Family of four murder victims say whole life order would be ‘only fair’

Joshua Jacques was found guilty of the murders of Samantha Drummonds, Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, Dolet Hill and Denton Burke.
Tracey-Ann Henry, the aunt of Samantha Drummonds, sister of Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, and daughter of Dolet Hill, speaks to the media outside the Old Bailey, central London, where Joshua Jacques, 29, has been found guilty of murder (Emily Pennink/PA)
PA Wire
Emily Pennink21 December 2023
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Loved ones of four members of the same family murdered in a drug-fuelled frenzy said their killer had shown no remorse and deserved to die in prison.

On Thursday, an Old Bailey jury found 29-year-old drug abuser Joshua Jacques guilty of the murders of his girlfriend Samantha Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill’s partner, Denton Burke, 58.

Jacques had attacked the victims with a knife at their home in Bermondsey, south London, last April 25.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey on Thursday, Tracey-Ann Henry described the impact of losing some of her closest family.

She said: “It’s affected me really bad because I lost my mum, sister, niece and stepdad. And I can’t sleep at night just worrying what the outcome going to be.”

“I’m spending my second Christmas without my family. So that is very going to be very emotional on Christmas Day.”

Justice. Justice has been served (for) my mum, sister, niece and stepdad. So rest in peace. Finally. Finally.”

Mr Burke’s niece Chyloe Daley said the guilty verdict was a “very long time coming”.

She said: “Just the first word that comes is grateful. Sadness, but filled with joy because important things and people and lives were taken from us and today, we heard what we felt like we’ve waited over a year for.”

The two women agreed that Jacques should be given a whole life sentence and never released back into the community.

Ms Daley said: “That’s something that we can hope and we can pray for as a family. It’s up to the judge at the end of the day.

There is so much we could say, things that we want to share. They weren't just lives that were taken, but they were people and they lived and they were funny, and they were caring and they were giving. That's how we want to think about them from now on

Chyloe Daley

“But four family members were taken and I just think it is the only thing we can ask for now.

“I think it’s at that level of seriousness. Yeah, it’s only fair.”

Ms Daley said attending court every day had been “extremely hard” for family members dealing with disabilities and other issues in their lives.

And throughout, she said Jacques had shown “no empathy” for what he had done or one “iota of emotion”.

She added: “At the end of the day..it wouldn’t have solved anything. It wouldn’t have brought those four members of our family back.”

On their lost loved ones, Ms Daley said: “There is so much we could say, things that we want to share. They weren’t just lives that were taken, but they were people and they lived and they were funny, and they were caring and they were giving. That’s how we want to think about them from now on.”

Other members of the family said they found it “hurtful” that Jacques had shown no remorse during the trial.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in