Five people guilty of fatal attack on man in his Ilford home during robbery

Imran Isat was stabbed five times in his Ilford home (credit: Met Police)

Five people have been found guilty of a violent attack that killed a man in his Ilford home.

A man has been convicted of murder and four others of manslaughter following the death of Imran Isat, 30, who was killed last year during a robbery in his home in Springfield Drive.

On Saturday, 19 March, the group broke through the front door of his house at around 1.15am, two then broke down the door of Mr Isat’s flatmate while the other three went upstairs to the living room.

Mr Isat went to the living room door, after hearing noise, to try and keep the men out but he couldn’t close it.

One of the men, who was holding a large knife, managed to stab Mr Isat through the gap, forcing him backwards.

The robbers forced their way in armed with knives and machetes shouting “where’s the stuff?”

Mr Isat said something like “don’t hurt me – take what you want”, but one of the robbers stabbed him, while another struck one of his friends on the head with the flat blade of a knife.

One of the robbers then shouted “we’ve found it”, and “let’s go”; they then ran from the scene.

CCTV later recorded one of the robbers, Paul Higgins, leaving with a bag and a suitcase and then going back inside to get a second suitcase. Another perpetrator, Ronnie Haydon also left carrying a bag. None of the defendants ever told police what was in the bags and police were never able to uncover what they stole.

Despite the work of paramedics and police when they arrived, they were unable to save Mr Isat who was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination later found that he had been stabbed five times and one of the wounds was fatal having gone into his chest and penetrated his heart.

Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime (homicide) began a murder investigation and say it soon became apparent that the robbery had been planned.

CCTV and doorbell cameras showed some members of the gang arriving earlier and keeping the house under surveillance.

It is believed that the gang were after drugs, or money, or both, and they had armed themselves with knives and machetes in order to carry out the crime.

Members of the gang had arrived in two cars and both cars were later found to have been using false plates.

However, the gang were traced through extensive CCTV work and phone records that showed their movements.

The five men were all arrested on dates in July 2022 and all refused to answer police questions.

On Tuesday, 11 July, at the Old Bailey, Dwain Morrison, 34, from Romford was found guilty of murder.

He had pleaded guilty to robbery at an earlier hearing.

Four others; Salah’din Kerbouba, Ronnie Haydon, Paul Higgins and Dominic Diop were convicted of Imran’s manslaughter.

Kerbouba and Haydon were also found guilty of robbery while Higgins and Diop had pleaded guilty to robbery at an earlier hearing.

They were charged with robbery and murder and three – Diop, Higgins and Morrison – pleaded guilty to robbery but not guilty to murder.

Haydon admitted he was at the scene, but denied robbery as he stated he did not use or threaten violence.

Kerbouba was the only one who denied he was ever at the scene and he pleaded not guilty to murder and robbery.

However, after hearing all of the evidence, the jury found all five guilty of their role in the attack.

Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke from the Met’s Specialist Crime, said: “This was a planned robbery by a gang who had pre-armed themselves with knives and machetes.

“Members of the gang were recorded scoping out the house prior to the assault and the cars they used were on false plates.

“The weapons they brought with them clearly show these men were ready to use violence, and murder was the result. This killing was pointless, it is probable that when the fatal stab wound was inflicted, Mr Isat was on the ground and not offering any resistance.

“It was a callous act of brutality that took his life. We may never know what the gang stole, but it was surely not worth killing a man while he was helpless on the ground.

“Despite their efforts to avoid detection, the extensive police inquiry was able to identify and arrest those responsible. These men have been found guilty for their roles in the attack and face years in prison – they will now have to deal with the consequences of their acts of violence.”

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