Murder of Thomas Roberts

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On 12 March 2022, 21-year-old Thomas Roberts, from Bournemouth, Dorset, England, was murdered by Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai. Roberts was stabbed by Abdulrahimzai during an argument between Abdulrahimzai and Roberts' friend over an e-scooter in Bournemouth Town Centre.

Abdulrahimzai admitted manslaughter but denied murder. On 23 January, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29 years.^[1][2][3]

Thomas George Philip Roberts was a 21-year-old man from Bournemouth, Dorset. Growing up, he was a Sea Scout. Roberts was a qualified precision engineer. He was described as an 'active sportsman', enjoying mountain biking and boxing, and was a member of Christchurch Boxing Club. In his spare time, Roberts was a drum and bass DJ. Performing under the name 'Nomad', he was described as “one of the best up-and-coming artists the South had to offer”. Roberts was an aspiring Royal Marine, having completed an application form.^[4][5][6]

Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai was born in Afghanistan in 2001. From approximately the age of four, he played cricket and, growing up, he used to train in boxing with his father. Abdulrahimzai's parents sold alcohol that they brewed on the black market, with Abdulrahimzai delivering the alcohol.^[7] Abdulrahimzai's parents were killed by the Taliban, who placed bombs outside their home. The Taliban thought that Abdulrahimzai's father was working with the United States, as well as illegally selling alcohol.^[8] Abdulrahimzai stated that he was tortured by the Taliban after being kidnapped.^[9] He claimed he had scars from this, having been stabbed 28 times, with injuries inflicted by the butts of rifles and knives.^[9] Abdulrahimzai was also stabbed four times under his arms and shot in the leg by the Taliban. After being thrown to the side of a road, Abdulrahimzai's uncle arranged for him to be taken from Afghanistan to Pakistan, Iran, and other countries.^[8]

Before October 2015, Abdulrahimzai left Afghanistan, moving illegally through many international borders, initially through Pakistan and Iran, and then between Norway and Italy before arriving in Serbia in October 2015.^[7][10] By 29 October 2015, Abdulrahimzai was in Norway, where authorities took his fingerprints.^[7] Abdulrahimzai stated that he travelled from Serbia to Norway by walking or riding in the back of cars.^[8] By July 2016, after leaving Norway, Abdulrahimzai was in Italy. From there, he returned to Serbia, where he was recorded as being on 26 June 2017, using a different name.^[7][8]

On 31 July 2018, Abdulrahimzai used a Kalashnikov rifle to shoot dead two Afghan men, for which he was convicted in absentia of two counts of murder.^[10][11] After leaving Serbia, he returned to Norway in October 2018.^[7] In 2019, he made a claim for asylum in Norway.^[10][11] In December 2019, it was rejected; during the same month, he illegally entered the United Kingdom via the Port of Poole, where he claimed asylum, pretending in a Home Office interview to be an unaccompanied 14-year-old. He was issued a date of birth of 2005, but it was later determined that he was actually 18 years old at the time.^{[6][7][8][10][11][12]}

He moved to Poole, Dorset, England, where he was put into foster care.^[11] Abdulrahimzai played cricket for Winton and attended a boxing club.^[8] He got involved in organised street fighting, where he was paid £100 for 10 minutes of fighting without gloves.^[8] He reportedly got into fights at school and in public and stated that he was racially abused and physically assaulted.^[9]

His foster mother caught Abdulrahimzai with a knife, which she took from him before ensuring that the knives in the house were locked away. She stated that Abdulrahimzai thought it was 'his right to carry a knife to defend himself'.^[7]

He had continued to carry a knife despite police warnings.^[6][8] In November 2020, Abdulrahimzai was the victim of an assault in King's Park, Bournemouth, where he was bitten, stabbed in the eyebrow, and punched by multiple people. He said that he had been chased by people with machetes in the same park. Abdulrahimzai stated that he reported every assault to the police, but they did not help him. The police had been unable to investigate the King's Park assault because Abdulrahimzai would not provide details of one of the people who punched him.^[8]

In December 2020, Abdulrahimzai carried a knife while out shopping, as he was scared for his life after being tortured in Afghanistan and attacked since being in the UK.^[8]

His first foster mother described Abdulrahimzai as a 'very troubled individual', stating that he had 'seen things he should never have seen', growing up in 'a world at war' and that 'his default is to fight.' She described Abdulrahimzai's behaviour as 'a bit Jekyll and Hyde' towards the end of his time with her family, noting that his mood could go 'from 0 to 100 almost instantly' and that he had made her adult daughter cry.^[7]

In August 2021, Abdulrahimzai had a 'big disagreement' with his foster mother, which required police attendance. After this, he moved to a new foster family.^[7] By March 2022, Abdulrahimzai was living in hostels.^[8]

Roberts was out in Bournemouth town centre with friends on Friday 11 March 2022. He visited various pubs and venues across the town. During the early hours of Saturday 12 March, two of his friends went home, but Roberts and his friend James Medway decided to stay out. CCTV footage showed them leaving the For Your Eyes Only venue on Old Christchurch Road, near the corner of Fir Vale Road, with the plan to get some food before taking a taxi home.^[13]

Abdulrahimzai was in Bournemouth Town Centre, in the area of Fir Vale Road, with a friend at approximately 3 AM.^[13] He was in possession of a knife, which he later stated was because he 'was in fear'.^[8] At 3:08 AM, Abdulrahimzai went into the London Market shop on Old Christchurch Road, where he bought a Monster energy drink and a Bounty chocolate bar, before standing outside Camel Bar at 3:10 AM. Abdulrahimzai had a fake ID confiscated by security at the venue due to it not having the correct numbers.^[8] It was reported that for around an hour, Abdulrahimzai had been abusing the door staff at the bar.^[13] Prior to Roberts' murder, Abdulrahimzai was involved in an argument with two men, unrelated to Roberts, during which he attempted to headbutt someone.^[6][13]

At 4:37 AM, Abdulrahimzai was seen riding a hired Beryl e-scooter and then leaving it outside a Subway.^[14][13]

Roberts and Medway were walking to a taxi rank along Old Christchurch Road.^[13] At 4:39 AM, as they passed the Wild Fish and Chip Shop, Medway gestured to the e-scooter leaning against the window of a Subway, suggesting to Roberts that they could use it instead of getting a taxi.^[5] At approximately 4:40 AM, as Medway positioned himself on either side of the scooter, he and Roberts were approached by Abdulrahimzai.^[13][15] Abdulrahimzai argued with Medway, claiming that the e-scooter was his. He was aggressive towards Roberts, who intervened as a 'peacemaker'. Roberts tried to calm the situation by telling Abdulrahimzai to 'relax, there's no problem here'. Abdulrahimzai then turned his attention from Medway to Roberts, becoming threatening. At one point, Roberts slapped Abdulrahimzai in the face.^[5][14][6]

In response to this, at approximately 4:44 AM, Abdulrahimzai produced a 10-inch, gold-handled knife that he had been carrying in a sheath on the right side of his body, tucked into the waistband of the two pairs of trousers he was wearing. He lunged at and then stabbed Roberts twice, in the chest and abdomen. Roberts remained on his feet, while Abdulrahimzai ran onto Horseshoe Common. Medway asked Roberts if he was okay before pursuing Abdulrahimzai to try to retrieve the knife. After losing sight of Abdulrahimzai and being unable to catch up with him, Medway returned to Roberts.^{[5][6][8][13][15][excessive citations]}

At some stage, Abdulrahimzai dug a hole in the ground, buried the knife in some bushes, and later burned the clothes he had been wearing.^[8]

Roberts had collapsed and was attended to by members of the public, who called an ambulance and attempted to manage his profusely bleeding wounds. The police were the first to arrive and conducted CPR. When the ambulance arrived, Roberts was unconscious and in cardiac arrest.

Roberts was rushed to Poole Hospital, where he received immediate surgery. He went into cardiac arrest several times, but no medical intervention could save him from the wounds he had sustained, which were later confirmed by the pathologist as resulting in unsurvivable blood loss. At 8:10 AM on Sunday 13 March, Roberts was pronounced dead during surgery at the hospital.^{[5][6][13][7][16]}

From the moment Abdulrahimzai approached Roberts to the stabbing, the incident lasted 26 seconds.^[6]

On the morning of March 12, Abdulrahimzai's phone, an Apple iPhone 6s, was found by police searching Horseshoe Common. He had dropped it while fleeing the scene.^[8][15][7] From this, officers traced Abdulrahimzai's address at Quay Foyer in Poole, Dorset, where firearms officers attended and arrested him on suspicion of murder just after midnight on 13 March.^{[8][14][15][6]}

Abdulrahimzai was taken to Bournemouth Custody at Bournemouth Police Station. As he was booked into police custody, Abdulrahimzai said he felt 'guilty' when asked how he was feeling. The following day, during an interview, it was established that he felt guilty about what his foster family might think.^[7]

During several police interviews, Abdulrahimzai provided no comment, stating that he did so on the advice of his solicitor.^[8][13]

Abdulrahimzai's age was not certain; however, assessments determined he was 20 years old at the time of the incident.^[6]

The knife that was used was never recovered.^[8]

Dr Amanda Jeffery conducted a post-mortem on Roberts at Holly Tree Lodge, Boscombe.^[16] She described that Roberts had received ‘sharp-force stab wounds’, which were ‘penetrating wounds caused by a sharp-bladed object’.^[7]

The upper wound to Roberts' chest was 4 centimetres in length at the skin. The knife penetrated Roberts' chest wall, cutting through skin and muscle before entering the chest cavity and damaging his ribs as it passed between the seventh and eighth ribs. The defect in Roberts' ribs was 2.5 centimetres wide. The blade also cut across the diaphragm, causing damage to the left lobe of his left lung. Additionally, the blade affected the side of the sac surrounding the heart. The depth of the wound ranged from 10 centimetres from the skin to the deepest part of the injury. Dr Jeffery stated that the damage to the ribs indicated that the minimum amount of force used was 'moderate' on a scale of mild, moderate, and severe.^[7]

Roberts' lower wound to his abdomen was 3.5 centimetres in length. The blade penetrated through the torso muscles and into the back of the abdomen below the rib cage. It sliced across the lower part of Roberts’ left kidney and opened the left renal vein before entering the space behind the stomach. The blade also left a ‘small nick’ in one of the loops of the small bowel. The length of this wound track was similar to Roberts’ other wound, but the minimum amount of force used was deemed 'mild'. However, Dr Jeffery stated that ‘greater forces may have been involved’.^[7]

The pathologist reported that the knife must have been '10 centimetres or more in length, with a width of 3.5 to 4 centimetres at the 10-centimetre point'. Dr Jeffery stated that both injuries suggested the blade had 'one cutting edge and one blunt edge'.^[7]

On 21 March 2022, an inquest into Roberts' death was opened at Bournemouth Coroner's Court, led by Rachael Griffin, Senior Coroner for Dorset. However, the inquest was suspended due to the ongoing police investigation.^[16]

On Tuesday 15 March 2022, Abdulrahimzai was charged with murder. He was remanded in custody after appearing at Poole Magistrates' Court on 16 March.^[17] On 17 March, Abdulrahimzai appeared at a short hearing at Winchester Crown Court via video link from Feltham Young Offenders Institution, where Judge Angela Morris scheduled a plea and trial preparation hearing for 9 June.^[16]

On 9 June, Abdulrahimzai pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.^[16]

Abdulrahimzai's trial began on 11 January 2023 at Salisbury Crown Court.^[18] The presiding judge was Judge Paul Dudgale. Nic Lobbenberg KC and Ellie Fargin acted as the prosecution, while Jo Martin KC and her junior, Nick Robinson, were the defence.^[13]

Opening the prosecution case, Mr Lobbenberg KC explained to the jury that Abdulrahimzai had already pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He stated that although Abdulrahimzai accepted he had killed Roberts, the Crown contended it was murder and that it was ‘about the circumstances’, with the Crown responsible for proving the allegation of murder.^[13] Mr Lobbenberg KC noted that the first issue was ‘intent’, while the second issue concerned Abdulrahimzai’s ‘loss of control’.^[13]

Mr Lobbenberg KC told the jury that Roberts' body had no defensive injuries. He explained that one of Roberts' lungs and the left ventricle of his heart were damaged by the stab wound to his chest.^[13]

Giving evidence, Abdulrahimzai admitted to stabbing Roberts but claimed he did not intend to kill him or cause him serious harm.^[8] Abdulrahimzai stated that he told Medway to get off the scooter before Medway 'tried to act violently'.^[8] He explained that Roberts slapped him and then punched him on the nose. Abdulrahimzai said that when Roberts and Medway looked each other in the eyes, it scared him. He claimed that he 'lost control' and 'instinctively' stabbed Roberts. Abdulrahimzai also said that he believed Medway and Roberts were there to kill him, thinking that 'the terrorists have a lot of people involved in what they do'. He stated that he did not know Roberts was injured and that the only reason he ran was because he thought Medway, who was actually carrying his trainers after his laces became undone, was chasing him with a bottle.^[8] After running away, Abdulrahimzai went to a park in the Charminster area and cried about the situation.

Abdulrahimzai stated that he obtained the knife from a friend and that when he was previously photographed with a knife, it was the same knife he used to stab Roberts. He remarked that the image was on TikTok 'to try and get some followers'.^[8] Abdulrahimzai claimed he carried a knife for his 'safety' and believed it was the only way to protect himself, as he had not received help from the police. He stated that he would use the knife if people from 'back home' were behind him.^[8]

It was reported that Abdulrahimzai experienced nightmares related to the Taliban being ‘out to kill him’. One report stated that Abdulrahimzai suffered flashbacks which made it ‘hard for him to know if he is in the past or present’. A report from the Child And Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) dated 3 August 2021 identified areas of need, including flashbacks and trust issues, and also noted that Abdulrahimzai’s mood could change. The report further mentioned that Abdulrahimzai was ‘very vigilant’ and believed that ‘he is better than everyone’.^[9]

A forensic psychiatrist, Dr Gauruv Malhan, gave evidence stating that he did not believe Abdulrahimzai had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD, but that Abdulrahimzai exhibited traits of both. Dr Malhan stated that Abdulrahimzai met the diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and met some, but not all, diagnostic criteria for Dissocial Personality Disorder.^[9]

Following a two-week trial, the jury returned a majority verdict of 10 to 2, finding Abdulrahimzai guilty of murder. A minimum term of 25 years was agreed upon as the starting point.^[6]

After Abdulrahimzai's guilty verdict for the murder of Roberts, the court was informed that Abdulrahimzai had been previously convicted of murder, having killed two people in Serbia with a Kalashnikov rifle on 31 July 2018. Abdulrahimzai had used the name Huan Yasin and was wanted by Serbian authorities. It was believed that the previous murders were related to the people trafficking business. Abdulrahimzai was sentenced to 20 years in prison in his absence.^[19] As the previous murders occurred outside the UK or an EU country, they were not legally considered ‘qualifying offences’. However, they could be regarded as aggravating factors, and Judge Dugdale confirmed that he had to take the previous conviction into account.^[6]

On Wednesday, 25 January 2023, Abdulrahimzai was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29 years. Judge Dudgale told Abdulrahimzai that he had acted with "unjustified extreme violence."^[20]

Prior to Abdulrahimzai's sentencing, in response to a question in the House of Commons from Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood, Robert Jenrick, Home Office Minister, explained that there would be a government investigation to establish the "full circumstances surrounding the case".^[20] After Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns raised the case in the Commons, Jenrick later added that Abdulrahimzai could be deported at the end of his sentence.^[21]

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council released a statement saying that local communities "are not at risk from asylum seekers".^[20]

A pre-inquest review into Roberts' death was held on 9 August 2023. The inquest heard that Abdulrahimzai had been referred to the Home Office's anti-terrorism programme, Prevent, due to concerns that he might be susceptible to terrorism. A review was launched into Abdulrahimzai's referral to the programme.^[19]

A review commissioned into the Home Office's role in processing Abdulrahimzai's immigration status had been completed but would remain confidential internally due to the need to keep immigration procedures restricted, which were described as 'highly sensitive'.^[19]

The Home Office was criticised by Coroner Rachael Griffin, as Roberts' father, Philip, had not received any contact regarding the reviews on Abdulrahimzai or the Home Office's involvement. He asked Griffin to check with Dorset Police about previous reports they had received concerning Abdulrahimzai being in possession of a knife days before Roberts' murder.^[19]

Griffin asked Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council to provide information on their age assessment checks for Abdulrahimzai, and requested Dorset Police to supply files from the investigations, including any internal reviews.^[19]

The inquest into Roberts' death was adjourned until a later hearing, scheduled for 9 January 2024.^[19]