Two Metropolitan police officers who took and shared photographs of two murdered sisters at a crime scene have been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison. Deniz Jaffer, 47, and Jamie Lewis, 33, pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office after they photographed the bodies of Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, in a London park in June 2020.
The officers, who were assigned to guard the scene, instead entered the bushes where the sisters lay and took photos, which they shared in WhatsApp groups. In one group, the victims were referred to as “dead birds”. The court heard that the actions amounted to a gross breach of trust and stripped the women of their dignity in death.
The sisters’ mother, Mina Smallman, described the officers’ behaviour as a “betrayal of such catastrophic proportion” and “sacrilegious”. She said the photos reminded her of lynchings in the Deep South of the United States, where people smiled around hanging bodies. She added that the officers had “dehumanised our children”.
The judge, Mark Lucraft QC, called the offences “appalling” and said they were committed for a “cheap thrill”. Both former officers will serve half their sentence before being released on licence. Jaffer resigned from the Met in August, while Lewis was dismissed by a disciplinary tribunal.
The murder of the two women was carried out by Danyal Hussein, who was jailed for life. The officers’ actions had been used by the defence to argue possible contamination of the crime scene. Following the sentencing, Mina Smallman said she was “thrilled” the officers were jailed and hoped it would contribute to cultural change within the police force.
