Bill Henham suffered around 60 injures including a brain haemorrhage
Four men have been found guilty of murdering a university student who was savagely beaten, thrown to his death from a balcony then stripped and doused in bleach during a New Year’s Eve party.
Bill Henham was knocked unconscious before being dropped around 11ft to a courtyard by a group of men he met while on a night out alone in Brighton. They then left him to attend another party.
A court was told the 24-year-old suffered around 60 wounds after being beaten, kicked, stamped on, and hit with a wooden bannister spindle and that after being flung off the balcony, the Ravensbourne University student was stripped and covered in bleach in an attempt to conceal evidence.
A post-mortem examination revealed Bill had been beaten unconscious and suffered multiple injuries, including a brain haemorrhage, 11 rib fractures, extensive cuts, and bruising to the scalp, face, and neck – consistent with being punched, kicked, and stamped on.
Dushane Meikle, 28, Gregory Hawley, 29, Lamech Gordon-Carew, 20, and Alize Spence, 18, were this week convicted of killing Bill following a three-month trial that was delayed by Covid and Storm Eunice.
Bill was attacked at a disused four-storey former office block with a bar and restaurant in Brighton, which was being used as a squat during the early hours of January 1, 2020.
Police were called by worried neighbours the next day and discovered his body in a recessed courtyard, accessed from a flat roof terrace at the back of the building.
Bill spent Christmas with his family in Henfield, West Sussex, but wanted to see in the New Year in a “lively” atmosphere in the nearby town of Brighton, so his dad dropped him off there.
CCTV later showed Bill leaving a nightclub on the seafront before the final sighting of him at 4.30am on New Year’s Day in a corner shop near the squat where he was killed within a few hours of turning up.
A court heard that Bill suffered “a sustained and significant” assault that started on the second floor of the building before he was dragged to a small room measuring no more than 13ft by 6ft on the first-floor, where it continued.
Bill was then discarded over the railings of a flat roof terrace.
The attackers then stripped Bill and doused his body in disinfectant in an attempt to cover up the crime. Areas of diluted blood-staining in the building showed the lengths the killers went to clear up after the brutal attack, the court was told.
After a tip-off from a witness at the party, police arrested four men and a 16-year-old boy.
One of those arrested – Gregory Hawley – described as “in charge of the squat”, was said to have laughed and joked about the attack and allegedly confessed to stripping Bill’s body and dousing him in bleach.
Hawley was also seen a few hours later with a bleach bottle and cloth just a few feet from the same room where Bill was assaulted.
Others involved were also said to have carried on boasting about the attack once they moved to a second squat nearby to carry on the party.
CCTV from outside a corner shop showed Bill swaying as he rolled a cigarette, before eventually wandering towards the entrance of the disused building. Another of the arrested men – Dushane Meikle – was later found to have two deleted photos of Bill’s body – one partially clothed and one naked – on his mobile phone.
A witness also picked out three of the suspects Hawley, Lamech Gordon-Carew, and Meikle, in police ID parades. One arrested man was released without further action, leaving four defendants to face the murder charge. All pleaded not guilty but after a trial at Maidstone Crown Court, all were found guilty.
Prosecutor James Mulholland QC told the court that although the motive for Bill’s murder remained “unclear”, all four men either participated in the physical attack or deliberately helped or encouraged one or more of the others to do so.
After the conviction, Henham’s family said in a statement that Bill was “cruelly and coldly taken from us”.
“It is hard to describe the horror of losing a family member to murder, especially in such a brutal and needless way. We cannot fathom as to why anyone would inflict such cruelty on someone so helpless.”
The family said that in the weeks before his death, Bill had been staying at the family home, while taking a break from uni where he studied digital film production, “his love of art, films, and film-making has left us with many examples of his creativity,” the statement reads.
“It hurts not to be able to make him hear our cries, warning him not to go in” – Bill’s family on seeing the last CCTV footage of him alive.
Bill was a “kind and peaceful young man; a free spirit who happily chatted to those he came across, the family said, adding: “We can well imagine, in his impaired and vulnerable condition that night, he was drawn towards the squat party and went into the North Street building not understanding the danger he was putting himself in.”
The family went on to say they were left with a “Bill-shaped hole” in their lives following his killing and spoke of the heartache at watching him in the CCTV footage before he attended the party.
“It hurts not to be able to make him hear our cries, warning him not to go in,” the statement reads.
“These past two years have been hard for us and others, and we are very grateful for all of the kindness we have been shown, especially in what has been such a challenging few years for many.
“The events of that night have left us with a Bill-shaped void in our lives. We’ll strive not to cry too often, but instead smile when we remember his short life, especially because he shared it with us.”
“The events of that night have left us with a Bill-shaped void in our lives”
Detective Superintendent Alex Geldart said Thursday that Bill was simply “enjoying celebrating the New Year when his life was brutally brought to an end”.
“The four convicted men will now face many years in prison and we hope Bill’s family will be able to find some closure, knowing that his killers are finally behind bars,” he added.
All four defendants will be sentenced at the same court at a date to be set.
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