Four men guilty of murdering Sussex student at New Year party
Bill Henham's body was found in Brighton on the first day of 2020
Four men have been found guilty of murdering a West Sussex student at a New Year's Eve party in Brighton.
Bill Henham suffered extensive injuries, having been savagely beaten, kicked, stamped on and struck with a wooden bannister spindle, before being thrown from a balcony.
The 24-year-old from Henfield's body was found in a recessed courtyard, within a disused building in North Street on January 1st, 2020.
The four men, who all denied murdering Bill, were found guilty at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday (February 24th) following a 10-week trial.
They are 28-year-old Dushane Meikle, of Amberley Drive in Hove, 29-year-old Gregory Hawley, of no fixed address, 20-year-old Lamech Gordon-Carew, of Cheeseman Close in Hampton, Middlesex and 18-year-old Alize Spence of Academy Gardens in Croydon.
All four will be sentenced at a later date.
Bill's murder
Police were called to the disused four-storey building, a former office block with bar and restaurant, after receiving information on January 2nd that a man had been beaten and dropped off a balcony during a party at the location, which was being used as a squat.
Officers discovered Bill's body in a recessed courtyard, accessed from a flat roof terrace at the rear of the building.
Bill, a student at Ravensbourne University in London, had spent Christmas with his family in Henfield, but wanted to see in the New Year in a 'lively' atmosphere and had been dropped off close to Brighton city centre by his father on New Year's Eve.
CCTV footage revealed Bill leaving a nightclub on the seafront, before the final sighting of him at 4.30am on New Year's Day in a convenience store in North Street, near the squat where the New Year's Eve party was held.
Officers say Bill was subjected to a 'sustained and significant' assault, that left him with over 60 injuries including multiple broken ribs and a brain injury.
One of those arrested, Gregory Hawley, described as 'in charge of the squat', was said to have laughed and joked about the attack and allegedly confessed to stripping Bill's body and dousing him in bleach before throwing him out of a window.
Hawley was also seen a few hours later with a bleach bottle and cloth just a few feet from the same room where Bill was assaulted and others involved were alleged to continue boasting about it once they had moved to a second squat nearby.
Another of the arrested men, Dushane Meikle, was later found to have two deleted photos of Bill's body - one partially clothed and one naked - on his mobile phone.
The group were charged with murder in May and June 2021, following 16 months of investigating and forensic work, with a fifth man arrested released without further action.
Prosecutor James Mulholland QC had told the court that although the motive for Bill's murder had been 'unclear', all four men had either participated in the physical attack upon Bill or deliberately helped or encouraged one or more of the others to do so in the early hours of New Year's Day, 2020.
Each intended in doing so that he be caused at least really serious injury and they are all guilty of murder.
They will be sentenced at a later date.
Detective Superintendent Alex Geldart of Sussex Police said:
"I, and the whole investigation team, feel privileged to have brought justice for Bill and his family, whose strength, dignity and fortitude throughout the investigation and trial has been truly humbling.
“Bill was just enjoying celebrating the New Year when his life was brutally brought to an end. Since his tragic murder, we have never given up hope that we would finally hold those responsible to account.
“This has been a lengthy and complex investigation involving a huge number of enquiries and forensic work to bring this case to court, resulting in the convictions today for this senseless killing.
"The four convicted men will now face many years in prison and we hope Bill's family will be able to find some closure, knowing that his killers are finally behind bars."