDs and the CCTV footage,
40:39the pair were charged with wounding with
40:41intent, possession of an offensive
40:43weapon, and Alfred was also charged
40:45with criminal damage.
40:46Before the trial, they had something
40:49called a pretrial preparation hearing for
40:51them to plea guilty or not guilty.
40:53And they both pleaded guilty to all the
40:55charges.
41:21The judge commented at the time that it
41:23was sheer luck that the injury has not
41:24been fatal or more severe.
41:27Both supermarket workers were given a
41:28police commendation for bravery.
41:31If somebody has gone above and beyond
41:34what is ordinarily expected of a member
41:36of the public in their civic duty, then I
41:38think they should be recognised for that.
41:41I was feeling very proud in my family.
41:43It showed ordinary people can step up in
41:47extraordinary situations.
41:49Now, obviously, quite horrific injuries,
41:52much more than somebody would ever be
41:53expected to deal with.
41:57It's an argument that's kicked off into
41:59escalating violence.
42:01He was absolutely being aimed at in the
42:03head and the upper body, and obviously a
42:05machete and a baseball bat, quite vicious
42:06weapons to be aiming at those parts of the
42:08body.
42:08They could have easily killed him.
42:10Detectives are closing in on a criminal gang that burgled a 77-year-old woman in the middle
42:32of the night.
42:34This must have been a truly horrific thing for
42:36anybody to experience, let alone a lady in her late 70s.
42:39They've charged one man and arrested another.
42:43So, at this point in the investigation, we've got
42:45Samioca Umar in custody awaiting trial.
42:48Ashton Seymour has been released on bail.
42:51CCTV at a petrol station has led to the
42:54identification of the third member of the gang.
42:57That gave us a good image of the person that we were
43:00dealing with.
43:01We were able to identify at that stage that this
43:03male was a gentleman by the name of Anthony Cosgrove.
43:07Anthony Cosgrove was also known as TCOS and was the
43:11crucial number saved in Sammy Okatuma's phone.
43:15Police call him in to the nearest station.
43:21What do you do for work?
43:23I come up.
43:24Are you currently employed?
43:25Yes, I'm employed.
43:27Do you want to tell me what that is?
43:29Scaffolder.
43:30Were you working as a scaffolder in April this year?
43:34To be honest with you, I don't think anyone was
43:37working in April, or I think the country was locked down.
43:40So you weren't working at that time?
43:42No problem.
43:43I think the words you used earlier were a
43:45despicable thing to happen to the lady, yeah?
43:47Yeah.
43:49If you know anything about it, help us out.
43:53Because if you think it's that despicable, then you want
43:55us to get the right people, don't you?
43:57People you're friends with have been involved in this.
43:59There's no doubt about that.
44:01No comment about it.
44:02I don't know what people do with their own time.
44:05You were in conversation with them, weren't you?
44:08You're phoning them up at two o'clock in the morning.
44:11What were you speaking about?
44:12Where are you?
44:12What are you doing?
44:12He did make comments in his interview that he felt that it was a disgusting crime, but
44:18he seemed to show absolutely no remorse or any inkling at his involvement at that stage.
44:23He was still scratching around, trying to understand what the motive was or why.
44:30Social media and background searches show some of the gang were involved in several business ventures.
44:35They were registered with Companies House with specific titles as numismatists, which are coin specialists who deal in collectible coins and can value them and deal with them.
44:47I suspect that actually what Sammy Okatuma was asking for when he asked for the Queens may well have been coins.
44:53We don't know whether or not they were acting on good information or whether they targeted the wrong person, but there is an inkling that that might have actually been the motive.
45:03They were hoping to obtain a commemorative coin or coins.
45:08Sammy Okatuma and Ashton Seymour pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, but Anthony Cosgrove pleaded not guilty and was sent for trial.
45:18So after a five-day trial, Anthony Cosgrove was found guilty by unanimous verdict.
45:23He was guilty of conspiracy to burgle.
45:33The judge, in summing up, was quite rightly appalled in his closing speech about the callous nature of the crime.
45:50The impact statement went a significant way to helping the judge to give the sentencing that he did.
45:57Sometimes it's difficult to get off to sleep.
46:00I can feel safe in my own home again.
46:02It was so frightening at the time. I thought my time had come. I really did.
46:08If it hadn't been for my neighbour, I hate to think what might have become of me.
46:12It was a terribly frightening experience for anyone to deal with, let alone someone of my age who lived alone.
46:19Hugely satisfying to bring these offenders to justice.
46:23What I didn't realise was that he was holding her down.
46:26The lengths that they went to to commit this crime.
46:28She said he had gloves on because he had them on her face.
46:33The amount of trauma that they put those victims through.
46:36And she didn't breathe.
46:37She didn't breathe.
46:38Oh, bless her, OK.
46:40It's unthinkable.
46:41Yeah, that's the right to breathe. I can't breathe.
46:43And to be able to bring justice is really satisfying.
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