THE SEARCH GOES ON
12 NEWS
www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
Southwark News, Thursday November 13, 2014
POLICE STILL HUNTING MISSING SUSPECTS IN CHRIS FOSTER CASE
Four face jail as trial finishes
CCTV footage from the alleyway outside St Christopher’s Inn shows the moment Chris was stabbed
By Amelia Burr amelia@southwarknews.co.uk POLICE ARE still hunting two missing suspects in the Chris Foster case, an investigating officer confirmed to the News this week. One man is still to be identified and the other they hope to extradite back to Britain after he is said to have fled abroad following the incident. Four men are facing “substantial prison sentences”, according to investigating officer Detective Inspector Rob Pack, after the four week trial concluded last week into the botched revenge attack, which put a single father in an early grave. One man pleaded guilty to Chris’s murder and faces life in prison at the sentencing hearing likely to take place tomorrow, while three others pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause GBH to another man. While the unsuspecting 34-year-old was enjoying a drink with his best mate, Danny Murphy, at St Christopher’s Inn, a gang of seven men can be seen on CCTV just after 11.30pm gathering in a passage nearby, their faces hidden by hoods and scarves. Witnesses told the police that the gang were carrying a baseball bat and the murder weapon – a fourteen inch knife - when they entered the alleyway outside the pub in single file. “They clock someone they think is the person they are looking for, then the second person in the line pulls the knife and stabs him in the back,” said DI Pack. During the Old Bailey trial the gang were described as being "pumped-up" with one of them shouting ''Who f***ing wants it?'' before Danny heard Chris say ''Why did you do that?'' in an attack he described to the jury as “completely out of the blue.” The men at the front of the line then saw their intended victim, who had allegedly slashed one of the gang in the face months earlier, run away and they gave chase. Not one of them stopped to see if Chris was in trouble as he lay
The gang of seven hooded men seen gathering nearby before the botched revenge attack
Aytach Lisani ... to be sentenced after pleading guilty to the murder of Chris Foster
Ali Lisani ... to be sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm to Harry Saunders
Billy Dove ... to be sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm to Harry Saunders
Rocky Djelal ... to be sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm to Harry Saunders
dying in Danny’s arms. Little over an hour later Chris was pronounced dead at the Royal London Hospital, but the bungled revenge attack was already unravelling on the seven. They had chased their intended victim to Belushi’s nightclub, where the bouncers had hidden him. The doormen
gave details to the police, and from this evidence a suspect list was drawn up. The jury were shown mobile phone records of defendant Billy Dove, who had seen the ‘other man’, said to be Harry Saunders, close to St Christopher's Inn that night. The court heard how Dove then called Ayden
Salih, who it is believed was attacked by Saunders in September last year. “There was an incident between Salih and another person. They were looking for an opportunity to seek revenge for that. They were clearly intent on doing harm to the person they were looking for,” said DI Pack. “It was an absolute
devastating travesty that Chris Foster lost his life that night.” “There was a degree of planning and sophistication here but someone has still been found guilty of murder and others of conspiracy to grievous bodily harm and I suspect they will be receiving substantial prison sentences for that,” he added. Six men were initially charged with the murder, but not all of them were suspected of being in the alleyway that night. After Aytach Lisani pleaded guilty to murder on the first day of the trial, in what DI Pack described as a “complete surprise” to the police, the charges against the other five were reduced to conspiracy to grievous bodily harm to Harry Saunders. Three pleaded guilty and the other two were acquitted on Friday. There are still two men at large, who the police suspect were in the alleyway that night but DI Pack is determined to bring them to justice. Ayden Salih, who was alleged attacked by Harry Saunders, fled abroad after the killing and police are hoping to extradite him back. The police are still to establish the other missing suspect identity. Aytach Lisani, 33, who now lives in Sir Francis Way, Brentwood, will be sentenced for murder at The Old Bailey this week. His brother Ali Lisani, 38, of Nevendon Road, Basildon, will also be sentenced for conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm to Harry Saunders alongside Billy Dove, 30 of Setchell Way, Bermondsey and Rocky Djelal, 34 of Layard Square, Bermondsey. Ricky Huggins, 30, of Dunlop Place, Bermondsey, and Mohammed Aalamani, 30, of Arden Crescent, Canary Wharf, were both acquitted of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm to Harry Saunders on Friday last week. Joanna Stevens, 33 of Frean Street, Bermondsey, and Michael Gore, 55 of Manor Estate, Bermondsey were also acquitted of perverting the course of justice.