Wembley park stabbing deaths: Sisters killed in 'sacrificial deal'

A man accused of killing two sisters "promised to sacrifice" women in order to win the lottery, a court has heard.

Danyal Hussein, 19, repeatedly stabbed Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, in a Wembley park on 6 June last year, the Old Bailey was told.

Police who searched his room found a note purporting to be an agreement between the teenager and a demon, the prosecution said.

Mr Hussein, of Blackheath, south-east London, denies murder.

Ms Henry was stabbed eight times while Ms Smallman was stabbed 28 times. They had been in Fryent Country Park with friends celebrating Ms Henry's birthday.

Opening the case, prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC said of the defendant: "He promised to sacrifice women in order to win the lottery and not to be suspected of the crimes he had committed.

"It would appear that the defendant had confidence that his plan would work since following the fatal attacks upon Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, the defendant purchased several lottery tickets and there were three lottery tickets folded up inside the note [found in his room].

"As it turned out, the demon did not come good on the bargain, since not only did the defendant not win the lottery but the police identified all the evidence that links him to these two murders."

The sisters had enjoyed Ms Henry's birthday celebrations so much that they decided to stay on at the park after their friends had left, the trial heard. They lit fairy lights, listened to music and danced.

Jurors were shown pictures of Ms Smallman and Ms Henry dancing with the lights shortly before they were attacked. Several photographs were taken in a burst, the prosecutor said.

The last photo, taken at 01:13 BST, shows the women looking to their left as if distracted by something, Mr Glasgow said.

"Whether this was the defendant who had crept up on them is unclear, but there is no doubt that he was in the park that evening and that he attacked them," he added.

When the sisters failed to come home, their loved ones became concerned and some of their friends went to the park to look for them.

Police were alerted after the women's glasses were discovered and soon after a knife was found lying in the grass.

Adam Stone, a friend of the sisters, was still on the phone to the police when he found their bodies.

Mr Glasgow told the jury: "He ran towards the trees, forced his way through the bushes and this was when he discovered the two bodies."

Mr Glasgow suggested Ms Henry was taken by surprise and overpowered first, then Ms Smallman tried to fight off her attacker.

"Once the two sisters had been brutally murdered, their killer dragged their bodies across the grass and concealed them in a hedgerow," he said.

The court heard that a combination of forensic evidence and CCTV footage led police to Mr Hussein.

His DNA was at the scene, on the bodies of the victims and on a bloodstained knife found nearby, the jury heard.

The teenager, who had bought a set of knives from Asda in the days before the attack, went to hospital the day after the killings, the Old Bailey was told. He had cuts to his hand from a knife.

Jurors were told more about the note found on a glass table in his bedroom when police searched his home.

In it, he expressed intentions to sacrifice six women every six months in exchange for winning the Mega Millions Super Jackpot, the court heard.

Mr Glasgow said Mr Hussein denied that he wrote the note.

"Given it was found in his bedroom, has his finger and thumbprints upon it, and is signed in his name and in his blood, the identity of the author may not prove difficult to discern," Mr Glasgow added.

The trial, which is set to last four weeks, continues.