Men jailed for 35 years after murdering Potters Bar's Louise Kam

Mohamed El Abboud, 28, of Gallants Farm Road, Barnet, and Kusai Al-Jundi, 25, of Wood End Road, were sentenced today after killing the 71-year-old on July 26, 2021.

Officers established that over a period of some months, Al-Jundi had planned to deceive her into signing over two properties that she owned, one in Gallants Farm Road, Barnet, and the other in High Road, Willesden.

He convinced her he was wealthy and had financial backers, with Ms Kam seeing this as an opportunity to sell the properties and as a fresh start for her and her family.

The pair met her at the Gallants Farm Road address to finalise arrangements. Here, she was strangled with the cord from a hairdryer and her body was dumped in a bin.

READ MORE: Two men guilty of murdering Potters Bar woman in £4.6m fraud

The following day, Al-Jundi began to use Ms Kam's mobile phone to send messages to her friends and family pretending that she was alive and well, and that she had gone on holiday.

But those who knew her realised that this was a lie and that the messages could not have been written by her.

Later that day, El-Abboud sold Ms Kam’s BMW to an unsuspecting buyer. He bought new clothes with the money and posted a TikTok video of him dancing in the driveway of the Barnet home.

Ms Kam was reported missing on July 27, and her car was recovered by police on July 28 in Edgware, with her body discovered on August 1.

A police investigation established that the mobile phone messages had been sent using the Wi-Fi at Al-Jundi’s restaurant in Willesden, while traces of both men’s DNA were found on a pair of gloves wrapped up with Ms Kam's body.

Louise Kam was killed in July 2021. (Image: Met Police)

El-Abboud’s DNA was also found on a hair dryer used to strangle her, while blood and fibres from her clothes were found on a jumper he was wearing.

“This horrific crime is a tale of greed taken to extremes. Al-Jundi and El-Abboud selfishly and brutally ended Louise Kam’s life for their own ends," said Catherine Gould, prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service.

READ MORE: Body found in search for missing woman as two men charged with murder

"These defendants hatched a plan to kill Louise and profit from her death.

"Al-Jundi sent false text messages purporting to be from Louise to her family and friends claiming that she had left the country and even had the audacity to claim that she had defrauded him at a time when he knew full well that she had been killed.

"El-Abboud confessed to a friend that he had killed Louise but denied this at trial. We are grateful that the jury saw through his lies. The police worked quickly to establish that Louise had come to harm and to secure the evidence to present a strong and compelling case to put before the jury.

"Our thoughts remain with Louise’s family and friends and we sincerely hope that these guilty verdicts will bring them some comfort."

Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, from Specialist Crime, led the investigation which he described as "painstaking", as he passed on his thoughts to Ms Kam's family and friends.

"This was a despicable, calculated and callous crime of greed carried out by two young men against an elderly lady," he said.

"Over a number of months, Al-Jundi attempted to plunder her life savings and take ownership of her properties. El-Abboud assisted his friend in bringing the plot to a fatal conclusion; Louise was strangled and her body dumped unceremoniously in a rubbish bin.

"Heartless attempts were then made to deceive her family and friends as to her whereabouts.

"As a result of a painstaking investigation, my team discovered evidence that conclusively linked both defendants to the murder of Louise.

"My thoughts and sympathies remain with the family and friends of Louise who, despite this verdict, may never get over the tragic circumstances surrounding her death."