Latest news with #Smullen
Daily Record
31-07-2025
- Daily Record
Scots killer who stabbed man in heart in love row to go before parole board
The jealous killer stabbed another man through the heart believing he had sex with his girlfriend. A Scots killer who fatally stabbed a young man in the heart believing he slept with his girlfriend is set to go before the parole board again today. On June 4 2019, Robbie Smullen, then aged 23, was convicted of a reduced charge of culpable homicide at Edinburgh High Court after he plunged a knife into Barry Dixon, 22, killing him at a flat in Wallace Court, Perth. He was sentenced to nine years and three months imprisonment. Just six years on, today's appearance before the parole board will be Smullen's second after being denied release in October last year, the Courier reports. He was granted temporary release by the Scottish Prison Service the following month - which means he was allowed unescorted day outings from jail. The family of Barry Dixon have been broken since his death with his aunt Jade Taylor, who helped raise Barry after his parents died, spoking to the Record in the days following the sentence. She said: 'Days on, we are still in utter disbelief and we are hoping for news that the Crown Office will appeal this unduly lenient sentence." "It's never going to be okay that Barry isn't here with us. The pain of missing him and way his life was taken is intolerable. "We are alive but we are no longer living. It's never going to be okay that he isn't here and we will never get over it. "I just hope Barry always knew how loved he was and that he will never be forgotten." Barry was knifed in the chest after going back to the flat with Smullen's 'on/off' partner Shannon Beattie. Smullen was on three different bail orders at the time. During the trial, Smullen claimed the fatal injury was inflicted when Barry pulled a knife on him and they both 'tripped and fell' during a struggle over the weapon. However, the jury rejected his defence of self-defence and returned a majority verdict of culpable homicide. Judge Lady Carmichael said the killer had been 'disinhibited by alcohol and the effects of sexual jealously' and no sentence imposed could 'repair or lessen the harm done to the family of Barry Dixon'. Smullen's mother Mary Smullen had been on trial alongside him and pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice by pretending to police that Barry was stabbed by Ms Beattie. She was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work During the trial, Shannon Beattie told the court she witnessed Smullen stab Barry. She described meeting Barry in another woman's home on the evening of June 3 2019, and they ended up together in her flat where they kissed. Shannon said Smullen arrived home and branded her a 'f*****g s**g' with a fight breaking out between him and Barry before 'Robbie stabbed him in the chest'. Witness Brian Henderson said he'd been at his partner's home near Mary's Smullen's address when Robbie Smullen came to their door, saying: 'I think I've killed someone, I think I've killed someone.' Brian added: '(Robbie) was going on about the boy he killed saying, 'I'm glad I killed him, he's a d**k' or something to that effect.' Barry was taken to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, but suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 5.53am. The Parole Board for Scotland has been contacted for comment. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
ITV News
29-05-2025
- ITV News
Heaven security guard ‘a proven liar' who targeted drunk woman, rape trial told
A Heaven security guard accused of raping a 19-year-old woman is 'a proven liar' who targeted her after realising she was drunk, a court has heard. Morenikeji Adewole, 47, of Dartford, Kent, is on trial accused of raping the teenager in his car near the central London club in the early hours of November 1 2024, which he denies. Jurors were previously told that the woman was visibly drunk and stumbling and that a person can be too intoxicated to give proper consent. Giving her closing speech at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Marion Smullen said the complainant, who cannot be identified, had drunk an unusually high amount of alcohol on the night of the alleged incident, and that Adewole took advantage of her state and 'jolly well knew what he was doing'. She told jurors: 'The only person who was sober that night was Mr Adewole. All of those young people that night had been drinking. 'He targeted somebody that he knew was drunk.' The alleged victim had queued outside the club for around two hours with five friends for a Halloween event but only three of the group were allowed in. Toxicology reports conducted after the alleged incident showed the average alcohol level recorded in the complainant and the group of friends was three-and-a-half times over the legal driving limit, the prosecutor said. Ms Smullen said: 'That young girl did not have capacity. She was so drunk that she did not know what she was doing. 'Mr Adewole could not have had any reasonable belief that she was consenting.' The defendant previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of an identification document with improper intention, and had been employed at Heaven using a false ID under the name Olusola Julius Alabi, the trial previously heard. He also gave a fake name to police when he was arrested and was only correctly identified later through fingerprint evidence. Ms Smullen said the convictions showed Adewole had 'lied consistently' since January 2024, when he began working at the nightclub. '[He is] a proven liar, somebody who is quite happy to lie when it suits him,' the prosecutor said. Jurors were previously played the alleged victim's police interview, in which she told officers she was a Christian who was 'saving herself until marriage' and felt 'violated'. She said she had attempted to push the security guard away when they were together in his car but he carried on and penetrated her vagina. Ms Smullen said the woman's testimony was at complete odds with Adewole's version of events. She told jurors: 'We have got this young girl who has basically decided she doesn't want sex before marriage. 'But according to Mr Adewole, she was desperate for sex, so desperate she throws away her own beliefs in order to have sex with him.' The prosecutor asked members of the jury to consider all the evidence in the case 'with a scientific and careful eye'. Ms Smullen said abrasions identified on and around the complainant's vagina during a medical examination were caused by penetration from the defendant. Adewole claimed in his evidence during the trial that there was sexual activity but he did not have penetrative intercourse with the woman. He added that the woman had earlier told him she was 25 years old but in the car she said she was 19 and he 'stopped immediately'. Stephan Alfred, defending Adewole, compared the security guard's case to 'a Victorian trial of morality' and said the evidence pointed 'far more in the direction of Mr Adewole being accurate than the other way round'. Examining the alleged victim's evidence in his closing speech, he told jurors: 'This young lady professes to remember the conscious bits and does not remember the unconscious bits. 'She does not have a memory of quite a few other significant moments during the course of that evening.' Mr Alfred told jurors that CCTV footage showing the woman getting back into Adewole's car 'in a kindly fashion' did not fit with the actions of someone who had just been raped. He said: 'According to every single one of the friends, she said words to the effect of 'I had sex with the bouncer'. 'Is someone whose aim is to get into the club by 'f****** a bouncer' the sign of someone who lacks the capability of making a choice? 'There is a purpose behind it.' The alleged victim denied making such statements when put to her during her evidence. The barrister asked the jury to consider how Adewole 'puts his hi-vis jacket back on and just saunters back to work' following the alleged offence, suggesting he might try and make himself 'a bit more scarce' if it had occurred. Police were contacted at 2.59pm on November 1 when the alleged victim reported being raped, the trial previously heard. Officers traced Adewole through his car and he was arrested at Heaven nightclub on November 11 2024. The jury retired to consider its verdict on Thursday afternoon.
The Herald Scotland
29-05-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Heaven security guard ‘a proven liar' who targeted drunk woman, rape trial told
Jurors were previously told that the woman was visibly drunk and stumbling and that a person can be too intoxicated to give proper consent. Giving her closing speech at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Marion Smullen said the complainant, who cannot be identified, had drunk an unusually high amount of alcohol on the night of the alleged incident, and that Adewole took advantage of her state and 'jolly well knew what he was doing'. She told jurors: 'The only person who was sober that night was Mr Adewole. All of those young people that night had been drinking. 'He targeted somebody that he knew was drunk.' The alleged victim had queued outside the club for around two hours with five friends for a Halloween event but only three of the group were allowed in. Toxicology reports conducted after the alleged incident showed the average alcohol level recorded in the complainant and the group of friends was three-and-a-half times over the legal driving limit, the prosecutor said. Ms Smullen said: 'That young girl did not have capacity. She was so drunk that she did not know what she was doing. 'Mr Adewole could not have had any reasonable belief that she was consenting.' The defendant previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of an identification document with improper intention, and had been employed at Heaven using a false ID under the name Olusola Julius Alabi, the trial previously heard. He also gave a fake name to police when he was arrested and was only correctly identified later through fingerprint evidence. Ms Smullen said the convictions showed Adewole had 'lied consistently' since January 2024, when he began working at the nightclub. '[He is] a proven liar, somebody who is quite happy to lie when it suits him,' the prosecutor said. Jurors were previously played the alleged victim's police interview, in which she told officers she was a Christian who was 'saving herself until marriage' and felt 'violated'. She said she had attempted to push the security guard away when they were together in his car but he carried on and penetrated her vagina. Ms Smullen said the woman's testimony was at complete odds with Adewole's version of events. She told jurors: 'We have got this young girl who has basically decided she doesn't want sex before marriage. 'But according to Mr Adewole, she was desperate for sex, so desperate she throws away her own beliefs in order to have sex with him.' The prosecutor asked members of the jury to consider all the evidence in the case 'with a scientific and careful eye'. Ms Smullen said abrasions identified on and around the complainant's vagina during a medical examination were caused by penetration from the defendant. Adewole claimed in his evidence during the trial that there was sexual activity but he did not have penetrative intercourse with the woman. He added that the woman had earlier told him she was 25 years old but in the car she said she was 19 and he 'stopped immediately'. Stephan Alfred, defending Adewole, compared the security guard's case to 'a Victorian trial of morality' and said the evidence pointed 'far more in the direction of Mr Adewole being accurate than the other way round'. Examining the alleged victim's evidence in his closing speech, he told jurors: 'This young lady professes to remember the conscious bits and does not remember the unconscious bits. 'She does not have a memory of quite a few other significant moments during the course of that evening.' Mr Alfred told jurors that CCTV footage showing the woman getting back into Adewole's car 'in a kindly fashion' did not fit with the actions of someone who had just been raped. He said: 'According to every single one of the friends, she said words to the effect of 'I had sex with the bouncer'. 'Is someone whose aim is to get into the club by 'f****** a bouncer' the sign of someone who lacks the capability of making a choice? 'There is a purpose behind it.' The alleged victim denied making such statements when put to her during her evidence. The barrister asked the jury to consider how Adewole 'puts his hi-vis jacket back on and just saunters back to work' following the alleged offence, suggesting he might try and make himself 'a bit more scarce' if it had occurred. Police were contacted at 2.59pm on November 1 when the alleged victim reported being raped, the trial previously heard. Officers traced Adewole through his car and he was arrested at Heaven nightclub on November 11 2024. The jury retired to consider its verdict on Thursday afternoon.
Powys County Times
29-05-2025
- Powys County Times
Heaven security guard ‘a proven liar' who targeted drunk woman, rape trial told
A Heaven security guard accused of raping a 19-year-old woman is 'a proven liar' who targeted her after realising she was drunk, a court has heard. Morenikeji Adewole, 47, of Dartford, Kent, is on trial accused of raping the teenager in his car near the central London club in the early hours of November 1 2024, which he denies. Jurors were previously told that the woman was visibly drunk and stumbling and that a person can be too intoxicated to give proper consent. Giving her closing speech at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Marion Smullen said the complainant, who cannot be identified, had drunk an unusually high amount of alcohol on the night of the alleged incident, and that Adewole took advantage of her state and 'jolly well knew what he was doing'. She told jurors: 'The only person who was sober that night was Mr Adewole. All of those young people that night had been drinking. 'He targeted somebody that he knew was drunk.' The alleged victim had queued outside the club for around two hours with five friends for a Halloween event but only three of the group were allowed in. Toxicology reports conducted after the alleged incident showed the average alcohol level recorded in the complainant and the group of friends was three-and-a-half times over the legal driving limit, the prosecutor said. Ms Smullen said: 'That young girl did not have capacity. She was so drunk that she did not know what she was doing. 'Mr Adewole could not have had any reasonable belief that she was consenting.' The defendant previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of an identification document with improper intention, and had been employed at Heaven using a false ID under the name Olusola Julius Alabi, the trial previously heard. He also gave a fake name to police when he was arrested and was only correctly identified later through fingerprint evidence. Ms Smullen said the convictions showed Adewole had 'lied consistently' since January 2024, when he began working at the nightclub. '[He is] a proven liar, somebody who is quite happy to lie when it suits him,' the prosecutor said. Jurors were previously played the alleged victim's police interview, in which she told officers she was a Christian who was 'saving herself until marriage' and felt 'violated'. She said she had attempted to push the security guard away when they were together in his car but he carried on and penetrated her vagina. Ms Smullen said the woman's testimony was at complete odds with Adewole's version of events. She told jurors: 'We have got this young girl who has basically decided she doesn't want sex before marriage. 'But according to Mr Adewole, she was desperate for sex, so desperate she throws away her own beliefs in order to have sex with him.' The prosecutor asked members of the jury to consider all the evidence in the case 'with a scientific and careful eye'. Ms Smullen said abrasions identified on and around the complainant's vagina during a medical examination were caused by penetration from the defendant. Adewole claimed in his evidence during the trial that there was sexual activity but he did not have penetrative intercourse with the woman. Police were contacted at 2.59pm on November 1 when the alleged victim reported being raped, the trial previously heard. Officers traced Adewole through his car and he was arrested at Heaven nightclub on November 11 2024.
North Wales Chronicle
29-05-2025
- North Wales Chronicle
Heaven security guard ‘a proven liar' who targeted drunk woman, rape trial told
Morenikeji Adewole, 47, of Dartford, Kent, is on trial accused of raping the teenager in his car near the central London club in the early hours of November 1 2024, which he denies. Jurors were previously told that the woman was visibly drunk and stumbling and that a person can be too intoxicated to give proper consent. Giving her closing speech at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Marion Smullen said the complainant, who cannot be identified, had drunk an unusually high amount of alcohol on the night of the alleged incident, and that Adewole took advantage of her state and 'jolly well knew what he was doing'. She told jurors: 'The only person who was sober that night was Mr Adewole. All of those young people that night had been drinking. 'He targeted somebody that he knew was drunk.' The alleged victim had queued outside the club for around two hours with five friends for a Halloween event but only three of the group were allowed in. Toxicology reports conducted after the alleged incident showed the average alcohol level recorded in the complainant and the group of friends was three-and-a-half times over the legal driving limit, the prosecutor said. Ms Smullen said: 'That young girl did not have capacity. She was so drunk that she did not know what she was doing. 'Mr Adewole could not have had any reasonable belief that she was consenting.' The defendant previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of an identification document with improper intention, and had been employed at Heaven using a false ID under the name Olusola Julius Alabi, the trial previously heard. He also gave a fake name to police when he was arrested and was only correctly identified later through fingerprint evidence. Ms Smullen said the convictions showed Adewole had 'lied consistently' since January 2024, when he began working at the nightclub. '[He is] a proven liar, somebody who is quite happy to lie when it suits him,' the prosecutor said. Jurors were previously played the alleged victim's police interview, in which she told officers she was a Christian who was 'saving herself until marriage' and felt 'violated'. She said she had attempted to push the security guard away when they were together in his car but he carried on and penetrated her vagina. Ms Smullen said the woman's testimony was at complete odds with Adewole's version of events. She told jurors: 'We have got this young girl who has basically decided she doesn't want sex before marriage. 'But according to Mr Adewole, she was desperate for sex, so desperate she throws away her own beliefs in order to have sex with him.' The prosecutor asked members of the jury to consider all the evidence in the case 'with a scientific and careful eye'. Ms Smullen said abrasions identified on and around the complainant's vagina during a medical examination were caused by penetration from the defendant. Adewole claimed in his evidence during the trial that there was sexual activity but he did not have penetrative intercourse with the woman. Police were contacted at 2.59pm on November 1 when the alleged victim reported being raped, the trial previously heard. Officers traced Adewole through his car and he was arrested at Heaven nightclub on November 11 2024. The trial continues.
