Chilling CCTV footage captured a prisoner grinning just moments before he brutally murdered a fellow inmate. On August 20 last year, Ashirie Smith, 19, and Thierry Robinson, 21, entered the cell of Mahir Abdulrahman at HMP Fosse Way in Leicestershire and launched a savage attack. The 31-year-old victim was discovered by a female prison officer at 7.45am, unresponsive and with horrific injuries, suffering from cardiac arrest.
Despite the immediate response of police and East Midlands Ambulance Service, Abdulrahman was pronounced dead at the scene approximately an hour later. A subsequent post-mortem examination revealed severe injuries including swelling to his right cheek, on the left side of his neck, and deep bruising to his brain and facial tissue. The cause of death was determined as a subarachnoid basal haemorrhage – bleeding in the area of the brain. CCTV footage from the prison, shared by Leicestershire Police, documented the moments leading up to and following the brutal assault. It showed that Abdulrahman’s cell had been unlocked by a prison officer who then continued their rounds, reports The Mirror.
The footage then captured Robinson smirking outside Smith’s cell before entering Abdulrahman’s cell shirtless. Just 37 seconds later, Smith and Robinson calmly exited the cell, leaving Abdulrahman for dead.
Smith was then seen re-entering the cell and exiting shortly after, having carried out the brutal attack.
Smith was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 17.5 years at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday, May 29, after being convicted of the murder of Mahir Abdulrahman, also known as Mahir Mohamed.
Robinson, acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter in the case of Mahir Abdulrahman, received an 11-year prison sentence. Shaan Karim, aged 38, was cleared of both murder and manslaughter charges.
Detective Inspector Mark Parish of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit remarked: “The injuries suffered by Mahir Abdulrahman showed a serious, sustained attack had taken place which ultimately led to his death.
“Thanks to the hard work of the investigation team, Smith and Robinson have been convicted in court and will now have to face responsibility for their actions.”
Wyn Jones, Serco Prison Director, expressed: “Any death in prison is a tragedy but the murder of Mr Abdulrahman was a heinous act. My thoughts remain with his family and those affected by his untimely death.
“Since the tragedy, our focus has been to bring those responsible to justice by working with the police to secure a conviction. I hope the verdicts will bring closure for his family.”
