Mum-of-three died of heart attack after being repeatedly raped by stranger on park bench, court hears

4 October 2024, 23:02

A mum-of-three died of a heart attack when she was repeatedly raped by a stranger who had been “seeking out a vulnerable woman”, a court heard on Friday.

Natalie Shotter, 37, had been on a night out enjoying herself before she was allegedly attacked by Mohamed Iidow, a stranger.

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The NHS worker was found dead by a passer-by in Southall Park, west London, in the early morning on July 17 2021, the Old Bailey was told.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told jurors on Friday that Ms Shotter had died of a heart attack caused by Iidow raping her "again and again".

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CCTV footage was shown of Ms Shotter sitting on a bench with a different man when, the prosecution say, the defendant walked past and looked at them shortly before the alleged attack.

Iidow then left the park, drove away in his car, then returned, jurors heard.

Ms Shotter was lying down, showing "no clear movement" for around half-an-hour before the defendant approached her "nonchalantly", Ms Morgan said.

During the alleged attack, the victim had been "deeply unconscious", she said.

"What was the defendant doing there, what was he seeking to do, walking up and down the paths in the middle of the night and thinking about what his objectives must have been - seeking out a vulnerable woman to rape," she added.

Ms Morgan told jurors: "The prosecution's case is that Natalie died as a result of what was done to her by this defendant.

"She was not dead at the time when the defendant was orally raping her, it will be a matter for you to consider - that this defendant went to the park for a reason.

"He would not have sought to have sex with a dead body for over 15 minutes, he was having sex with someone he knew was alive but was deeply unconscious and therefore he was raping her."

Ms Shotter was found dead by a passer-by in the park in the early morning of July 17 2021, the court heard previously.

Swabs taken from Ms Shotter's mouth area matched DNA samples taken from the defendant, the court heard.

Iidow has denied the charges against him and the trial was adjourned until Monday.