How a £1,300 designer coat proved vital in hunt for murderer after robbery conspiracy

A murderer has been jailed for life after a designer coat worth more than £1,300 helped police track him down.

Ikem Affia was one of four people involved in a plot to drug and rob 33-year-old Saul Murray, after seeing pictures of him on Instagram wearing Rolex watches.

Mr Murray was found dead with stab wounds at his flat in New Town Street, Luton, in the early hours of 27 February 2022.

Detectives identified Affia, 31, as the main suspect responsible for Mr Murray’s death after looking at hours of CCTV footage.

Police investigating his murder found a key piece of evidence in the case was a Moncler coat – costing more than £1,300 – that Affia was wearing at the time of the planned attack on Mr Murray.

Less than 300 of these coats were available in the UK at the time, with just 69 being sold online, officers discovered.

One of the rare coats had been sold to Affia’s partner and was delivered to his home address the previous year.

He was sentenced on Friday to life in prison for murder and will have to serve a minimum of 25 years.

Three other people – Cleon Brown, 29, Surpreet Dhillon, 36, and Temidayo Awe, 21 – were also sentenced for their involvement in the killing.

They were sentenced to 11 years, 10 years and seven years respectively, for manslaughter and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Luton Crown Court heard that Dhillon had initially contacted Mr Murray over Instagram before she and Awe were captured on CCTV entering his flat at around 11.40pm the night before he was found.

Awe was then seen leaving shortly before 2.30am, while Dhillon propped the communal door open with a broom, so Awe was able to later return with the two men – one of whom, Affia, was carrying a large knife.

Detective Inspector Dale Mepstead said: “This was clearly a planned attack; facilitated by Dhillon and Awe and carried out by Affia and Brown.”

The crime was “horrific”, the detective added.

He said that the two women had used a sedative on Mr Murray, who was seen running towards the door before he lost consciousness and collapsed.

CCTV footage taken from a local fast food restaurant showed Brown and Affia together. In it, Affia is wearing the same coat that was seen on the footage from Mr Murray’s flat.

Phone data also placed Brown at the scene after he had contacted Dhillon. While additional footage confirmed that a Mercedes Benz, which Brown had hired, was seen acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the flat.

Judge Simon KC called the plot a senseless conspiracy to rob at Friday’s sentencing.

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