WEBVTT 1 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:38.200 Images of Shakira before she fell under your influence show 2 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:41.920 her full of life, healthy and smiling. 3 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:55.159 Hull Back Rope sits quietly in the wallpell world of 4 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:58.880 Ealing in West London. It's residential crescent just far enough 5 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:00.840 from the clamor of the city to feel like its 6 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.519 own self contained world, nestled between three line straight and 7 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.239 the occasional hum of the Elizabeth Lyne in the distance. 8 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:10.359 It's a place where people know their neighbors, if not 9 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:13.480 by name, then at least by face. This part of 10 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:17.719 Ealing is upmarket, tidy and well cared for. It carries 11 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:20.840 that comfortable, settled in kind of charm that's hard to manufacture. 12 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:24.879 It's a patchwork of post war terraces, modern semis, and 13 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:27.400 a new wave of flats that were built in recent years. 14 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.599 Among them stands Lambert House, a four story brick building 15 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:34.519 completed in two thousand and nineteen, is part of a 16 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:38.359 regeneration initiative to provide affordable homes for key workers and 17 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.599 consul tenants. Children often play in the communal courtyards between 18 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:46.120 the buildings, and to most people, Whobeck Row feels safe. 19 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:49.280 It's the kind of place where nothing too extraordinary ever 20 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:53.280 really happens. But then, on the twenty fifth of September 21 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:58.599 twenty and twenty two, something did happen, something horrific. It 22 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:02.680 was Sunday, unmortarkable in every way, at least at first 23 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:07.480 at Lambert House. The day had passed quietly. Residents went 24 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:11.680 about their routines. Groceries were unpacked when thows were cracked 25 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.479 open to lead in the breeze. But on the third 26 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:17.879 floor of the building, one woman sat alone in her flat, 27 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:22.479 increasingly troubled by a feeling she couldn't quite shake. For 28 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:25.240 two weeks, she hadn't seen her neighbor. There were no 29 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.159 signs from the unit next door, no movement behind the 30 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.919 drum blinds. At first, she had told herself that it 31 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.800 was nothing, that people often come and go. Perhaps her 32 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:38.680 neighbor was staying with family, or maybe she'd gone away 33 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:44.080 on holiday. But now something had changed. There was a smell, 34 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:47.280 and it wasn't faint. It was the kind of smell 35 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:51.080 that lingered in the hallway and clung to fabric. It 36 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:53.879 seemed to save through the seams of the building itself, 37 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:57.719 and it was only getting worse. By four point thirty 38 00:02:57.719 --> 00:03:01.719 pm that day, she couldn't ignored any longer. She stood 39 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.520 in the hallway, staring at the door of the neighboring flat, 40 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.280 willing herself to knock again, even though she already knew 41 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:11.479 there would be no answer. She then reached her her 42 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:30.719 phone and dialed nine ninety nine. Shaghir Spencer was born 43 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.800 on the thirteenth of June nineteen eighty seven to parents 44 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:37.840 Lloyd and Mercia. She grew up in ealing, West London. 45 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:42.159 The Spencer family were close. Big family gatherings were a 46 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:47.360 constant in Shakira's early life. Birthdays, christenings, weddings. There was 47 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:51.000 always a reason to come together. Her sister Arena would 48 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:54.639 later say, we have a big, extended family, so there 49 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:58.840 were always birthdays, christenings, weddings to attend. In these moments, 50 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:02.800 surrounded by loved ones, Shakira shoan, but at skill she 51 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:05.599 stood out, and not in the way that children hoped for. 52 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:10.599 She struggled. Learning didn't come easy to Shakira, and socializing 53 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:15.080 even less so. She was quiet, reserved, and unsure of 54 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:18.199 how to fit in. Shakir had learning difficulties and was 55 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:21.360 often described as socially awkward, but that didn't tell the 56 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:25.279 whole story. She was kind, earnest, and thoughtful to a fault. 57 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:29.199 Her mother, Mercia, said she was quiet and shy, but 58 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:31.120 would often come out of her shell about when she 59 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:34.360 was surrounded by loved ones. She deeply cared about people 60 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:38.800 and loved having friends to spend time with. Shakira wanted 61 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:43.040 to be liked. That desire followed her into adulthood, shaping 62 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:47.040 her relationships and at times leaving her painfully vulnerable. She 63 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.199 had a trusting nature and a tendency to give more 64 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:52.399 than she received, to bend herself in ways that others 65 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:55.360 would never for her. In a world that can be 66 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:58.000 so unkind, especially to those who struggled to fit in, 67 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:02.480 that trait would become dangerous, yes, But despite her challenges, 68 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:06.519 Shakira had dreams, real ones, simple ones. She knew from 69 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:08.480 a young age that she wanted to be a mother, 70 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:13.399 that maternal instinct was always there. After finishing school, she 71 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:16.879 began working in a nursery. Her mother used to joke 72 00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:18.959 that the chaos of toddlers might put her off having 73 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:23.279 children of her own, but it didn't. Her mother recollected 74 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:27.199 she was really happy when she became a mum. Shagia 75 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:29.959 gave birth to her first son in twenty ten. Followed 76 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:33.920 by a second boy the next year, two beautiful boys 77 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:38.680 close in age, just as Shakira had always wanted. Arena recollected. 78 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.600 She loved being a mum. She'd wanted boys close together, 79 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.040 so she was happy. It was a period of Shakira's 80 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.120 life that felt full. She felt like she had a purpose, 81 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:51.639 and she took joy in the small things, the school 82 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:56.120 drop offs, bedtime routines, and packing lunches. For a time, 83 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:59.360 things were good. Shakira was proud of the little life 84 00:05:59.399 --> 00:06:03.639 that she was build. But life is rarely simple, and 85 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:06.160 for someone like Shakira, with such a deep desire to 86 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:09.519 please and an openness that was often mistaken for weakness, 87 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:24.079 danger was never far away. When police arrived at Lambert 88 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:27.519 House on the twenty fifth of September twenty twenty two, 89 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:31.399 they gathered outside flat number nine. The neighbor had made 90 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:35.360 the phone call. Her voice was shaky with concern. She 91 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:38.319 hadn't seen her neighbor, Shakira Spencer, in over two weeks, 92 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:42.720 and now there was a smell, an unbearable smell. It 93 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:46.040 wafted through the communal hallway, thick compew dread hanging in 94 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:50.240 the air like fog. When officers arrived, they noticed something 95 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:54.839 else as well, something far more sinister. Maggots were crawling 96 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:58.279 out from beneath the sealed threshold of Shakira's door, a 97 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:02.279 line of them inching across the floor. Whatever was on 98 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:04.560 the other side, it wasn't going to be easy to witness. 99 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:08.920 The officers didn't wait. They forced an dry kicking down 100 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:12.560 the front door, but it was clear almost immediately that 101 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:15.639 time had already run out. The smell hit them like 102 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:19.680 a wall. It was the unmistakable stench of death, the 103 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:23.319 kind of smell that would follow them home. Inside the 104 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:27.560 flat was quiet and still. The officers called out Shakira's name, 105 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:32.839 but they knew she wouldn't answer. They began their search, slowly, methodically, 106 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:36.240 stepping through the rooms, drawn like magnets towards the source 107 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:39.920 of the odor. It led them into a bedroom, and 108 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:42.560 that's where they found her. At the back of the 109 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.800 room stood a child's bunk bed, and on the bottom 110 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:50.519 bunk was a body. It was Shakiera Spenser, or what 111 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.480 was left of her. Her remains were so severely decomposed 112 00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:58.120 that her face was gone, her skin, her features, the 113 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.000 very essence of what ones made her sh Kia was 114 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:04.639 all erased by time and decay. Her body was being 115 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:09.800 consumed by maggots. The scene was grotesque, but it wasn't 116 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:13.079 just what they saw what disturbed the officers. It was 117 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:16.680 what didn't make sense. Beside her body, a newspaper had 118 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:19.519 been laid out neatly on the floor, almost as if 119 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:21.920 she had been reading it before drifting off to sleep. 120 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:27.360 It was a strange detail, almost staged in the room, 121 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:30.639 incense had been lit. It was clear that this was 122 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:34.840 no peaceful death. There were no signs of medical emergencies, 123 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:38.799 no medications, no evidence that Shakira had simply passed in 124 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:42.600 her sleep. Her remains were removed from the flat and 125 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:46.519 taken for post mortem examination, but the pathologist quickly ran 126 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:51.600 into an obstacle. Shakierra's body was so decomposed, so ravaged 127 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:54.399 by the process of death, that it was impossible to 128 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:58.720 determine a clear cause. She needed to be formally identified 129 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:02.000 through her dental records. Yes, that's how far gone she was. 130 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:05.679 But even through the decay, the damage was still visible. 131 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.919 Shaker had suffered crushing injuries to her ear, the kind 132 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:13.360 of trauma that was consistent with blunt force. There were 133 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.080 deep cuts to her scalp, and her fate had been scolded. 134 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:19.600 These weren't the injuries of an accidental fall or an 135 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:38.200 untreated illness. Shakira's Spencer had been tortured to death. As 136 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:41.080 the news of Shakira Spencer's death broke headlines across the 137 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:45.879 United Kingdom, public shock quickly turned to questions. How could 138 00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:49.240 something so violent happen to somebody so quietly living her life, 139 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:53.039 and how could it go unnoticed for so long. The 140 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.559 investigation was now underway and led by Detective Chief Inspector 141 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:00.000 Brian Howie. It didn't take long for him to appear 142 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:04.360 before the cameras, appealing to the public for information. I 143 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:06.679 need to know why people would want to harm Shakira, 144 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:10.960 he said bind the scene. Shakira's family was being supported 145 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:15.320 by specially trained officers. The trauma they were facing was immense. 146 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:18.799 They had only lost a daughter, a sister, a mother, 147 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:20.919 but they were now being told that she had died 148 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:25.840 in pain, in fear, and alone. DCI Howie continued, I 149 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:29.440 would urge anyone with information, no matter how insignificant you 150 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:31.879 think it might be, to get in touch with my team, 151 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:35.799 and somebody did. The first tip came from the very 152 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:40.039 neighbor who had called police to report Shakira missing. This 153 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:43.480 woman had known Shaquira for her rund ten years. She 154 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:46.840 described her as pleasant and friendly, the kind of neighbor 155 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.120 you were always happy to run into in the hallway. 156 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.799 But in recent months, she said that something had changed. 157 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:57.000 Jagir had always been known for her curves, a vibrant 158 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:01.320 curvey size sixteen, with long, thick hair and warm, beautiful face. 159 00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:07.000 But now, the woman said, Shaker was unrecognizable. She was 160 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:10.360 just skin and bones. Her cheeks were sunken, her eyes 161 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:14.480 were ringed with heavy bags. Her frame looked frail, almost breakable. 162 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:18.279 She'd lost a drastic amount of weight. And then there 163 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:22.720 was her behavior. Shagher had been cutting people off. She'd 164 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:26.120 lost touch with her family. She'd even lost custody of 165 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.080 her two boys to their father, which stunned those who 166 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:32.879 knew how deeply she loved them. The more detectives look, 167 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:36.559 the more they realized this wasn't a sudden tragedy. This 168 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.200 was the tail end of something that had been building 169 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:44.039 in the shadows for months, maybe even longer. Shaghiera's father, Lloyd, 170 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:46.320 told detectives that he had noticed the changes in his 171 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:49.759 daughter as well. Every time he tried to visit her, 172 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:53.559 she had an excuse. She was busy, she wasn't feeling well, 173 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.679 she didn't want to see anybody. But just a couple 174 00:11:56.679 --> 00:11:59.480 of months before her death. He did see her, just 175 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:03.559 three days before her thirty fifth birthday. What he saw 176 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:08.559 had left him shaken. Jagear looked gaunt, her body language 177 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:12.200 was guarded, almost jittery. She didn't look like herself, and 178 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:16.879 she didn't act like herself either. Lloyd was terrified. The 179 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:18.720 only thing that made sense to him at the time, 180 00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:21.399 the only thing that could explain the sudden weight loss, 181 00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:26.360 that isolation, and the erratic behavior, was drugs. Lloyd asked 182 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.279 his daughter, and she denied it, but he wasn't convinced. 183 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:32.679 He begged her to see a doctor. He thought that 184 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:37.639 she was ill, maybe seriously. Something was clearly wrong, but 185 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:40.519 the truth was far worse than he ever could have imagined. 186 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:50.159 Just after midnight, the phone rang at the police station. 187 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:54.320 The voice on the other end was quiet, nervous, and hesitant. 188 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:58.120 It was a man calling about his sister, Michelle Pendleberry, 189 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:02.320 and her son Sean. Only ours earlier, Sean had turned 190 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.759 up at his mother's home in a state of visible panic. 191 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:10.559 He was pale, shaken and swearing something was wrong. Michelle 192 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.360 asked him what was going on and pressed him to 193 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:16.000 explain himself, and then Sean told her that he had 194 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:21.240 done something really bad. Michelle didn't understand what kind of bad. 195 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:24.679 He said he had burned someone's feet and now they 196 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:29.720 were dead. Michelle stared at her son, stunned. She still 197 00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:33.200 didn't understand what he was saying. She hadn't seen the news. 198 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:39.080 She had no idea about Shakira's spencer. She asked him who, 199 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:43.960 and then Sean said her name, Shakira. He said that 200 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:47.399 he had killed her, but not on purpose and not alone. 201 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:50.679 He told his mother that two other women were involved, 202 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:55.200 a Shanna stood Home and Lisa Richardson. He said they'd 203 00:13:55.200 --> 00:14:01.600 all been there before. We I've back into today's case. 204 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:03.480 Let me tell you about something that might save you 205 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.679 some serious money. You know how we're always talking about 206 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:09.559 following the evidence and doing your research. Well, if you're 207 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.240 someone who uses THHC or CBD products, you need to 208 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:16.320 do some research on pricing too, because you're probably overpink. 209 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:20.080 Here's what I want you to do. Google Blazed deals 210 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:23.200 that's blazed with a day and deals with an s. 211 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:28.159 Blazed Deals is a price tracker for THHC and CBD products. 212 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.120 They do all the detective work for you, tracking prices 213 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:34.320 from hundreds of cannabis retailers to find the best deals 214 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:36.799 on vapes, gummies, and more. And trust me, the deals 215 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.000 they've found are probably a lot less than what you're 216 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.600 paying at your local store. So after you're done with 217 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:45.039 this episode, google Blazed Deals and see what you've been missing. 218 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:51.320 Your wallet will thank you. Michelle didn't know what to do. 219 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:55.080 Her son had just confessed to something terrific, but she 220 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:57.159 didn't want to hand them in. She got in the 221 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.480 car and drove Sean over to her brother's home. But 222 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:02.399 when they're rived, things didn't go the way Sean had hoped. 223 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:07.519 His uncle was horrified. He asked him, are you a killer? Now? 224 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:11.000 Do you just go around killing people? John denied it. 225 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:13.120 He said it wasn't him and claimed he didn't lay 226 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.480 a hand on Shakira, but the women stood home and 227 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:19.759 Richardson were the ones who had done it. He said 228 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:23.519 he had only helped clean up afterwards. Then Sean made 229 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:26.480 a request. He asked his uncle for help buying a 230 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:30.600 ticket to the Seychelles, where his grandmother lived. He wanted 231 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:34.240 out of the country. He wanted to run, but instead 232 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:37.720 Sean's uncle called police and the trio were arrested. 233 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:39.639 Listen, is what I got to say. It is very 234 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.120 important to you. You've been arrested on suspicion of the 235 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:46.039 murder of Shakira Spencer at nine Lambert House. Okay, between 236 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:47.600 the thirty first and the eighth and the twenty sixth 237 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:49.279 of the ninth. In relations to that, you do not 238 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:50.840 have to say anything, but it may harm me defense 239 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:52.639 if you do not mention one question something which he 240 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:53.159 later rely. 241 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:53.440 On in court. 242 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:56.200 Anything you do say maybe given an evidence necessity for 243 00:15:56.279 --> 00:15:58.600 we arresked is to revenge your disappearance for a prompt 244 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:02.200 and effective investigation of prevention at home. Okay, yeah, I've. 245 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:06.120 So. I don't know why you're on a. 246 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:08.519 Portion at the moment. My advice would be wait until 247 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:10.480 you have the opportunity to have legal advice before you 248 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:13.919 make any further comment in relation to the allegations against you. Okay. 249 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:18.759 That phone call would crack the case wide open. Up 250 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:21.519 until now, detectives had very few leads, but now they 251 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:25.320 had names. Three of them. John Pendlebury, a Shanna stud 252 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:29.879 home Lisa Richardson, and soon detectives would uncover something far 253 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:34.039 more disturbing than they could have ever expected. Shakira wasn't 254 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:37.519 killed In some heed of the moment attack. Shakira had 255 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:40.759 spent the last months of her life living as a slave. 256 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:56.240 In twenty twenty one, Shakira Spencer met a woman who 257 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:59.720 on the surface seemed kind. Her name was a Shana 258 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:03.720 Home and she was a neighbor who lived nearby. Shakira, 259 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:06.599 who was ever eager to make friends, began to trust her. 260 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:11.240 But Shakira couldn't have known who Studholme really was behind 261 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:14.400 the compliments in the Sweet Smiles was a long violent history. 262 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:19.160 Studholm had a criminal record that stretched back years, including 263 00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:22.880 three convictions for attacking other women. In one case, she 264 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:24.880 had kicked and punched a woman who was lying helpless 265 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:27.839 in the middle of the street. Four years later, she 266 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:32.400 assaulted another woman in a racially aggravated attack. She had 267 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:35.119 also received the caution after a child under her care 268 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:37.960 fell from a flat roof while left unintended in a 269 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:42.279 paddling pool. This wasn't a woman looking for friendship. This 270 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.880 was a predator, and Shakira, a woman who was vulnerable trusting, 271 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:49.680 eager to be liked was her perfect target. At the time, 272 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:53.359 Studholm was in a relationship with Sean Pendlebury, a man 273 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:58.079 with his own history of violence. His convictions included drug offenses, 274 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:03.759 assaulting police officer, and handling stolen goods. Together, the pair 275 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:07.160 moved through a chaotic and volatile social world, often in 276 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:10.359 the company of Lisa Richardson, a forty three year old 277 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:14.519 woman who lived in Northold. Richardson's flat had a reputation. 278 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:17.720 It was described by neighbors as a hive of anti 279 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:22.359 social behavior. People came and went at all ours, Arguments 280 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:25.000 broke out in the stairwells. It was the kind of 281 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:28.200 place where trouble had a permanent residence. And it was 282 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:32.519 in this world that Shakira was pulled slowly and deliberately. 283 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:37.559 At first, it looked like a friendship, harmless messages, legs 284 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:41.440 and comments on Facebook. In one Stockholm called her a 285 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:49.279 natural beauty. In another she wrote, pretty to somebody like Shakira, quiet, shy, 286 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:52.559 with intellectual disabilities and a desperate need to be accepted. 287 00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:57.160 These comments meant everything. She thought she had found someone 288 00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:01.759 who genuinely cared. But behind that screen, Stodholm was laying 289 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:05.720 a trap. She introduced Shakira to the darker side of life, 290 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:09.960 one filled with late night drinking, drug use, and chaotic parties. 291 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:13.160 This wasn't the kind of world that Shakira had known, 292 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:16.519 but she didn't say no. She wanted to be liked, 293 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:21.039 and slowly, Studholme took control. She used the cover of 294 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:25.480 COVID lockdowns to ramp up her influence. She told Shakira 295 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:28.480 to break up with her partner. She discouraged her from 296 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:34.319 seeing her family. She began to isolate her emotionally, socially, physically. 297 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:40.480 Then the control escalated. Stodholm, Pendleberry, and Richardson began to 298 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:45.200 own Shakira. They took over her bank accounts. Stodholm changed 299 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:49.519 her benefit forms to redirect payments to herself. They started 300 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:52.480 to force Shakira into sex work, and whatever money she 301 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:57.200 earned they took. Shakira stopped being a friend. She became 302 00:19:57.240 --> 00:20:01.000 a possession. She was passed between the three like a commodity, 303 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:04.599 living in their homes, used for cooking and cleaning, sent 304 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:08.039 on errands to buy groceries. She was no longer traded 305 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:12.279 like a person. And then came the violence. They didn't 306 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:15.839 just beat Shakira They tortured her. They used their fists, 307 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:20.279 their feate belts, glass bottles. They even scolded her feet 308 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:24.079 with They even scolded her feet with boiling water. Her 309 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:28.000 body became frail and skeletal. From a size sixteen, she 310 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:30.240 dropped to a size six in a matter of months. 311 00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:34.000 Shakira was starving and they gave her nothing but ketchup 312 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:38.079 sachez to eight. Shakira's hair, which was once long and thick, 313 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:42.519 was crudely chopped off. Her face was bruised, her eyes 314 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:45.640 were often blackened. They didn't even let her sleep in 315 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:48.759 a bed. Shakira was forced to sleep in a hallway 316 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:52.799 on crumpled newspapers, like a discarded pet. Some nights she 317 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:55.599 wasn't even allowed inside. She was made to sleep in 318 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:59.240 a bike shed, and when Pendlebury moved into her flat, 319 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:03.480 her fire final safe space was gone. Towards the end 320 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:06.480 of August twenty twenty two, Shakira was stopped by police 321 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:10.640 while running errands for the group. They were concerned her 322 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:14.359 parents shocked them the bruises, the sunken face, the black eyes. 323 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:18.559 When they asked what had happened, Shakira said nothing. She 324 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:22.480 was worn down by the terror humiliation and isolation, and 325 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:37.119 the police just let her go. The torment that Shakira 326 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:41.000 Spenser injured wasn't a secret kept behind closed doors. It 327 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:44.880 was something that her abuser celebrated. They boasted about what 328 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:49.319 they were doing, They laughed and documented her pain. In July, 329 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:52.319 Lisa Richardson sent a series of text messages to her 330 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:56.680 friend named Carla. She wrote, I've just fucked this bitch up. 331 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:59.640 This bitch she ain't going nowhere. I'm going to smash 332 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:03.519 her up joke, and then again she wrote I'm going 333 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:07.319 to mash up Shakira. A day later, Richardson's followed up 334 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:09.880 with another message, which read, so at the end of 335 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:12.720 the day, she deserved everything she got. I didn't even 336 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.960 bait her that much. I just gave her a couple 337 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:18.480 of slaps, a tappy tap slap one, two, three, but no. 338 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:23.440 Richardson then sent photographs of Shakira to her friends. Her 339 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:26.119 nose was clearly injured, as if she had just been 340 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:30.559 punched in the face. In another photograph, Shakira lay unconscious 341 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:34.640 on a sofa in Richardson's flat. Her face was battered, 342 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:39.200 and Richardson had written, look, I've got another afternoon stod 343 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:41.640 Holme struck Shakira in the head with a glass bottle, 344 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:46.519 blood spattered on the wall. In a panic, she texted Richardson, 345 00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:49.640 I've bust her head in, I need you here. I'll 346 00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:54.200 go to jail, but none of them stopped. Pendlebury escalated 347 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:57.640 things further. He chased Shakira with a homemade blue torch 348 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:01.960 made with a lighter held to an aerosol. Boiling water 349 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:05.680 was poured on her feeth. CCTV footage in the surrounding 350 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:08.000 area would later capture what they had done to her. 351 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:12.640 Shakira moved differently now. She hobbled down the street, visibly 352 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:15.480 in pain and struggling to walk. Her feet had been 353 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.839 scolded so badly that she could barely walk. Her eyes 354 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:23.480 were bruised and sunken, and her expression was vacant. Shakira 355 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:27.519 looked like a ghost. She was clearly dying in plain sight. 356 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:32.079 The abuse didn't stop, and it didn't tape off. It 357 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:36.519 escalated until Shakira Spenser was barely clinging to life. It 358 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:39.359 was the eleventh or twelfth of September when everything came 359 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:43.640 to a final brutal head inside of Shanna Stodholm's home. 360 00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:46.839 The violence began again, but this time it would be 361 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:51.599 the last time. That morning, Sean Pendleberry dragged Shakira off 362 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:54.480 the floor. He hurled her against the oven and her 363 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:58.319 skull struck metal. Then he set upon her again, chasing 364 00:23:58.359 --> 00:24:01.400 her with a lighter and an aerosol can, burning her flesh. 365 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:07.359 Studholme poured boiling water over her. Later that day, Richardson 366 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:11.599 saw Shakira standing in the kitchen. She was just standing there. 367 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:15.519 She wasn't crying, she wasn't speaking. The only song she 368 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:19.960 could make was a faint murmur, bub bub bub. She 369 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:24.079 was barely clinging to life. They all knew it. That night, 370 00:24:24.119 --> 00:24:27.680 Pendleberry borrowed his hands, houned the civic He barked it 371 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:31.559 outside Studholm's flat. When it was dark enough, they bundled 372 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:35.200 Shakira into the boot of the car. She was still alive. 373 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:39.319 A neighbor would later recall seeing her stumbling towards the car. 374 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:44.640 She looked confused and lost. Pendlebury and Studholm drove across 375 00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:48.960 London back to Shakira's flat in ealing There, they shoved 376 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:53.480 her into her hallway cupboard, locked the door, and walked away. 377 00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:56.240 They knew that she would die in there. Back at 378 00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:00.759 Studholm's flat. Richardson joined them. They scrubbed everything, the blood, 379 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:05.319 the filth, the smell. They e raised Shakira from the scene. 380 00:25:05.559 --> 00:25:08.680 Then they went out for kebabs. They were caught on 381 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:13.039 CCTV laughing and joking as they returned. A few days later, 382 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:17.599 they returned to Shakira's flat. She was dead. Her body 383 00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:19.920 was slumped in the tiny cupboard where they had left her. 384 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:23.920 Now they had a problem. They didn't want to just 385 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.720 leave her there. That would look suspicious, so Pendleberry came 386 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:31.039 up with a plan. He borrowed a caravan from his hand, 387 00:25:31.079 --> 00:25:33.519 and the idea was to soft Shakira's body inside and 388 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:37.279 abandon it somewhere far away. But it was already too late. 389 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:42.400 Shakira's body was already decomposing. The smell and bodily fluids 390 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:45.640 was more than they could handle, so instead they dragged 391 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:48.400 Shakira's corpse into the bedroom and laid it out on 392 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:51.799 the bottom bunk of a child's bed. They wanted it 393 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:55.440 to look natural, as if Shakira had just died peacefully 394 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:58.920 in her sleep. They lit incense to try and cover 395 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:03.200 the stench of rot. They even packed ice around Shakira's body, 396 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:07.000 a crude and desperate attempt to slow the inevitable decomposition. 397 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:11.000 Then they laid out a newspaper beside the bed, as 398 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:13.400 if Shakier had been reading when death came for her. 399 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:17.079 And just before and just like before, they started cleaning. 400 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:22.759 They scrubbed their flats, They raised fingerprints, burned clothing, discarded founds. 401 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:25.599