Brixton slasher jailed for life after 'unprovoked and random' attacks

An "extremely dangerous" man who murdered a woman as part of a south London slashing spree has been handed a life sentence.

Drug addict Mohamed Nur, 34, admitted to cutting the neck of Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, 31, with a makeshift blade, killing her on 1 May last year.

Two days earlier, he had slashed the faces of two women and a man in what the Old Bailey heard were "unprovoked and random" attacks.

Sentencing him to life in prison on Thursday, with a minimum term of 32 years, Judge Angela Rafferty KC said Nur's killing of Ms Dogbey was "random, vicious, horrific" and "without mercy".

"You stabbed her three times in her neck causing the fatal wounds," she said addressing the man, who did not attend his sentencing.

"You did not stop until she fell down... You have led a life dominated by drug use. You are a very dangerous man and the risk you pose is incalculable."

'It broke me'

CCTV footage shown in court showed Nur approached Ms Dogbey from behind at around 4pm on 1 May last year.

She was walking through Stockwell Park Walk after a shopping trip to Oxford Street in central London, and was on the phone to her grandmother when the man attacked her.

Ms Dogbey was heard saying "leave me, leave me" while Nur repeatedly stabbed around her neck.

After she fell to the ground, Nur ran away and later discarded a makeshift weapon in a housing estate.

Ms Dogbey died at the scene at 4.42pm. A post-mortem examination identified the cause of death as sharp force trauma to the neck.

Her sister Laura told the court: "To say it was the worst day of my life would be too simple. To say it broke me would be an understatement.

"It hurts to think no one was able to protect her from the actions of this man who snuck up behind her and took her life."

Three slashed days earlier

At around 11.30pm on 29 April - days before he attacked Ms Dogbey - Nur attacked Rebecca Wilkes, Tomasz Kmiecik and Katie Matthews in Brixton.

In the slashing spree, Ms Wilkes was grabbed from behind and slashed on her right cheek, resulting in a 9cm cut.

Not long after, Mr Kmiecik suffered a 15cm-long cut to his face. Ms Matthews was then injured and left with a 6cm cut.

Then, on 2 May, Nur was stopped and searched by the Met Police on Brixton High Street, where they found him in possession of a weapon made from a shard of a broken mirror.

He told officers he had been smoking crack cocaine that day, and when told he was being arrested on suspicion of murdering Ms Dogbey said, "what, who's she?"

Nur admitted to murder, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a pointed or bladed article at a hearing at the Old Bailey on 17 November.

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'Attacked without warning'

Prosecutor Julian Evans KC said each of Nur's victims were "attacked without warning and for no apparent reason".

Giving a statement to the court, Ms Wilkes said she had been "physically and mentally scared," while Mr Kmiecik said he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ms Matthews added: "It could so easily have been me that died in that moment. I was just having a weekend away with friends."

The court heard Nur, who came to the UK from Somalia in 1993, had previous convictions for being in possession of cannabis, a firearm, ammunition and blades.

It also heard the man became addicted to drugs and was homeless from December 2022. He was living in accommodation for vulnerable adults in Vauxhall at the time of the attacks.