Judge likens bloodbath to ‘scene from The Shining’

Five killers who battered down a man’s door and stabbed him to death in what a judge described as ‘a scene from The Shining’ have been jailed for a total of almost 100 years.

The gang burst into Imran Isat’s home in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of 19 March 2022, armed with knives and machetes.

They thrust the knives around the door as Mr Isat and his terrified friends desperately tried to keep them out.

Mr Isat, 30, begged them not to hurt him and to take whatever they wanted, but one of the robbers stabbed him to death.

The killers had scoped out the property beforehand, and broke in at 1.15am with the intention of robbing him of either drugs or money.

After entering the home two of the intruders went upstairs while the other three approached the living room, where Mr Isat was sitting watching television with a couple of friends.

When he saw the men Mr Isat tried to close the living room door to keep them out, but one of the assailants, who had a large knife, managed to stab him before he could do so.

The three men then entered the living room shouting “Where’s the stuff?”

When one of the robbers then shouted ‘We’ve found it; let’s go’ all five ran off with two suitcases and a bag, and jumped into two cars with fake plates.

A post-mortem revealed that 30-year-old Mr Isat had been stabbed a total of five times during the attack, and that he died from a stab wound to the heart.

Dwain Morrison, 34, was convicted of murder after an Old Bailey trial.

Salah’din Kerbouba, 28, Ronnie Haydon, 32 Paul Higgins, 37, and Dominic Diop, 33, were all found guilty of manslaughter.

Kerbouba and Haydon were also found guilty of robbery, with the other three already having pleaded guilty to this offence.

In a statement read out in court Mr Isat’s older sister Yasmin Sidat described the killers as ‘pure evil.’

‘Something these five men will never understand is the damage they have done to our family,’ she said.

‘When they stabbed my brother in the heart they stabbed our whole family in the heart.

‘We feel no anger towards the men. We just want to understand why they did this.’

She added: ‘Why did they have to stab him so brutally? He wasn’t attacking them, he wasn’t putting up a fight.’

‘He must have been so frightened, alone, lying on the floor without no-one else there to help him.’

Passing sentence Judge Peter Kelson said: ‘This was a planned robbery of a man in his own home.

‘Given the value of the property that you left behind, I am satisfied that you went after high value property, most likely drugs and money.

‘Reconnaissance of the property was carried out for some time before entry was forced through the front door.

‘I am satisfied that you were all armed with weapons.

‘Those included fearsome machetes described as being as long as an arm and with blades as wide as a hand.

‘It is self-evident that the machetes were capable of being used to cause really serious bodily harm.’

The judge described what happened next as ‘extreme offending’.

He quoted the description given by one of the victim’s friends, who was in the living room with him when the men forced their way in.

‘First thing I saw through the gap in the door was two massive knives, machetes and one smaller one.

‘I saw three arms holding these things. The arms were moving around.

‘One was trying to poke through the door.

‘One of the arms with a massive knife was poking at his body

‘As he got touched with the machete he almost went onto all fours.’

The judge referenced the 1980 horror movie featuring Jack Nicholson when he said:

‘It was like a scene from The Shining where some of you were slashing with your machetes around the door as you forced your way in.’

As Mr Isat was lying on the floor dying, the judge said that the men then ransacked the living room, ‘searching for what you were there to steal in the same room around the dying Mr Isat.’

He added: ‘These are offences that strike fear into the heart of any householder. They attack the idea that a person’s home is their castle.

‘They erode the idea that ones home should be a safe place.’

There were audible gasps from the public gallery as the men’s sentences were read out, while the defendants showed little emotion in the dock.

Judge Kelson sentenced Morrison, of Chudleigh Road, Romford, to a minimum term of 33 years for murder, with 12-years concurrent for robbery.

Hayden, Grafton Crescent, Camden, was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years for manslaughter, plus concurrent sentences of 16 years for robbery and fifteen months for an unrelated crime of conspiracy to steal.

Higgins, of Fanshawe Crescent, Hornchurch was given 16 years for manslaughter, plus a concurrent 12-year sentence for robbery. He was also given a 12-month sentence and three year disqualification from driving for a separate dangerous driving offence.

Diop, of Cranfield Park Avenue, Basildon, was handed down a 16 year sentence for manslaughter, plus a concurrent 12-year sentence for robbery.

Kerbouba, of Sandringham Gardens, Ilford, was sentenced to 16 years for manslaughter, plus a concurrent 16-year sentence for robbery.
ENDS