Kemi Adeyoola

Background

Kemi Adeyoola was convicted of murdering 84-year-old Anne Mendel. Adeyoola had previously served time in Bullwood Hall young offenders’ institute and had written an eighteen-page outline on how to rob and kill elderly people so she could get rich. The document was entitled "Prison and After: Making Life Count" and was uncovered during a search of her cell.

Anne Mendel was a frail 84-year-old. She was found injured in the hallway of her home after Leonard Mendel opened the front door. Leonard Mendel was an 81-year-old retired postal worker who discovered his wife lying injured in the hallway and later watched her succumb to her injuries.

The offence

In March 2005, Anne Mendel received fourteen stab wounds and was injured in the hallway of her home in Golders Green. The murder occurred at her home in Golders Green, in north-west London. The attack was carried out during a burglary at her home.

During the trial, the court heard that Adeyoola had chosen Mrs Mendel as a "soft target" and the prosecution said the plan involved robbing an elderly victim and killing her. The prosecution described Mrs Mendel as "a rich, elderly and defenceless" woman to kill for her money.

Investigation

DNA profiling of traces found on Mrs Mendel led police to Kemi Adeyoola, a former neighbour of the Mendels.

During her trial, Adeyoola claimed the eighteen-page outline was a crime novel she was writing and that she had an alibi on the day of the murder. She also claimed her DNA had got on Mrs Mendel’s hand when she had scratched it trying to help her cross the road the previous day.

At trial, the prosecution asserted that the document was a blueprint for future crimes. The jury preferred the prosecution’s view. The Old Bailey heard that staff at Bullwood Hall had found the blueprint during a search of her cell.

A psychiatrist later carried out after the discovery of the document said there was nothing to suggest she was capable of such violence, and it did not predict any likely occurrence of this. Barnet Youth Offending Team said once supervision was completed there was no mechanism for stopping her re-offending.

Arrest

After the murder, Adeyoola was arrested and remanded in custody to await sentencing. She was also remanded in custody to await sentencing next month.

Trial

At her trial at the Old Bailey, Adeyoola tried to claim that the document was a crime novel she was writing and that she had an alibi on the day of the murder. She insisted the notes were not evidence of murderous intent.

Adeyoola was found guilty on 26th June 2006. The jury found eighteen-year-old Adeyoola guilty.

Henry Blaxland QC, defending, said:

"The court has before it somebody who is, on the face of it, emotionally damaged. "She finds herself utterly alone in the world given that her family have entirely washed their hands of her."

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Morris called her "a callous and devious young woman" and said:

"Her cold, calculated use of extreme violence beggars belief."

A psychiatrist at trial was described as saying Adeyoola was defensive, arrogant and assertive. Lydia Sear said:

"There was concern what was behind it. She would not explain herself."

When asked about what she intended to do before writing the book, Adeyoola said:

"I want it back - it's a story"

The psychiatric report carried out after the discovery of the document said:

"The psychiatric report did not predict any likely occurrence of this," said a spokesman for Barnet Youth Offending Team.

Presiding Judge Richard Hone QC said Adeyoola was:

"You are a remorseless and cold-blooded killer who is a danger to the public,"

Judge Richard Hone said:

"I think you actually wanted to experience what it felt like to kill someone in cold blood, possibly so you could write about it, but more probably so you could boast about it and possibly even do it again."

Judge Richard Hone said he had had the opportunity to observe Adeyoola’s:

"performance" during the trial

Judge Richard Hone told her:

"You are intelligent, manipulative and skilled in deceit way beyond your years,"

Sentencing

On June 27, 2006, Adeyoola was sentenced to life imprisonment with the recommendation that she serve a minimum of twenty years.

A minimum sentence of 20 years was set.

Outcome

Kemi Adeyoola was convicted of murdering 84-year-old Anne Mendel after a burglary at her home in Golders Green in March 2005.

Other details

The handwritten notes were described as "Prison and After. Making Life Count" and as containing detailed plans to kill and dispose of a victim. The manual included plans to find a wealthy, elderly and defenceless victim to rob and kill, and it described stalking and attacking the victim.

Sir Allan Green, QC prosecuting, said:

"We say there is written evidence that Kemi had earlier written out plans to murder an elderly woman and steal from that woman's home,"

The prosecution listed items required for the plan, including guns, silencers, bullet-proof vests, drugs, two sharp knives, a Jamie Oliver baby blue scooter, and handcuffs.

The notes described visiting potential victims disguised as an A-level student from a nearby school, and they described attacking under the cover of darkness with a knife held against the victim’s throat. The notes also described injecting a victim with a tranquiliser, quizzing her about bank account PINs and safe combinations, forcing her to write a letter telling her husband she was leaving him for someone else, and then killing her. The notes described cutting off the victim’s head and limbs with a butcher’s knife, wrapping them in cling film and black bags, and dumping them in bins.

An alternative plan described in the notes involved driving the victim to the top of a cliff, slitting her throat, setting fire to the car, and sending it over the edge.

Defensive and arrogant Adeyoola had been quizzed by prison authorities who were concerned after finding the notes at Bullwood Hall. Lydia Sear said:

"She was defensive, arrogant and assertive. She was asked 'Is this something you are going to do?' " and that Adeyoola said: "She said: 'I want it back - it's a story'. I asked whether she had considered what the intention was before writing the book. " and that: "She refused to answer. She left the room."

Barnet Youth Offending Team said after a psychiatric assessment carried out after the discovery of the document:

"did not indicate any concern that Miss Adeyoola would be pre-disposed in any way to this type of violence - nor was there any evidence of this type of violence in her past"

The report described Adeyoola as:

"a highly intelligent and sophisticated young person . . . who with good support should make a good recovery and engage in her A level studies."

After her release in November 2004, Adeyoola moved into an £800-a-month Hampstead flat with another teenager and said she paid the rent by working as a £500 a night "escort". She said:

"It is a completely legitimate and professional business. We earned up to £5,000 a week,"

Police sources described finding sex toys when Adeyoola’s flat was raided after arrest. The police source said:

"There were several vibrators, nipple clamps, lesbian pornographic magazines, edible underwear made of candy, revealing outfits, handcuffs - all sorts of equipment,"

Police also discovered piles of stolen designer clothes and a book entitled Great Crimes.

The trial heard about Adeyoola’s earlier criminal history, including shoplifting and convictions for theft, leading to a custodial sentence.

The court heard that Adeyoola was charged with two counts of peverting the course of justice after being taped setting up a bogus alibi for the murder with a 16-year-old accomplice. She and the 16-year-old accomplice were convicted on one of those counts.

Detective Inspector Steve Morris described the case after the verdict as:

"a wicked, premeditated murder committed by a callous, devious young woman and her cold, calculated use of extreme violence beggars belief"

Bola Adeyoola, described as Adeyoola’s father and a property management company operator, said:

"What she did was evil."

In court, it was said that Leonard Mendel found his wife covered in coats in the hallway, and he tried to give her the kiss of life when he returned from an errand to find the hall phone wires cut and blood on the walls.

Leonard Mendel described his wife’s life of kindness and giving up of herself to others, saying:

"The unjust end she met, having so much taken away in such an undeserving manner, left us in total shock."

A neighbour said Adeyoola had allowed the girl to into her house after she locked herself out, and neighbours also described harassment and trouble she caused to residents and a specific incident involving an Asian neighbour.

Adeyoola was described as having written her notes while serving time at Bullwood Hall young offenders’ institute and staff unearthed them during an inspection of her cell in October 2004. The young offenders’ institution where the notes were found was Bullwood Hall young offenders’ institute in Essex.

Kemi Adeyoola was described as from Camden, north London, in the reporting. She was described as an 18-year-old former public schoolgirl in some reporting and as a teenager who had been privately educated and left school with no qualifications. She was also described as having attended Wycliffe College briefly.

Adeyoola was described as having been supervised by a monitoring team set up for three months after her release, and psychiatrists decided she did not pose a risk. The reporting said a council monitoring team supervised her for three months after her release.

The reporting described a plan to "make £3m" and also described aims of "make £2,000" to furnish her apartment, as well as buying a Mercedes and clothes and DVDs.