Sadistic killer gets 30 years for torturing pensioners

A sadistic killer who delighted in torturing and murdering pensioners was jailed for 30 years as a grieving relative blasted the ‘incompetence’ of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Michael Weir, 53, battered World War Two veteran Leonard Harris, 79, to death and left his wife Gertrude covered in blood and curled in a ball in their bedroom on 28 January 1998.

Estate agent Jeremy Clapich found Mr Harris on the first-floor landing on his block of flats in Aylmer Road, East Finchley, north London, bleeding from his skull, face, and groin.

Convicted rapist Weir had tied Mr Harris to a chair in his living room while he tortured his 81-year-old wife, who suffered from dementia, in the bedroom.

He made off with an 18-carat gold Zenith watch which the veteran had taken from a German soldier.

Mr Harris died of his injuries six months later.

Weir was acquitted at the Court of Appeal after police wrongfully retained his DNA from a dropped drugs charge and used it against him in the first trial.

He was then retried under double jeopardy laws when new forensic evidence came to light.

Jill (corr) Harris, the daughter-in-law of Mr Harris, said: ‘My husband isn’t good at showing his emotions so they stayed pent up inside him but from that day his character changed.

‘The doctors have never found a reason for this stroke and when I mentioned the retrial to them and suggested could the stress of it have caused the stroke they said very likely.

‘I have found it very difficult to cope with the situation and it has often ended up with myself and my husband in tears.

‘We feel as a family totally let down and failed by the criminal justice system with failings that have occurred to enable the defendant to be acquitted of the murder on technicalities the first time.

‘The defendant was initially convicted of murder at the first trial however because his DNA should have been destroyed as he was acquitted for a previous case.

‘This resulted in the matter going to the court of appeal and him having his conviction overturned for murder.

‘The Crown Prosecution Service had 14 days to appeal the decision to the house of lords but what I can only describe as incompetence as they didn’t serve the papers in time resulting in the acquittal standing.

‘My brother and Frank went to the Director of Public Prosecutions at the time who gave us an apology but the damage had already been done resulting in the effects that I have already mentioned previously.’

Weir also murdered Rose Seferian, 82, just weeks after the attack on the couple at the home in Marlborough Court, Kensington, she shared with her son and two daughters.

Mr Harris died in hospital on 16 June 1998 while Ms Seferian died a month after she was attacked.

Weir attacked Ms Seferian her in her bedroom, inflicting horrific injuries before ripped three rings from her fingers and taking money from her handbag.

The jewellery included a gold wedding ring with her husband’s initials engraved on it and the date of their marriage; a diamond solitaire gold ring and a silver diamond ring.

Ms Seferian managed to raise the alarm and her son found her covered in blood and ‘almost unrecognisable’ from her injuries.

Sona Seferian, the daughter, said: ‘The magnitude and horror of what happened to our Mum on that day, is indescribable.

‘Our lives became sad because of the way mum died. We have been through pessimistic periods but for the love of our mum, we shake ourselves up and try to be positive to make her proud.

‘We all had a wonderful bond with our mum, she was a kind hearted, loving and gentle, down to earth person, who was very family orientated.

‘We all know that no one is eternal. Death will strike at some point in life but not provoked in such a horrific and senseless way.’

The bald-headed and bearded double killer showed no emotion in the dock as the jury of eight women and four men convicted him of two charges of murder.

Jailing Weir for life with a minimum of 30 years Ms Justice McGowan said: ‘You beat them senseless and left them lying on the floor.

‘They were all vulnerable victims. There was also the matter of the assault of Gertrude Harris.’

Weir was previously convicted of Mr Harris’s murder at the Old Bailey in 1999 and jailed for life, but due to a procedural error the Court of Appeal ruled the verdicts unsafe.

The verdict hinged on crucial DNA evidence found on a bloody glove left behind which was matched to an earlier sample taken from Weir when he was accused of drugs offences in 1997.

But because the sample should have been destroyed when those other allegations were dropped, the Court of Appeal ruled the evidence inadmissible and ordered his release in May 2000.

The CPS then blundered again by missing a crucial deadline to file papers for a House of Lords ruling by a day, meaning Weir would not have to serve the life sentence.

But Weir was then charged with the murder of Ms Seferian in 2017 due to a ‘pot luck’ match of his palm print in 2017 linking him to both scenes.

Police computers matched a print taken from the door handle of Mr Harris’ home and another from a windowpane at Ms Seferian’s flat and linked them to Weir.

The stolen jewellery has never been recovered and police believe Weir sold the cherished items for a few pounds to buy drugs.

Weir has an awful record of violent and sexual offences including the oral rape and indecent assault of a 15-year-od girl after he tricked his way into her own home in 1983.

He has further convictions for theft, burglary in 1978 and assault with intent to rob at a post office in 1990.

The Old Bailey heard he committed another burglary in 2006 and a robbery in 2008 while he was convicted for possession of cannabis in April 2017.

Louise Oakley, prosecuting, said: ‘The aggravating features are vulnerability of both of the victims and the assault of Gertrude Harris.

‘There was suffering by both victims prior to their death in addition to the assaults they sustained and items of significant sentimental value and as far as the Seferian family economic value.’

Weir, of Mare Street, Hackney, east London, denied two counts of murder but was convicted of both.

He was jailed for life on both counts with a minimum of 30 years.

Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Fitzgerald, from the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘Weir literally thought he had got away with murder but he now faces a considerable custodial sentence where he will have significant time to reflect on his utterly callous actions towards two completely innocent victims.’
ends