Convicted of killing Ebrima Cham along with two others in 'frenzied attack'

William 'Blaise' Algar

Three drug dealers who admitted helping dispose of the body of jazz trumpeter Blaise Algar, have been convicted of the murder of another man following an 11 week trial at the Old Bailey. However, 19-year-old male who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of killing Mr Algar.

The teenager, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of killing 35-year-old Ebrima Cham along with 40-year-old Simon Emmons from Barnes and 33-year-old Zimele Dube of Wembley.

53-year-old William Algar, often known as Blaise, who attended Chiswick School, was murdered and dismembered in his home in Barnes. It is believed that a gang of drug dealers took over the house in a ploy known as cuckooing in which the property of a vulnerable person is used as a base for illegal activities.

Nobody has yet been convicted of Mr Algar’s murder but four people have admitted perverting the course of justice by helping dispose of Mr Algar’s body parts. These also include 19-year-old Jayano Lucima of Hounslow and 45-year-old Marc Harding of The Drive, Isleworth as well as the unnamed teenager and Emmons.

It is believed that Mr Algar was stabbed to death on or around 1 December with a Rambo-style knife in his home after he complained to the teenager about the treatment of his cat which has since disappeared. He was then dismembered and the gang started the process of disposing of his body parts at different locations before some of them were arrested for their part in another murder.

The unnamed teenager was accused of being the person who killed Mr Algar but the jury cleared him of murder and manslaughter after over 34 hours deliberation.

Following Mr Algar’s death, the teenager met with Emmons on 16 December and Emmons’ phone was used to research disposing of a body in acid in a way that had been featured in the Netflix TV series Breaking Bad.

The process of disposing of Mr Algar’s body followed this meeting and his limbs were left on Hounslow Heath. The body had not been disposed of completely when the trio decided to deal with 35-year-old Ebrima Cham. It is understood that Mr Cham robbed rival drug dealers’. During one of these robberies he became involved in a confrontation with Dube.

Sometime shortly afterwards, during what was described as a ‘frenzied attack’, the teenager, Emmons and Dube murdered Ebrima Cham in a flat on Grove Road Hounslow on the morning of 19 December 2019. At a post mortem discovered that Mr Cham had been stabbed 11 times, but it was a deep wound to his chest that proved fatal.

Murder victum Ebrima Cham

The team of detectives investigating the murder located CCTV of the car used by Dube, Emmons and the teenager to travel to the scene.

As a result, police were able to track them down and arrest them, although the driver of the car was not found to have been involved in the killing.

Later on police were notified by Mr Algar’s mother that she was concerned as he hadn’t been in touch over Christmas they searched his home on 2 January and found his severed head and torso.

The teenager claimed that Emmons had chopped up the body but admitted going to the flat to help clean up along with Lucima who bought cleaning products needed.

The victim's elderly mother had raised the alarm after he failed to keep in touch with her over Christmas.

Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall said, “I would personally like to thank all those witnesses who gave evidence about the murders and subsequent confessions. They knew how violent this gang were and the defendant’s readiness to use the most extreme violence. Despite this, these witnesses still had the courage to come forward and tell the court what had happened. Some of the witnesses were drug takers, but they attended court and gave evidence. Justice often depends on the bravery of such people and I applaud their actions.”

The defendants have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 23 July at the Old Bailey.

May 28, 2021