Labourer Convicted of Murder and Dismemberment

A 27-year-old labourer, Dajour Jones, has been found guilty of murdering a 20-year-old man and dismembering his body in a “sustained and brutal” attack. In January 2022, Jones fatally stabbed Jamie Gilbey, subsequently cutting up the body and distributing the remains in undergrowth at South Norwood Lake and Grounds in south London. Jurors at the Old Bailey were informed that it was a “deeply disturbing” case involving a “defenceless” victim. Jones declined to attend the court hearing for the verdict via video link from Belmarsh Prison. He had asserted that he struck Mr. Gilbey with a broom in self-defence after Mr. Gilbey allegedly confronted him with a knife and stole his phone. Prosecutor Simon Dennison KC described Mr. Gilbey as an “innocent victim of a highly dangerous man,” who had been “too trusting” and “too eager to please.” He further stated that Mr. Gilbey was a “very vulnerable, physically unimposing 20-year-old man who above all wanted to have friends.” Mr. Dennison dismissed the defendant’s claim of self-defence, stating that Mr. Gilbey was “incapable of presenting any physical threat to the defendant let alone taking out a knife and threatening to stab him with it.” After deliberating for five hours, jurors convicted Jones of murder following a two-month trial. The court heard that both men were observed returning to the Fitze Millennium Centre housing and support facility on the evening of 27 January, and CCTV footage showed them entering the defendant’s room. “Jamie Gilbey was never seen alive again,” Mr. Dennison stated. He added, “The defendant murdered him there in a brutal, sustained, and particularly disturbing attack in which he inflicted multiple blunt force injuries to Jamie’s head, and he stabbed him multiple times with a sharp weapon.” Jurors were informed that Jones proceeded to remove Mr. Gilbey’s dismembered body from his room without being seen doing so. The prosecution stated that on 28 January, Jones acquired a large suitcase, took it back to his room, and made three trips with it over the subsequent days. These trips, jurors were told, included two visits to Cantley Gardens, where Jones disposed of Mr. Gilbey’s body. A third trip was made to Love Lane Green in South Norwood, where clothing and bedding “heavily stained with blood” were disposed of, according to the prosecution. Having “calmly disposed of the body,” Jones also carried out a “remarkably thorough” clean-up operation in his room and appeared “extra ordinarily relaxed and cheerful,” the court heard. Evidence of the clean-up became visible when chemicals were applied to the floor, the jury heard, but no murder weapon was recovered. Police discovered the suitcase containing the bloodstained clothing on 27 February 2022. Jones was arrested on 3 March, but when questioned, he declined to answer any police questions or disclose what had happened to the body, the court heard. Giving evidence at the trial, the defendant claimed he acted in self-defence. He also denied dismembering the body, stating that he took it away from the hostel in one trip and handed it to others for disposal, and that he stabbed the victim’s feet after he was already dead. The trial revealed that at the time of the murder, Jones was on licence, having been released from prison after attacking a man in a cycle shop in London Bridge. Police indicated he had a history of violence. Sentencing has been adjourned to 13 December, with Judge Nigel Lickley KC stating that Jones would be required to attend.