Abattoir worker ‘killed co-worker who had been paying him for sex’, court told

  • Video report by Rob Murphy

Two former abattoir workers "tricked" their way into the home of their ex-colleague before stabbing him and another man to death, a court has been told.

Denzil McKenzie, 56, was tortured at his home and stabbed 23 times.

An NHS worker from London - 27-year-old Fahad Hossain Pramanik - was also found dead in the house. He is thought to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A murder trial heard the men's bodies were found mutilated and laid out on display in the living room of Mr McKenzie’s home in Easton, Bristol.

Ionut-Valentin Boboc, 21 and of Hillfields in Bristol, admits murdering Mr McKenzie but denies the murder of Mr Pramanik.

Jacob-Bebe Chers, 45 and of Hillfields, denies both murders.

Both men are on trial at Bristol Crown Court.

Mr Pramanik was unknown to the two defendants.

Fahad Pramanik died at the property in Bristol and is believed to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But Chers, Boboc and Mr McKenzie had worked together at an abattoir outside of Bristol.

The jury was told Boboc had previously had an arrangement with Mr McKenzie where he performed sex acts on him in exchange for cash.

On the night of the killing, Boboc sent Mr McKenzie a series of messages trying to persuade him to let him come over so he could give him “a present”.

Prosecutor Kate Brunner QC said: “The prosecution’s case is that there was no special gift these defendants were going to give Mr McKenzie, these messages were their way of tricking Mr McKenzie into letting them into his house.”

The jury were shown CCTV footage of Boboc and Chers walking towards the address at 8.30pm on the night of the killings, then returning the same way at around 11pm.

A neighbour heard shouting that evening and the men were inside the house for some three hours before security footage captured them leaving, carrying audio equipment.

Ms Brunner said: “What they had left behind them was a scene of horror – the dead and mutilated bodies of Denzil McKenzie and Fahad Pramanik.”

Ms Brunner said Boboc went home and told his family he and Chers had killed two men. They thought he was joking but became concerned the following morning and contacted police.

The men then directed officers to Mr McKenzie's home in Wood Street and officers found the two bodies.

Message exchanges pieced together from Boboc and the first victim’s phones revealed Boboc had been asking to borrow money from Mr McKenzie since at least January 2019.

In one message to Boboc, Mr McKenzie said: “If I help you out with half (the money) will you help me out with some things?”

Boboc eventually agreed to some sexual activity, Ms Brunner said, but warned the victim he would be hurt if he were to overstep the line.

The defendant said in a message to Mr McKenzie: “If you try something else with me, we whack you.”

He added: “If you try something else you will die.”

The case continues.