Two abattoir workers who slaughtered their victims to death by repeatedly stabbing them have been convicted.
Ionut-Valentin Boboc, 22, and Jacob-Bebe Chers, 46, repeatedly stabbed victims Denzil McKenzie and Fahad Pramanik in Bristol on 11 September 2021, in what the police described in court as “a house of horror”.
Police said the bodies had been mutilated and reflected the killers’ butchery work and a post-mortem examination showed that both men died from multiple stab injuries.
Boboc admitted to murdering Denzil at an earlier hearing and was also found guilty of murdering Fahad.
Chers denied both murders but was convicted by a jury following a month-long trail at Bristol Crown Court.
Their sentencing will take place on Wednesday 21 December.
The bodies of the two men were found at Denzil’s house in Wood Street, Bristol, after emergency services received a 999 call from a relative of Boboc on Sunday 12 September 2021, where a murder investigation was launched by the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT).
Boboc and Chers, from Hillfields, had met Mr McKenzie, 56, through their work at an abattoir, where their job involved making incisions in the bellies of pigs. The men would occasionally drink together at his house.
Mr Pramanik, 27, had been visiting Mr McKenzie from London on the night of the murders and investigators believe he was at the “wrong place at the wrong time”.
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During the course of the investigation, it was found that text messages were exchanged between Boboc and Mr McKenzie, revealing that the suspect repeatedly sought loans from the victim. The message exchanges also suggest Mr McKenzie had sought sexual favours from Boboc in exchange.
On the night of the killings, Mr Mckenzie was tricked by Boboc into allowing him and Chers into his home, by claiming he had a “gift” for him, courts heard.
The two defendants were caught on CCTV walking towards Mr McKenzie’s home at 8.30pm, then returning the same way at about 11pm.
Murderers stole jewellery and electronics from the house
Image: CCTV footage still – one of the men seen carrying audio equipment, jewellery and electronics, which they’d stolen from inside. Pic: Pic: Avon & Somerset Police
Detectives found hundreds of hours worth of visual material, including footage showing the suspects walking to and from the house in Wood Street on the night of the murders. The men were seen carrying audio equipment, jewellery and electronics, which they had stolen from the house.
In another account of CCTV footage, the two suspects were seen at Coombe Brook nature reserve, where it was later discovered they had discarded items. Video evidence from a car wash where Chers worked, showed him putting items in a bin and cleaning his car on the morning after the murders.
Image: CCTV still of a man visiting Coombe Brook nature reserve, where it was later discovered they had discarded items. Pic: Avon and Somerset Police
Police have said the investigation is “highly distressing”, especially for the victim’s families who have had to “endure the terrible ordeal of hearing how their loved ones were murdered”.
DCI Almond added: “They’ve shown no remorse for their actions and have put the families of the victims through further torment as a result”.
“While we may never know why these defendants chose to murder two innocent men, it remains abundantly clear they both have a dangerous propensity for violence and cruelty, and our communities are a safer place with them behind bars”.
Labour MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.
“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”
Police said a man in his 60s had been arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.
Sky News has contacted Mr Norris for comment.
Mr Norris, 65, defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.
He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons and has stepped down from his role as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.
Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.
“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.
“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.
“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.
“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on Friday (April 4) on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl (under the Sexual Offences Act 1956), rape (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), child abduction and misconduct in a public office. He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.
“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”
Mr Norris first entered Parliament when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 and served as the Wansdyke MP until 2010.
He was an assistant whip under Mr Blair and served as a junior minister under Gordon Brown.
Mr Norris has also been West of England mayor since 2021 but is due to step down ahead of May’s local elections.
A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to end sports such as fox hunting and game bird shooting, confirmed he had stepped down from his role.
“The charity cannot comment further while an investigation is ongoing,” a statement said.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.
JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.
In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.
“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”
The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.
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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.
“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.
Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.
All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.
Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.
Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.
Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.
In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.
Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.
They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.
The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.
Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.
“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.