Wolverhampton man found guilty of murdering woman
Clive O'Connor, 58, murdered Jomaa Jerarre in August 2021.
A man has been found guilty of the murder of a woman in South Staffordshire.
Clive O’Connor, 58, of Bilston, Wolverhampton, was found guilty by a jury today (Thursday 6 July) of the murder of 52-year-old Jomaa Jerarre following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
A body, which we now know to be Jomaa’s, was found in a layby on the A454 Bridgnorth Road, close to Perton, just before 2.30am on 9 August 2021. The body was badly burnt and it was quickly established that an accelerant had been used.
We launched an investigation and after a comparison of a palm print to the national fingerprint database, we believed the body to be Jomaa, from Wolverhampton. This was later confirmed using DNA.
Clive O’Connor was identified as one of the last people to see Jomaa alive and he was arrested on 13 August 2021 on suspicion of murder. In a statement, O’Connor told detectives he last saw Jomaa alive in mid-July 2021. However, CCTV footage showed him purchasing items using Jomaa’s debit card at various shops in Bilston up until 31 July.
Jomaa and O’Connor were friends and evidence showed she was living at his flat in Bilston prior to her death.
Evidence suggests that Jomaa died between 3 and 4 August and O’Connor stored her body in a chest freezer in his home for a number of days. He then left her in the layby and set fire to her body in an attempted to destroy evidence and conceal how she died.
The car that O’Connor used, a green Nissan Micra, was seen three times between 12 midnight and 1.40am near to where Jomaa’s body was found. Witnesses saw a small car in the layby on Bridgnorth Road and a man wearing bright orange t-shirt next to it.
A fire was seen minutes later. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) picked up the Nissan Micra just after 9pm the previous night and showed the driver wearing a bright orange top. CCTV confirmed O’Connor was wearing an orange football shirt. This was later seized from his flat.
Although a cause of death could not be determined due to decomposition and damage caused by the fire, there was no evidence that the cause of death was natural or toxicological. The post mortem found that she had had received two forceful neck compressions causing fractures. The most recent was five to ten days before she died. The possibility that she died as a result of fatal neck compression cannot be discounted. Jomaa also had unexplained bruising to her back and upper chest.
Chief Inspector Dan Ison, who led the investigation into Jomaa’s death, said: “I hope the conviction of O’Connor will bring justice to Jomaa’s family and friends who have shown immense strength throughout the investigation. Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.
“I would like to thank the public for their support throughout the investigation to bring O’Connor to justice.
“This was a particularly harrowing investigation and it deeply affected everyone involved. I am glad that O’Connor will now face the consequences of his actions.
O’Connor is due to be sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court tomorrow (Friday 7 July).