Two Metropolitan police officers have been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for taking and sharing photographs of two murdered sisters, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, while guarding the crime scene. Deniz Jaffer, 47, and Jamie Lewis, 33, pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office after the Guardian revealed the scandal last year.
The Old Bailey heard that the officers, assigned to protect the scene in Fryent Country Park, instead entered the bushes where the bodies lay and took photos, some showing the victims. They shared the images in two WhatsApp groups, one containing 41 police officers and another of friends. In messages, they referred to the sisters as “dead birds”.
The court heard that the pair’s actions stripped the women of dignity in death and intensified the family’s grief. Prosecutor Joel Smith said the officers risked contaminating the crime scene, which aided the defence of the murderer, Danyal Hussein. Their mother, Mina Smallman, described the betrayal as “catastrophic” and accused the officers of dehumanising her daughters.
Judge Mark Lucraft QC called the offences “appalling” and carried out for a “cheap thrill”. Both officers will serve half their sentence before release on licence. Jaffer resigned from the Met in August, while Lewis was sacked by a disciplinary tribunal.
Speaking outside court, Mina Smallman said she was “thrilled” the officers were jailed, adding: “We’ve been to hell and back again … we are part of the change that’s going to come in the culture of the police force.” The sisters were stabbed to death by Hussein, now 19, who was jailed for life for the murders.
