Met Police officer faces dismissal after ‘asking colleague for a picture of a decomposed corpse’
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A Metropolitan Police officer is facing dismissal after “asking for a photo of a decomposed corpse of a colleague who was later jailed for taking selfies next to the bodies of two murdered sisters”
- Met Police Officer Bonnie Murphy Faces Termination Over Serious Misconduct Allegations
- They accuse her of cheating on a test and asking for crime scene photos.
- She denied the accusations and her lawyer says she was a victim of ‘grooming’
A Metropolitan Police officer could be fired from the force after she allegedly asked a colleague to capture and send a photograph of a decomposed corpse.
PC Bonnie Murphy reportedly told fellow officer PC Jamie Lewis that she “wanted to send him a photograph of a possible crime scene,” a hearing was told.
Lewis received the image from another officer before sending it to Murphy, according to The times. He was later jailed for allegedly taking selfies next to two of the bodies of two murdered sisters.
Murphy, who faced a disciplinary panel in central London yesterday, is also charged with cheating on a police driving test by reviewing past tests provided by Lewis and Googling test answers.
Murphy, who is facing termination, has denied the allegations of gross misconduct.
PC Bonnie Murphy (not pictured) could be fired from the Met police force after she allegedly asked her colleague PC Jamie Lewis (pictured December 2021) to capture and send a photograph of a dead body decomposed
Lewis and another officer were sentenced to two years and nine months in jail in December 2021 after sharing photos of slain sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry (pictured) with colleagues via WhatsApp.
Police found the decomposed body at a property in north-east London in January 2020 after neighbors reported an odor. The individual had died of natural causes.
An officer photographed the body for employment purposes before handing it over to Lewis, the hearing was told.
Lewis then sent the image to Murphy, then 20, via WhatsApp after she messaged him asking for crime scene photos to share with her mother.
The officer reportedly replied ‘haha’ when he messaged about the case. She had a similar response, writing ‘lol’, when she talked about her driving test.
Eva Niculiu, in defense, claims that Murphy had no intention of sharing the photo with her mother and “didn’t.”
She chalked up Murphy’s request to apparent “morbid curiosity.”
He also argued that his client thought it was “quite normal” for officers to cheat during driving tests.
Ms Niculiu blamed Lewis for “grooming” Murphy and said the young officer “was under his influence”. In addition, she attributed Murphy’s behaviors to his age and the impact of the team’s culture.
Lewis has not participated in Murphy’s hearing as he is currently in prison.
Murphy’s hearing will continue today. It is unclear if the officer who sent Lewis the original image is involved in the hearing.
The Telegraph claims the policeman kept his job but was told to undergo “reflective practice”.
Meanwhile, Lewis and PC Deniz Jaffer were sentenced to two years and nine months in prison in December 2021 after they shared photos of slain sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry via WhatsApp.
Henry, 46, and Smallman, 27, were stabbed to death at Fryent Country Park in a random attack.
Six officers were sent images of their bodies or were informed of their existence. Lewis also sent a series of other crime scene images – which did not show their bodies – to a group chat with more than 40 colleagues.
Murphy’s hearing will continue today.