Viktor Dembovskis

Case overview

Viktor Dembovskis was convicted of murdering Jeshma Raithatha, 17, in 2005 after she walked home from school. He was jailed in Latvia twice for rape before his UK case. In May 2006, jurors convicted him of murder and two counts of rape, and the court sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Timeline

• 2005-05-16 — Jeshma Raithatha was attacked as she walked from school to her home in Sudbury Hill, west London, after shopping at Wembley High Road.
• 2005-05-16 — Jeshma was reported missing by her parents after failing to return home from school.
• 2005-05-22 — Police believed Jeshma was murdered around 22 May.
• 2005-05-23 — Police believed she was abducted, taken to a secluded wooded “den”, raped and stabbed three times through the heart.
• 2005-05 — Jeshma Raithatha’s partially clothed body was found in dense undergrowth at the back of a leisure centre.
• 2005 — Viktor Dembovskis fled the country four days later after realising he had left his keys at the murder scene.
• 2009-04-07 — Nishma Raithatha fell from a multi-storey car park at St George’s shopping centre in Harrow, north west London; she was found by police and pronounced dead at the scene less than an hour later, with multiple injuries given as the cause of death.
• 2009-04-24 — An inquest into Nishma Raithatha heard evidence and recorded a narrative verdict.
• 2006-03-28 — Dembovskis was sentenced to life in prison.
• 2006-05 — The court gave Dembovskis three life sentences at the Old Bailey.

The offence

Jeshma Raithatha, 17, an A-level student, was abducted as she walked from school to her home in Greenford, west London. Police described the attack as a “random attack” as she walked home from school on 16 May 2005. Jurors heard that Dembovskis laid in wait for Jeshma, choosing a “den” in thick undergrowth where he would not be seen.

Jeshma was repeatedly sexually assaulted; jurors heard she was raped while unconscious. She was strangled, raped and then stabbed to death. Police said she was stabbed three times through the heart, and that her body was left undiscovered for eight days.

Blood-stained necklaces were stolen from Jeshma. Swabs taken from Jeshma matched Dembovskis’ DNA. Two blood-stained necklaces were found in a fleece jacket left at his home.

Victims and their family

Jeshma Raithatha was the victim of the murder and rape. Nishma Raithatha, 15 (younger sister of Jeshma), later died after falling from a car park. Her inquest heard that she suffered depression after Jeshma’s death.

Nishma’s family included engineer Suresh and admin clerk Manjula Raithatha, and their brother Trishul. Relatives in court included Nishma’s mother, aunt and brother.

Investigation

Police initially believed Jeshma died six days later, but later believed she was murdered on the day she disappeared. Police thought she was grabbed by a stranger, taken to a secluded wooded “den”, raped and stabbed three times through the heart.

Detectives searched the area and continued to look for a man who lived near Jeshma but had gone missing from his home. Officers searched the suspect’s and two other houses in Dimmock Drive.

Police described details of Jeshma’s last movements. Jeshma left at 1300 BST, catching the bus to Wembley High Road, where she went shopping in Primark and TownCity. She then got the 92 bus back to Sudbury Hill, arriving at about 1500 BST, then took a footpath through the wooded area where she was killed. Police said the area was still being searched for clues and that detectives planned to release CCTV footage of Jeshma shopping on Wembley High Road.

Arrest / extradition

Latvian authorities said that Viktor Dembovskis, wanted over the rape and murder of Jeshma Raithatha, would be extradited to the UK. He was in custody in Preile, south-east Latvia, and worked in a carwash in London.

He was arrested after he was discovered in his home town of Livani, in eastern Latvia, earlier that month. Scotland Yard detectives were joined by Interpol and Latvian authorities in the hunt.

Police said Jeshma had been missing since 16 May 2005 after she failed to return home from school, and that it was eight days before her body was found.

Dembovskis denied the allegations.

Trial

At the Old Bailey, jurors took three hours to find Dembovskis guilty of murder and two counts of rape.

Jurors heard Dembovskis was living near Jeshma’s family home in Greenford. The court also heard that Dembovskis had twice been convicted of raping women at knifepoint in Latvia (including convictions in 1990 and 1999). The court heard he had a “propensity” to sexually assault women.

Sentencing

Judge Peter Beaumont sentenced Dembovskis at the Old Bailey and said he would never be released. Dembovskis received three life sentences.

Judge Peter Beaumont told Dembovskis:

"You have not displayed one jot of remorse for the appalling crimes you committed against that girl or the consequences to her family. "You have twisted, lied and cast about for any excuse you could think of to avoid your responsibility for the abduction of a 17-year-old girl as she made her way home in broad daylight."

Appeals

The Latvian suspect had 10 days to appeal against the ruling to extradite him. If Dembovskis decided to appeal, it could take up to one month for a court to make a final ruling.

Outcome

Dembovskis was sentenced to life in prison on March 28, 2006.

The court gave Dembovskis three life sentences at the Old Bailey in May 2006 after he was convicted of murder and two counts of rape.

Aftermath

Nishma Raithatha died after falling from a multi-storey car park at St George’s shopping centre in Harrow, north west London. Scotland Yard said her death was not being treated as suspicious.

An inquest heard that Nishma never came to terms with the loss of her sister Jeshma, who had been murdered. The inquest recorded a narrative verdict.

Coroner Andrew Walker said:

"Nishma fell from a building to her death. She had never come to terms with the loss of her sister who had been murdered and this had made her unwell. " "I know there is nothing I will ever be able to say to comfort you for a loss of this magnitude. " "One thing I can is that Nishma was looked after by her family and given every support through this illness. She could not have had better support from her family and friends. " "The loss of one child is devastating - the loss of two I can only begin to think how devastating that might be."

Coroner Andrew Walker also said:

"Recording his verdict, he said before recording a suicide verdict he had to be sure that the person intended to take their own life. He said: 'I am very much moved from what I have read in the notes left by Nishma and having read them I can't be satisfied so I am sure that her death was a suicide. 'In my judgement she did not kill herself.'"

A report from GP Genevieve Small said that over the last two years they had tried to help Nishma recover from depression.

Relatives issued a statement after the inquest. The statement said:

"We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful and talented daughter Nishma. 'Nishma found it very difficult to come to terms with her older sister Jeshma's death. 'Nishma was loved by her family and friends, receiving continuous care and support to deal with the trauma of losing her sister. House moves and family trips abroad helped her deal with her grief, however this proved only temporary. 'We have lost two beautiful daughters as a consequence of Jeshma's murderer, who came to Britain with a violent past. 'We try to console ourselves in the belief that Nishma and Jeshma are together in a better place where there is no evil, and pain cannot touch their tender hearts. 'We are satisfied with the coroner's verdict announced today at the inquest into Nishma's death. 'The family continue to grieve and kindly request the press to allow us some privacy, so we are able to get back to some sort of normality, if that is ever possible.'"

Other details

Jeshma’s aunt, speaking to BBC News, said:

"There has been a lot of speculation recently, a lot of it wrong, but a random attack is something we had been thinking about. "We just now hope they catch her killer. "Jeshma was a young, smart funny, bubbly girl with everything to look forward to. All that has now been snatched away."

Police said Jeshma’s disappearance was out of character. Jeshma’s mother and father said:

"The family is devastated and is distressed at this time and request that the media now respect our privacy and allow us to grieve in peace. "Our beautiful and loving daughter has been taken away from us by an evil person. "If anyone has seen or knows anything that will help catch her killer please contact police."

Det Ch Supt Andy Murphy said:

"She did not have a complicated life in any way, shape or form. It appears she was the victim of a random attack."

Det Supt Sue Hill said:

"'This is a very tragic case, and a very distressing time for Jeshma's family and friends," she said. "We are working hard to collect the facts and evidence that will help us solve this case."

Staff at Claremont High School, Kenton, where both girls were pupils, said Nishma’s death was “tragic loss” and the school would take a “great deal of time” to come to terms with it. The headteacher, Terry Molloy, said:

"We have lost a valued member of our community. We would like to pay tribute to Nishma's spirit and her all too rarely seen sense of humour. "Nishma had clearly fought a long and personally distressing battle to accept the loss of her older sister. It was clear to her teachers that she carried this loss with her throughout her time in school."

A relative said:

"Nishma never recovered from her sister's death. With the anniversary coming up it just became too difficult for her. Her parents tried to help. It should not happen to a family once, but it has happened to our family twice."

Detect Insp John Crossley, the investigating officer, paid tribute to the family’s bravery and dignity and said:

"Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Dembovskis has fought the case all the way putting the family through the trauma of a trial."