Charged with murder, Nigerian woman, 21, lamented, ‘Oh God, is this my life’, I have let my mum down

A Nigerian and former third year Coventry University student who was one of the four charged with the murder of Saul Murray reportedly wept ‘Oh God, is this my life’ concluding that she had disappointed her mum.

CCTV footage taken inside a police station, shown on Channel 4’s 24 Hours in Police Custody, showed Temidayo Awe about to make an emotional phonecall after she was charged with the murder of Saul Murray in Luton.

Holding the phone in her hand she cries, saying: “Oh God, is this my life’, before she added how she had let her mum down.

Awe, who was a third year student at the coventry University, was one of four charged with the murder of Saul Murray, in what was described as a ‘honey trap’ killing on February 27, 2022.

The case was highlighted during a two-part special of the Channel 4 crime show and showed how detectives found that Awe, together with three others, plotted to drug and rob Murray after seeing images of him on Instagram wearing Rolex watches.

Bedfordshire police raided Awe’s student home in Coventry and she was later charged with the murder of Murray, before later being found guilty of his manslaughter at Luton Crown Court.

Awe and Surpreet Dhillon had visited Murray’s flat and drugged him with a date rape drug. CCTV showed Awe leaving the flat shortly before 2.30am, whilst Dhillon propped the communal door open with a broom, so Awe was able to later return with two men – Ikem Affia and Cleon Brown.

The CCTV then showed the two women running away from the flat around 20 minutes later, with the two men then fleeing behind. One of the men, Affia, was carrying a large knife as he left the building.

The footage then showed Murray stumbling to the front door of the flats, naked, before falling to the floor.

All four were the subject of a trial at Luton Crown Court and Judge Michael Simon told the sentencing hearing that it was a “senseless” conspiracy to rob.

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As a result of the trial, the four were given the following sentences:

• Ikem Affia, 31, of Shore Place, London was sentenced to life in prison for murder and will have to serve a minimum of 25 years. He was also sentenced to 14 years for conspiracy to commit robbery to run concurrently.
• Cleon Brown, 29, of King Edwards Road, South Hackney was sentenced to 11 years for manslaughter and nine years for conspiracy to commit robbery to run concurrently; a total of 11 years.
• Surpreet Dhillon, 36, of Carnarvon Road, London was sentenced to 10 years for manslaughter and 10 years for conspiracy to commit robbery to run concurrently; a total of 10 years.
• Temidayo Awe, 21, of Saunders Street, Gillingham was sentenced to seven years for manslaughter and six years for conspiracy to commit robbery to run concurrently; a total of seven years.

Speaking after the conclusion of the court case on Friday, March 3, Detective Inspector Dale Mepstead, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “This alarming act of violence resulted in Mr Murray losing his life in the most horrific way.

“All four had planned to rob Mr Murray of any expensive belongings he may have had, and had agreed to use force and threats, as well as the use of a sedative substance – in this case GHB that the women used on Mr Murray – to get what they wanted.

“Not only was the attack on him brutal, but all four left him alone to die from his injuries.

“This was a very complex investigation that involved a lot of CCTV and phone work to identify the rightful suspects and I am pleased that all four have been found guilty of the part they each played in Mr Murray’s death.”