Mum, 35, fed ketchup sachets as she was tortured and beaten to death by 'sadistic' trio of killers, court hears

11 September 2023, 20:08 | Updated: 11 September 2023, 21:19

A mother was fed only ketchup sachets after being enslaved, burned and beaten to death by three "sadistic" killers, a court has heard.

Shakira Spencer, 35, was found dead by police in a cupboard at her home in Hanwell, west London, on September 25 last year.

Police were first called to the flat after her neighbour spotted maggots crawling out from beneath her front door.

Appearing at the Old Bailey in London, Ashana Studholme, 38, Ms Spencer's lover, Shaun Pendlebury, 26, and Lisa Richardson, 44, had all previously denied murder and preventing a lawful burial.

Described as a "beautiful happy, healthy woman" according to prosecutor Allison Hunter KC, Ms Spencer, who was once a "voluptuous size 16", was reduced to "skin and bone" following the length reign of abuse.

Speaking at the Old Bailey, Ms Hunter went on to describe at length how the three alleged killers had controlled and extensively tortured Ms Spencer.

"For whatever was their cruel, sadistic motive, these three defendants tormented, tortured, starved, burned, and eventually battered Shakira to death," said Ms Hunter.

"Over the months leading up to her murder the defendants, primarily Studholme and Richardson, subdued and dominated Shakira so totally that she was under all of their complete control.

"She was isolated from everyone she had previously known, her freewill seemingly sapped and stolen from her.

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"They stole her self-respect, her finances, took over her flat, prostituted her (at least so they claimed), treated her like a slave ordering her wake up in the early hours of the morning to clean their houses, sending her to the shops to do their errands, feeding her only on sachets of ketchup.

Ms Hunter continued: "Then in circumstances of unbelievable depravity, [they] boasted about and on occasion photographed and filmed what they did and were intending to do to her.

"The last beatings to the brink of her death took place in the home of Ashana Studholme, likely between 11 and 12 September."

The court heard how following her death, the victim's body was loaded into the boot of a red Honda Civic - borrowed by defendant Pendlebury - on the evening of September 12.

After placing her body in a hallway cupboard, the group mounted a "clean-up operation", later being caught on CCTV as they returned to Studholme's home in Greenhill Road, Harrow.

'It had first been their plan to dispose of her body in a caravan Pendlebury had borrowed from his same aunt on 15 September 2022,' said Ms Hunter.

'Pendlebury never returned the caravan to his aunt, but once the three defendants had set about removing what they thought were all traces of Shakira's blood, bodily fluids and DNA from their own respective premises, and attempting to clear traces of their presence in Shakira's flat after she lay dead."

Pendlebury, Richardson, and Studholme, all deny murder and preventing a lawful burial.

The trial continues.