Mother hid body of baby boy for more than a decade at north London home

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A mother covered up the death of her baby son for more than a decade by hiding his body at a north London home.

Victoria Gayle, 32, pleaded guilty to preventing his lawful burial at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, the Met Police said.

Scotland Yard said little was known about the baby but that he was last seen in late 2004.

In May 2016 police launched an investigation into the boy's disappearance following a request from the child abuse investigation team in Barnet. It came after a review into the death of another child in Barnet in 2015.

Officers then searched a property in Fryent Crescent in West Hendon where they discovered the remains of a small child.

The body had been placed in a box and wrapped up, the BBC reported.

Gayle, who was on bail, admitted preventing a lawful burial but denied perjury and perverting the course of justice. The allegations will lie on file.

A Met Police spokesman said: "A special post-mortem examination took place at Great Ormond Street Hospital and the cause of death could not be determined.

"Further tests were unable to establish exactly how the child died and inquiries continue to this day.

"The skeletal remains have not been confirmed as that of the child who disappeared in 2004 and although Gayle has pleaded to the offence of preventing a lawful and decent burial, detectives continue to investigate the disappearance of the baby boy, the identity of the remains and are working closely with a number of partner agencies."

Gayle will be sentenced at Kingston on February 3.

A 50-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man, who were both arrested on suspicion of preventing a lawful and decent burial, have been re-bailed pending further inquiries.

A 38-year old man, who was arrested on suspicion of preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice, has also been re-bailed.

Man appears in court accused of GBH after death of five-year-old Alex Malcolm in London park

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man charged with causing grievous bodily harm after a five-year-old boy died in a London park has appeared in court.

Young Alex Malcolm, from Bromley, suffered head injuries while playing in Mountsfield Park in Catford on Sunday, November 20.

He was rushed to hospital and taken into intensive care but died on Tuesday, November 22.

A 38-year-old man, Marvin Iheanacho, from Hounslow, was charged with GBH following his death.

Iheanacho, of Wesley Avenue, was remanded into custody and appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday.

He will next appear for a pre-trial preparation hearing on Friday, March 10.

A trial date has been scheduled for Monday, May 15 next year.

The Queen and Prince Philip arrive at Sandringham for delayed Christmas visit

Pic:The Queen and Prince Philip
Royal correspondent(wp/es):

The Queen and Prince Philip have arrived at Sandringham for their annual Christmas trip. 

The Royal couple had postponed their visit after coming down with heavy colds.

But a spokesman for the royals said today they had now arrived at their Norfolk estate after flying from Buckingham Palace by helicopter.

A helicopter was spotted leaving the palace helipad this lunchtime and the spokesman said: "I can confirm that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have left Buckingham Palace and are travelling to Sandringham."

Buckingham Palace declined to comment further when asked about the health of the monarch and her consort.

The royal couple regularly take the train from London to Sandringham at the end of the year, with Philip usually using the journey to catch up on some reading.

On Tuesday it was announced that the Queen would be stepping down as patron of 25 national organisations at the end of her 90th birthday year, with the patronages passing to other members of the Royal Family.

The move is likely to be seen as a common-sense decision which acknowledges the Queen's advancing years but Buckingham Palace stressed that the monarch is still patron of around 600 organisations.

She and the Duke, 95, were surrounded by their family on Tuesday when they hosted their annual Christmas lunch for dozens of relatives at Buckingham Palace.

Despite their advancing years, the couple appear to remain in good health and have missed few official engagements in recent years due to illness.

five-year-old Alex Malcolm who died after 'beating' in London park

Pic:Alex Malcolm, who died in hospital 
Crime reporter(wp/es):

 The mother of a five-year-old boy who died after allegedly being beaten in a  park paid tribute today to her “little angel”.

Alex Malcolm was described as “beautiful, kind and gentle” by his mother Liliya Breha, 29, who wept as she said: “He shouldn’t have been taken away from me”.

Alex, a Year 1 pupil at Archbishop Sumner CofE primary school in Kennington, suffered head injuries while playing in Mountsfield Park, Catford, at about 6pm on November 20.

Police were called at 1.45am the following day when he was admitted to King’s College Hospital. He died the next day in intensive care.

A 38-year-old man has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Ms Breha, who lives in Bromley, said: “I’m heartbroken, I miss him. I really struggle because he shouldn’t have been taken away from me. He was my best friend.” She said that Alex, her only child, was popular among classmates and enjoyed going to parks and on trips around London. He appeared as an angel in a nativity play last year and had recently completed a portfolio to begin child modelling.

Ms Breha said: “He had so many friends — everybody knew Alex. He would always share all his toys and sweets. 

“Lots of my friends have newborns and he would feed them with their bottles — he was really soft and gentle. He would always care for me and compliment me and always say thank you. 

“He was too beautiful, people often thought he was a girl. He was doing a little modelling. We’d just done a  portfolio, he’d had lots of offers but we never had a chance to do proper modelling.”

She said he loved school, where he was always among the first at the gates, and enjoyed music and singing.

“If I was too tired he’d say ‘Miss told me you have to read me the book’ so I knew he was listening to his teachers,” she said. “He’d help me with the shopping and was very tidy. He was perfect. He would see what I was doing and copy me.

“I could see he was growing in confidence. He was beautiful. He was an angel in the nativity last year and we all called him little angel.”

Family friend Sarosé Burnley described Alex as a “stunning” little boy who was devoted to his mother. 

She added: “Her bond with Alex was super strong. She doted on him. 

“Despite everything she’s going through she’s been extremely strong but I know speaking to her on a day-to-day basis that she’s broken.”

Ms Breha hopes to set up a charity in memory of Alex and has agreed with his school to plant a tree in his memory. His family have not been able arrange his funeral as police have not yet released his body.

Marvyn Iheanacho, 38, of Hounslow, appeared in custody at Woolwich crown court yesterday charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He was remanded in custody until March 10.

Men who stabbed to death expectant father at illegal rave in south-east London

Pic: Renea Campbell was stabbed to death at an illegal rave in Abbey Wood 
Crime reporter(wp/es):

Two men have been jailed over the murder of a father-to-be who was stabbed to death at a rave in south-east London.

Renea Campbell was fatally injured when a fight broke out close to an industrial estate in Abbey Wood in June last year.

Police officers rushed to Felixstowe Road where Mr Campbell and three other men had been stabbed.

The 26-year-old was taken to an east London hospital where he died from a single stab wound.

Mr Campbell had been out celebrating the news he was to become father to a second son with his brother Rico.

The pair were also both celebrating getting new jobs, their mother Claudette Campbell said in a statement.

She said her world “came crashing down” after hearing “something bad” had happened to her sons.

The statement read: “I have been living in the worst nightmare ever since. 

"Renea and I shared a bond which was unique, he was my first child and I adored him from the moment he was born, he was my friend as well as my son and would regularly go out with me just to be with me, even on boring shopping trips. 

“He liked to be my protector and would always need to know where I was going and make sure that I was safe and ok. 

“I miss him and my heart hurts every single day. Renea was a loving, caring young man with genuinely good values, manners a bright future and a smile which always made me smile with him.”

She went on to describe her sorrow that her son never met his youngest child.

Mrs Campbell said: "My two grandsons will never see their dad and he was an amazing father who couldn't wait to meet his new son.

"Time has gone on, a year and a half later my grandson is a year older and the son Renea, never got to see is now a year old.

“Both his children have missed out on many things with their dad. The communication, the first steps. Renea would have been there for those special moments in his son’s life, but they were cut short.”

Damien Fraser, 27, from Somerfield Grove, Tottenham was jailed for 21 years at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Aiden Mcgowan, 25, of Northumberland Park, Tottenham, was jailed for 19 years.

He was found guilty of murder, GBH, violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon at the same court on December 14.

Rennae Henriques, 29, of Gillham Terrace, Tottenham, was jailed for two-and-a-half years for violent disorder immediately after the incident.

A charge of violent disorder Trimaine Laing, of Newington Green, Islington was dropped.

£20,000 reward to solve mystery of boy who vanished after going to buy eggs in Croydon 30 years ago

Pic:Kevin Hicks disappeared 30 years ago
Crime reporter(wp/es):

Detectives today announced a £20,000 reward to discover what happened to a 16-year-old boy who disappeared 30 years ago after going out to buy some eggs in south London.

Kevin Hicks told his mother he was heading to some shops a few minutes away. He did not return and was never seen again.

Today detectives said they believed he was assaulted and murdered by someone he met after he left his Croydon home and appealed for people in the local community to come forward.

Kevin had set out on Sunday, April 2, 1986 to buy ingredients for an O-level cookery exam the following day. 

It was a cold evening and he was carrying just £1 when he went to Sperrings community shop, a few minutes’ walk away in Lower Addiscombe Road.

He was last seen by someone who knew him at 10pm in Shirley Road, walking in the general direction of home.

His parents have both since died, but today his younger sister Alexandra Hicks, 45, from Sutton, told of her ongoing heartache, saying: “Christmas is always a particularly hard time of the year, especially now both my parents are gone. 

“It would be the best Christmas present to have Kevin back or to know what has happened to him. Someone somewhere knows something. It is time to let go of that secret.”

Detectives said they now believed the teenager had been murdered after a review of the case was carried out earlier this year.

Detective Inspector John McQuade, who is leading the inquiry, said: “Kevin simply disappeared that night and was never seen nor heard of again.

“Many enquiries have been carried out over the years but Kevin’s body has never been found yet there is no evidence he is still alive. 

“We believe Kevin must have met someone that night and been assaulted. Perhaps the suspect didn’t mean to kill him but it is clear Kevin’s body must have then been disposed of.”

He appealed to a person who called the Croydon Advertiser newspaper anonymously 10 years after Kevin’s disappearance, saying she knew the location of his body to get in touch with police again.

Mr McQuade said: “I truly believe people in the local Croydon community hold the answers to what happened to Kevin.”

Kevin was described as a happy teenager with no problems at school and had been applying for jobs in the weeks before his disappearance.

Teenager fighting for life after knife attack in west London

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A teenager was left fighting for life in hospital after he was stabbed in the chest in west London.

The 19-year-old was reportedly left in a coma after he was knifed in Queen’s Park on Saturday night.

Police and paramedics raced to the scene of the attack in Barfett Street at about 8.45pm.

The man was rushed to a central London hospital where he remained in a critical condition, police said on Tuesday. 

Karen Buck, Labour MP for Westminster North, posted on Twitter: “Overnight news of a 19-year-old in induced coma after Queen’s Park stabbing.

"Tackling serious youth violence still a priority. #endyouthviolence.”

O/night news of 19 yr old in induced coma after Queen's Park stabbing. Tackling serious youth violence still a priority #endyouthviolence

— Karen Buck (@KarenPBuckMP) December 18, 2016

A Met Police spokesman said: “Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and found a 19-year-old man suffering from stab wounds to the chest. 

“The man was taken to a central London hospital where he remains in a critical condition.

“Next-of-kin have been informed. 

“No arrests have been made. Enquiries continue.”