Party Horror: Young Man Brutally Beaten and Dropped from Balcony
Bill Henham, 24, was savagely attacked and left for dead on New Year’s Day 2020 in a grim squash on North Street. The victim suffered more than 60 injuries after being beaten, kicked, stamped on, and struck with a wooden bannister spindle before being dropped 11ft into a recessed courtyard. The brutal assault unfolded inside a disused four-storey building once home to offices, a bar, and a restaurant.
Four Convicted in Savage Squad Murder
After a tense 10-week trial at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent, four men were convicted of Bill’s murder on 24 January. The killers – Dushane Meikle, 28, of Hove; Gregory Hawley, 29, of no fixed address; Lamech Gordon-Carew, 20, from Middlesex; and 19-year-old Alize Spence from Croydon – had all denied the charges.
Last Friday at Hove Crown Court, all four were sentenced to life imprisonment. Hawley and Meikle face a minimum of 25 years behind bars, while Gordon-Carew and Spence received minimum sentences of 18 years.
Horrific Scene Discovered After Party Turned Deadly
Police were called on January 2 after reports of a man being thrown from a balcony during a party in the squatted building. Officers found Bill’s battered body in a recessed courtyard, accessed via a flat roof terrace.
The post-mortem revealed a brain haemorrhage, 11 broken ribs, and extensive bruising and cuts to his scalp, face, and neck – all from a merciless assault. Forensic evidence traced the attack starting on the building’s second floor before moving to a small first-floor room where the beating continued.
Bleach, Blood, and Boasting: The Aftermath of a Ghastly Murder
Bill had been stripped naked, and investigators found bleach used to disinfect his body, with attempts made to clean blood from the scene. Gregory Hawley, labelled ‘in charge of the squat,’ openly joked about the attack and confessed to bleaching Bill’s body before throwing him from the window.
Hawley was spotted hours later carrying a bleach bottle and cloth near the brutal attack site. Meanwhile, Meikle was caught with deleted photos of Bill’s body on his phone, some partially clothed, some naked. Witnesses identified Hawley, Gordon-Carew, and Meikle in line-ups.
Following 16 months of complex investigation by the Sussex and Surrey Major Crime Team, the four were charged with murder. Another man and a 16-year-old boy initially arrested were released, though the boy was later charged after turning 18.
