Latest news with #andRoseWest
Cosmopolitan
6 days ago
- Cosmopolitan
Netflix's Body in the Bin documentary: Where are Louise Kam's killers now?
Netflix has no shortage of addictive true crime series to sink your teeth in to; from the Trainwreck series, which follows topics such as the rise and fall of American Apparel, to the must-see Fred and Rose West documentary, there's plenty to pick from when you fancy a thought-provoking binge. One of the most popular films right now is Body in the Bin: The Murder of Louise Kam, which tells the horrifying story of how two men plotted to defraud a 71-year-old out of two of her properties – which resulted in her murder, and Louise's body being unceremoniously dumped into a wheelie bin. Here, we look at the events which led to Louise Kam's awful death, and what happened to the perpetrators of such a heinous crime. A property developer based in Hertfordshire, Louise Kam had a significant portfolio, which included a house in Barnet, North London, worth over £1.3 million. She also owned a shop in Willesden, which had a number of flats above it. In July 2021, Louise was reported missing by family – her son, Greg, received a text from his mother saying she had gone to China, but was suspicious by the sudden nature of the text and the way it was written. Louise's BMW was recovered at the end of the month, and on 1 August, her body was found in a wheelie bin on a residential driveway. In August, police released the names of Kusai Al-Jundi and Mohamed El-Abboud, who had been charged with Louise's murder. The pair worked together in a kebab shop in Willesden, North West London. Kusai, 25, had been introduced to Louise by a friend earlier in 2021, and duped her into believing that Kusai was a property developer. Kusai then pretended to Louise that he had a wealthy backer called Anna, who could offer a substantial £4.8 million to purchase Louise's property portfolio – significantly above the market value at the time. Louise reportedly thought that she could then use this money to pay off her mortgages and look after her family. It wasn't the first time Kusai had defrauded someone – the investigation into Louise's death found Kusai also offered to buy two luxury cars from a woman named Anna Reich for £57,000 on a previous occasion, but never handed over the money. After convincing Louise to hand over the keys to her property in Barnet, Kusai moved 28-year-old Mohamed into the property – who filmed videos at the house which he then posted on TikTok. On 26 July 2021, Louise attended her Barnet property, where she was last seen alive. Mohamed was in the property at the time but left shortly after. The court hearing found Louise was strangled with a hairdryer cord in a 'violent struggle', before being wrapped in a duvet and having her body cruelly dumped in a wheelie bin. The bin was then moved to Harrow, in a bid to try and disguise what had happened. Mohamed then sold Louise's BMW on Facebook MarketPlace, bought a new outfit and filmed himself dancing on the Barnet driveway where Louise was killed. The video was uploaded on TikTok. Police linked DNA evidence from the scene to Mohamed and Kusai, who were also thought to have used Louise's phone to text loved ones and pretend she had left the country for a holiday. Both Mohamed and Kusia were tried at the Old Bailey in 2023. The pair were found guilty, and each sentenced to a minimum term of 35 years in prison. Judge Mark Lucraft described Kusai as telling 'lie after lie' to Louise, and described the way he defrauded his victim as 'cynical deception'. 'You did what you did out of greed,' he added at sentencing. Catherine Gould, prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This horrific crime is a tale of greed taken to extremes. Al-Jundi and El-Abboud selfishly and brutally ended Louise Kam's life for their own ends. "These defendants hatched a plan to kill Louise and profit from her death." Gregory Kam, Louise's son added in a victim impact statement: "I deeply regret I was not able to do enough at the time to prevent my mother from falling for the lies of his wolf in sheep's clothing. "In addition to the initial shocking news of our mother's disappearance and subsequent news of her murder, I was not only shocked but further angered and sickened to discover defendant one (Al-Jundi) enlisted the help of an accomplice (El-Abboud) to trick, entrap, overpower and murder a pension-age woman in her own home under the guise of what was supposed to be a business deal." Body in the Bin: The Murder of Louise Kam is available to watch on Netflix Kimberley Bond is a Multiplatform Writer for Harper's Bazaar, focusing on the arts, culture, careers and lifestyle. She previously worked as a Features Writer for Cosmopolitan UK, and has bylines at The Telegraph, The Independent and British Vogue among countless others.
Daily Mirror
14-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Fred and Rose West documentary airs chilling admission as viewers 'terrified'
A docu-series about serial killers Fred and Rose West was released on Netflix today, and fans who tuned in for the production have since shared their views Netflix's latest true crime release, Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story, has left viewers horrified, with many taking to social media to express their shock over the disturbing content of the new three-part docuseries. The documentary examines the case of Fred and Rose West, who were linked to at least 12 murders committed between 1967 and 1987. The couple lured vulnerable young women and girls into their home at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester before subjecting them to sexual abuse, torture, and murder. Fred was directly connected to all 12 killings, and Rose was implicated in many of them. Rather than starting with a broad overview of the Wests' background, the series drops viewers directly into the police investigation, which began on February 24, 1994. As Fred was questioned by police, law enforcement started excavating the garden and patio of the couple's home, after hearing disturbing reports from their children that their missing sister, Heather, was buried there. The documentary features never-before-seen police interview recordings, footage from the investigation, and new interviews with journalists, police officers, and lawyers involved in the case. In one of the audio recordings, viewers hear Fred make the chilling admission that he killed Heather, before he goes on to casually describe how he dismembered her with a "bread knife". The series also sheds light on Rose's involvement, which becomes the focus of the second episode. Rose, who met Fred when she was just 15, was described as increasingly controlling and abusive. The show explores how many of the murders happened after the couple had sexually assaulted their victims, including Fred's stepdaughter. One shocked viewer tweeted: "This Fred and Rose West documentary is mad – bare bodies." Another said: "Fred and Rose West on Netflix is f**ing insane." A third added: "Watching the new Netflix show about Fred & Rose West. It's terrifying to think you could be living next door to monsters like that." Despite being focused on quite grisly subject matter, TV critics have praised director Dan Dewsbury for handling the subject matter respectfully. James Jackson said the series avoids sensationalism, and instead focuses on the trauma surviving members and investigators were left with. Alison Chambers' sister backed this assessment up while explaining her reasoning behind participating in the documentary, saying: "It's for Alison, but also for me so that I can have a bit of closure. I don't have that at the moment." Dewsbury has shared his thoughts on the West case, telling The Independent: "It is in all the minds of people of a certain age. These were killings that had been happening, for the most part, in a terraced house in central Gloucester. Some went back as far as the Sixties and had gone undiscovered for decades. "The fact that many of them were committed by a couple with children, within the walls of their family home, only added to the horror. I still remember my mum sitting me down as a child and telling me not to go off with strangers, even, she was at great pains to emphasise, if one of them was a woman or a mother. I'm certain that the West case was on her mind when she said this."
