The victim, who was studying at Brighton’s abandoned building on New Year’s Eve, was beat unconscious and stripped naked by the killers.
24-year-old Billy Henham was the victim of a’sustained and substantial’ attack in the abandoned building on January 1, 2020.
The police found the body of his lifeless, battered corpse on their roof terrace in the old city office block the next day.
Gregory Hawley (28), Lamech GordonCarew (20), Dushane Medle (27) and Alize Spence (18) are all on trial for his murder. All four have pleaded not guilty.
Today’s jury heard that one of the defendants was laughing about the attack. Hawley, meanwhile, allegedly admitted to stripping Billy and dousing him with bleach before throwing him out of an open window.
According to testimony, Billy was attacked in the torture room. A witness told court that Hawley said he needed to clean it up as someone had been badly hurt. He also stated to the court that he claimed that he must have finished him off since he remembered my name.
Billy Henham from Henfield (West Sussex), was stripped naked, beaten and thrown out a window of an abandoned building. Maidstone Crown Court heard.
24-year-old Henham was seen singing, dancing, and smiling at a club in the city just hours before the deadly attack at the old building.
Maidstone Crown Court learned that the victim had sustained 11 rib fractures as well as extensive bruising and cuts to his scalp, neck and head. They were all consistent in being kicked, punched and stamped on.
Henham lived in Henfield with his parents, West Sussex. Prosecutors say he could have survived for as long as an hour following the incident. Henham also had a damaged wooden stair spindle.
Later, Meikle found two deleted photographs of him – one partly clothed and the other naked – on his phone.
Henham was a student at Ravensbourne University, south east London. He had enjoyed Christmas with his family, but wanted to bring in the new year in an ‘energetic atmosphere.
Pictured Billy was described by his family as ‘gentle, kind and peaceful’
He had been to both a club and an off-licence. However, he arrived at North Street party sometime after 4:30am on January 1. But he was quickly killed, Maidstone Crown Court in Kent was informed.
Phillip Mallia, one of those who squatted in the North Street building’s four-storey atrium was among them.
Giving evidence at the trial on Friday, he recalled hearing screams from ‘someone in pain’ from inside a room before the door opened and he was told by a man to ‘F*** off’.
28-year-old Mr Mallia described seeing Hawley a few hours later. He was said to be in charge of the squat with bleach bottles and cloth a mere few feet away.
“Gregory” said, “I have to wash up the blood of someone who was seriously injured last night.”
Mr Mallia said, “He was going to the torture chamber. That’s where I heard the screaming.”
In a second conversation, Mallia recalled that Hawley had told him about a shooting and then how Hawley had described his efforts to erase any evidence.
“Gregory stated that we could not stay there.” I asked “Why?” I said, “Why?” and he replied that he had killed someone the night before.
Pictured: Police officers on the scene following Mr Henham’s death at Brighton building
“Yeah, mate. Whatever.” He said to the jury, “I didn’t believe him.”
“He stated that we had killed somebody last night. It was not me, it was We. The man said that we could not stay there. He then said, “We must finish him off because I heard his name.” “Someone said my name.”
‘I thought he was chatting s**t, just talking out his a**e….He said “We stripped the body naked and I poured bleach all over the body to get rid of everybody’s DNA”.’
Mallia said that Hawley described the way Mr Henham died and that he even asked him whether he would like to see his corpse.
I said, “You are mad”, but he didn’t believe me. It was a boastful act ….He claimed that he stripped off the body and then poured bleach on it. The body was then thrown out the third floor window.
“He invited me see the body. I refused to go. He was lying to me, but I wasn’t believing him. Although I was convinced he was lying to me, it is not true.
Jurors were informed that Billy’s murderer boasted of what they did after the attack and then moved to a new squat. Pictured: The disused building that Billy was found in
A judge heard that everyone was now living in a second house nearby.
Gordon-Carew was also there, which Mr Mallia called “Els” and Spence who he called “Mask”.
‘Mask was bragging about their actions to Billy who I now recognize as my son, Els,” Mr Mallia said.
They stated that “we took him to a place, beat him up and we kicked and punched him.”
In police identity procedures, Mallia picked Hawley Gordon-Carew out and Meikle. Meikle was referred to as “well-spoken” by him. He also claimed that he had instructed him to leave the area in the’screaming rooms’.
Prosecutor James Mulholland, QC, told the jury at the beginning of the trial that while Mr Henham’s motive was not clear, the four defendants were involved in the attack on New Year’s Day 2020.
The trial at Maidstone Crown Court will last approximately six weeks and all four defendants deny the murder.
He said that William Henham had been subject to sustained assault, before his body was thrown over a balcony. He was then found naked on an outdoor rooftop terrace on his stomach.
“The prosecution argues that William Henham was attacked physically by each of the defendants or they were involved in encouraging or helping others to do the same.
“Each of them intended to inflict at least very serious injuries and are therefore all guilty.
According to court testimony, forensic evidence indicated that the assault had actually started on the second story of the building. A bleeding Mr Henham was then taken to the 1st-floor to be beaten.
This was the room Mr Mallia called ‘the torture room’ or a’screaming area’ in his testimony.
Even though experts later found evidence linking the defendants with the murder via their DNA and fingerprints as well as bloodstained clothing, trainer marks, Mulholland said that the defendants had demonstrated a significant amount of forensic knowledge in covering their tracks.
According to the court, Mr Henham had been stripped of his clothes (of which, only his trainers) and his body cleaned. Some areas of bloodstaining were also allegedly diluted.
According to Hawley, the traces of disinfectant found in his hair are ‘indistinguishable” from the liquid contained in the bottle in which Hawley’s DNA were discovered.
Gordon-Carew of Cheeseman Close in Hampton, Middlesex. Hawley of no fixed adress, Meikle of Amberley Drive. Hove and Spence of Makepeace Road. Northolt. Middlesex. All deny the commission of murder.
They are expected to remain in court for at least six more weeks.