Honeytrap killers: Women begin seduction of victim before he is killed in vicious knife attack

A man who posed on Instagram with two Rolex watches has been killed after two women used the date rape drug GHB in an attempt to rob it.

Saul Murray, 33, had been tricked by Surpreet Dhillon and Temidayo Awe, who seduced him and stripped him naked.

He was found naked in a pool of blood at the communal entrance to his flat in New Town Street, Luton, after his male accomplices, Ikram Affia and Cleon Brown, were summoned as the drug had not rendered him unconscious.

Police were later able to identify Affia by a distinctive and rare Moncler designer coat she was wearing. It matched the one used on CCTV the night of the crime.

Affia was convicted of murder and sentenced Friday to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years. The others were convicted of manslaughter.

Dhillon and Awe entered the apartment at around 11:30 p.m. on February 26 of last year.

CCTV showed the jury at Luton crown court showing the women, who admitted to similarly attacking other men, leaving the apartment, followed 19 seconds later by the two men. Affia carried a large knife in her right hand.

The Rolex watches were fake, and Murray, a father of six, had no expensive items in the apartment he had just moved into.

A jury found Ikem Affia, 31, of Shore Place, Hackney, London, guilty of murder.

Surpreet Dhillon, 36, of Carnarvon Road, London; Cleon Brown, 29, of King Edward’s Road, South Hackney; and Temidayo Awe, 21, of Saunders Street, Gillingham, were found guilty of manslaughter.

All four defendants were found guilty of conspiring to rob Murray between February 8 and February 28. Affia was also found guilty of having a knife.

Brown was jailed for 11 years, Dhillon was sentenced to 10 years, and Awe was sentenced to seven years.

At the trial, prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC said: “Mr Murray can be seen only seconds after the men. He is limping and completely naked. He opens the communal door and falls to his death.

She said a night shift worker dialed 999 after returning home an hour and a half later and saw Murray in a pool of blood.

An autopsy found that he died from a deep wound to the thigh. She entered his femoral artery and bled out.

The murder took place in the early hours of Sunday, February 27 last year after Surpreet Dhillon contacted Murray via Instagram and WhatsApp.

The four defendants traveled to Luton from London late on Saturday 26 February in a Mercedes A-Class car that Brown had hired.

Murray met the two women outside their apartment while the two men drove away and used a McDonalds Drive-thru.

She said the two women had shared brandy with Murray and “gave him GHB to knock him out”.

The prosecutor said: ‘Ms Dhillon and Ms Awe admit to entering the apartment with GHB and giving it to them. They admit they’ve done this before: cheating on men and stealing items, including watches, while those men sleep. The men installed were also given GHB.

She said that at some point there was clearly some degree of sexual activity between the two women and Murray. Swabs from both sides of her face and neck contained DNA from both women. The GHB dose had not been strong enough to knock Murray out and the two men were contacted.

Police linked Dhillon through Instagram contact with the victim. Awe was picked up through her social media contact with Dhillon.

Affia was wearing the £1,350 coat at the scene. Detectives found that only 69 had been sold in the UK. In-car telematics connected it to a KFC in London.

When giving evidence, Dhillon admitted to attacking six men in similar traps between October 2021 and February 2022. One victim lost £32,000. She said that Awe had been involved on four occasions.

In a personal statement from the victim, the victim’s father, Colin Murray, described Saul as a wonderful son. He said that he had seen his son die on CCTV.

He said: ‘It’s the last thing I think about before I go to sleep and the first thing I think about when I wake up.’

Judge Michael Simon said Murray’s life had been ‘brutally cut off’.

He said: “Nothing this court says or does can mend the yawning void in the hearts and lives of those to whom Saul Murray meant so much.”

The judge added: ‘Something went wrong with the primary plan. Exactly what went wrong is beyond the ability of the court to be sure from the available evidence.’

He said Dhillon had lived a “predatory lifestyle” by targeting men on social media.

He said: “Something that looked like a game of easy money had the potential to go wrong.”

After sentencing, Detective Inspector Dale Mepstead, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crimes Unit, said: “This was clearly a planned attack facilitated by Dhillon and Awe and carried out by Affia and Brown.”

“It’s obvious from the way the two women used a sedative on Murray and the fact that Affia was armed with a knife that they were prepared to get what they wanted at any cost, which unfortunately was Murray’s life.”

He added: “This was a very lengthy and complex investigation, involving the examination of CCTV hours, telephone data, vehicle telematics and other evidence to place each of them in Murray’s apartment at the time of the offence.”

“I hope that the knowledge that the four people involved in this horrible incident will be locked up for a long time can bring some justice to Saul’s loved ones.”

The case will appear in the documentary 24 Hours in Police Custody later this month.