Gambian gets life sentence in UK

A Gambian national was Thursday sentenced to life in prison by a British court after been found guilty of murder.

Juvinal Ferreira was found guilty by Norwich Crown Court for killing a British woman, Elaine Walpole in Dereham, Norfolk, last April.

Ms Walpole's body was found in a house in Dreibholz Court in Dereham. The post-mortem revealed three stab wounds to her head and neck and more fifty other injuries including a bite mark to her face.

Forensic examinations of samples taken from her body identified the defendant who was arrested in May in Hertfordshire.

At the time of his arrest on suspicion of murder, Mr Ferreira told police he was 16 years old. Police doubted his claim and embarked on a 10-month inquiry - using bone specialists and records found in Africa - to prove he was an adult.

Their research allowed the courts to treat Ferreira as an adult and not a juvenile.

In sentencing Mr Ferreira, the presiding judge handed down a life sentence, saying he should serve at least 22 years before being considered for parole. A juvenile would been handed a much shorter sentence.

Speaking to reporters after the judgement was delivered, a police spokesman, Detective Inspector Jes Fry said detectives were sure Ferreira was older than 16 as soon as they arrested him. He added that the police could not prove their suspicions because Mr Ferreira had no birth certificate, driving licence or other paperwork containing his date of birth.

"We were forced to trace Ferreira's history in Africa - and gather records available in Gambia - then compare that data to forensic tests on the age of his bones. He gave us his name and said he was from Gambia - which was true. He also said was 16 - which wasn't. We would have said he was in his early 20s. The problem was that he had none of the usual paperwork. So we made inquiries in Gambia through the Foreign Office and traced identification documents and school records.

"X-rays were then taken of his wrists, clavicles and lower jaw and these were examined by forensic odontologists and forensic anthropologists. When we compared the forensic evidence to the records we traced in Gambia we were able to show that he must be at least 20 and therefore an adult - and his lawyers accepted our findings.

"We don't know his exact age but that doesn't matter. We established that he was at least 20 and therefore the court could treat him as an adult. A juvenile would have had to have a much shorter sentence," the spokesman said.

Inspector Jes revealed that Mr Ferreira have shown no remorse for his actions.

Head of Protective Services, Detective Chief Superintendent Julian Blazeby said: “This was a challenging investigation, where the team of officers involved demonstrated professionalism in bringing a successful conclusion.

“This was a very unusual case that required the use of innovation and forensic specialists to prove the defendant's age and highlights the determination of our investigative team.”