Two ex- cops who were locked up for taking pictures of two murdered sisters at a crime scene they were protecting have been attacked in prison, judges have been told.
Former police officers Deniz Jaffer, 48, and Jamie Lewis, 33, had been assigned to guard the crime scene after Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, were found dead in bushes in June 2020.
Lewis, from Colchester in Essex, and Jaffer, of Hornchurch, were put behind bars for two years and nine months following a hearing at the Old Bailey in December 2021 after pleading guilty to misconduct in a public office, Essex Live reports.
News that they had been attacked in prison emerged on May 11 as they lost appeals against their sentences.
Appeal judges Dame Victoria Sharp, Mrs Justice McGowan and Mrs Justice Farbey dismissed the appeals after considering arguments at a Court of Appeal hearing held in London.
They said they will give their reasons at a later date.
Lewis has been sacked from the Metropolitan Police, while Jaffer, of Hornchurch, east London, resigned.
Danyal Hussein was given a life sentence, with a minimum term of 35 years, in October after being found guilty of the women’s murders.
The officers moved from their posts to take images of their bodies and share them with colleagues and friends on WhatsApp. One image was taken in a "selfie-style" with Lewis superimposing his face on while they described the victims as "dead birds".
Judge Mark Lucraft, who jailed Lewis and Jaffer, was told the officers moved from their posts to photograph the women’s bodies, with the images shared with colleagues and friends on WhatsApp. The murdered women’s mother, Mina Smallman, the former archdeacon of Southend-on-Sea, and her husband Chris, were at the appeal hearing.
Barristers representing the men argued that the sentences imposed by Judge Lucraft were excessive. Neil Saunders, who represented Jaffer, said Jaffer has been attacked three times by three different inmates.
Luke Ponte, for Lewis, said Lewis has been assaulted twice. Barrister Joel Smith, for the Crown, said the men’s appeals should be dismissed. He said their actions exacerbated the “unimaginable” bereavement the women’s family suffered. Mr Smith said the killing of the sisters was a “shocking” and “ferocious” crime.
In victim impact statements when the officers were sentenced, family members of the sisters described the defendants as a “disgrace” to the police family and to mankind. Mina Smallman, said the officers’ actions were a “betrayal of catastrophic proportions” and a “sacrilegious act”.
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