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Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman: Met PCs jailed for crime scene images

Henry/Smallman family Bibaa Henry and Nicole SmallmanHenry/Smallman family
Bibaa Henry (left) and Nicole Smallman were found in bushes at Fryent Country Park in Wembley

A pair of Met Police constables who took photos of two murdered sisters and shared the images on WhatsApp groups have each been jailed for 33 months.

PCs Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis were sent to guard the scene where the bodies of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry were found in June 2020.

While at Fryent Country Park, they left their post to take photos of the women.

What the men did was a "betrayal of catastrophic proportions", the sisters' mother said in an impact statement.

Ms Henry, 46, and Ms Smallman, 27, had been celebrating Ms Henry's birthday at the park in Wembley, north-west London, when they were repeatedly stabbed by Danyal Hussein.

Hussain, 19, from Blackheath, was found guilty of murdering them and jailed for a minimum of 35 years in October.

Met Police Deniz Jaffer and Jamie LewisMet Police
Deniz Jaffer (left) and Jamie Lewis had undermined trust and faith in the police, a judge at the Old Bailey said

At the sentencing hearing - both men had previously admitted misconduct in a public office - Judge Mark Lucraft QC rejected an appeal for the officers to be spared custody and condemned their "appalling and inexplicable conduct".

The men disregarded the victims' privacy for "a cheap thrill" or "some form of bragging rights", which undermined trust and faith in the police, the judge said.

In victim impact statements read out at the Old Bailey, family members described the defendants as a "disgrace" to the police family and to mankind.

The women's mother, Mina Smallman, said the pair's behaviour amounted to a "sacrilegious act".

Murdered sisters' mother Mina Smallman: "We are part of the change that's going to come in the police force"

Last month, a Met Police tribunal heard Jaffer and Lewis had described the sisters as "dead birds".

During the night of 8 June, Jaffer took four pictures of their bodies in situ and Lewis took two, and superimposed his face on to one of them to create a "selfie-style" image.

Jaffer sent an inexperienced officer photographs of the sisters' bodies as they lay intertwined in the bushes.

He then showed images to two other officers, including a probationary officer he was supposed to be mentoring.

Mina Smallman says there is "no peace" without her daughters, Nicole and Bibaa, who were murdered last year

On 19 June 2020, an anonymous tip-off about Lewis was given to the police watchdog. Jaffer was arrested three days later.

The defendants were members of a WhatsApp group called A Team, comprised of 41 Met officers.

Jaffer was also in a WhatsApp group with nine people who were not in the force.

Shortly after arriving on the scene, Lewis posted to the A Team group an article about the discovery of the bodies, saying he and his colleagues were "living the Wembley dream".

Lewis wrote: "Unfortunately I'm sat next to two dead birds full of stab wounds."

Met Police/PA Media Bibaa Henry (L) and Nicole Smallman (R) - photo taken on night of killingsMet Police/PA Media
Ms Henry and Ms Smallman had been celebrating the older sister's birthday on the night they were killed

Jaffer posted on the smaller WhatsApp group: "I have pictures of the two dead victims. Let me know who doesn't want to see."

Jaffer also sent a photo of the bodies to a former colleague with the message: "This is what I have to deal with," while Lewis sent WhatsApp messages about the sisters to seven people who were not police officers.

Both men have already been sacked by the Met Police.