Raphael Kokkinos, 34, of Polworth Road, Streatham, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and perverting the course of justice before the trial began on April 13, 2022.
Aaron Williams, 29, of Warwick Gardens, Thornton Heath, and Sophia Kokkinos, 70 of Chelsham Road, Clapham, were both found guilty of perverting the course of justice at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, 22 June.
All three will be sentenced in the same court at a later date.
Jean Loike Guei was killed in August 2020 as a result of a dispute over drugs stolen from Kokkinos’ home.
Following the burglary, Kokkinos owed Guei a significant amount of money that he had no way of repaying,” said Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, who led the investigation.
Guei was attacked and killed when he arrived at Kokkinos’ address.” Kokkinos then persuaded and enlisted the help of his friend, Williams, and his mother in order to cover up the crime and avoid being caught.
Their plans were no match for our team’s hard work and determination, as we used every resource at our disposal to gather a massive amount of evidence against the defendants.
This is a tragic case that clearly demonstrates the devastation that drug dealing can cause – not only has one man died, but others are now facing prison sentences as a result of their actions.
Guei’s body was discovered in the early hours of Thursday, September 17, 2020, after a member of the public noticed a fire in bushes on the side of a road near Mitcham Common.
A post-mortem examination determined that he had been assaulted and killed before his body was moved and set on fire.
The Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command launched an investigation and discovered that Kokkinos and Guei exchanged numerous phone calls in the days following the burglary.
On September 14, Kokkinos called to say he had some of the money he owed and agreed to mail it through the door of an address Guei had given him.
The money did not materialise, and CCTV seized by officers revealed that the following day, Guei drove to Kokkinos’ flat on Polworth Road, parked his car, and entered the property at around 12:05 a.m.
Officers believe Kokkinos killed Guei almost immediately.
Later that day, Aaron Williams arrived at the flat and played an important role in getting rid of Guei’s car by pretending to sell it to a mechanic. It remained there until officers discovered it during their investigations.
In the early hours of September 17, CCTV captured a convoy of cars driving to Mitcham Common. The light caught one of the vehicles at one point, which appeared to have a bulky and irregularly shaped object in the boot – officers believe this was Guie’s body.
Williams also sold the car used to transport the body. The new owner described the interior as “exceptionally clean” and smelling of chlorine, indicating the work done to remove any trace of Guei from the vehicle.
Kokkinos’ flat had also been thoroughly cleaned, and there were no visible signs of a struggle. However, crime scene investigators discovered two small bloodstains in the kitchen area that were later identified as belonging to Guei.
= Following the conclusion of the trial at the Old Bailey on June 22, the following people were found not guilty:
– Benoni Thomas, 28, of Old North Road, Cambridge, was found not guilty of manslaughter; – Joseph Kokkinos, 32, of Chelsham Road, Clapham, was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice; – Michael Brain, 28, of Eyston Drive, Weybridge, was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.
