Three jailed for the murder of Ebrima Cham

William 'Blaise' Algar

The court case over the murders of William ‘Blaise’ Algar and Ebrima Cham has finally come to a conclusion with lengthy jail sentences for three men.

It remains unclear who actually killed 53-year-old Mr Algar, the talented jazz trumpeter who attended Chiswick School, but the gang of drug dealers who took over his home are now all behind bars.

The case concluded with the imprisonment of 19-year-old Emeka Dawuda-Wodu for 31 years for killing Mr Cham. He had stood trial for the murder of Mr Algar but was found not guilty after a jury deliberation of 34 hours. He could only be named this week following the sentencing for legal reasons.

Two other men were jailed in connection with the murder of Mr Cham, 40-year-old Simon Emmons of Barnes who received 31 years and 33-year-old Zimele Dube of Wembley who received 28 years.

Dawuda-Wodu pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice in connection with the death of Mr Algar and received a six year sentence to run concurrently with his murder sentence as well as another unrelated charge for GBH in which he stabbed 20-year-old Charlie Hirschman in a row over a cigarette.

Emeka Dawudu-Wodu was found not guilty of Mr Algar's murder

Emmons, was sentenced to nine years for perverting the course of justice in relation to Mr Algar’s death after being found guilty after the trial in May. The sentence is to run concurrent with the murder sentence.

Two other men, Jayano Lucima of Hounslow and 45-year-old Marc Harding of The Drive, Isleworth had earlier been sentenced to three years, three months for perverting the course of justice. Lucima was convicted after the trial in May and Harding pleaded guilty ahead of the trial.

Murder victim Ebrima Cham

35-year-old Ebrima Cham, who lived in Hounslow was known as the Brim Reaper and specialised in robbing other drug dealers in the manner of Omar, a character on the TV series The Wire. He became involved in a confrontation with Zimele Dube which police presume was connected to a previous robbery by Mr Cham. Dube came to a flat on Grove Road were Mr Cham was staying at around 11:15am on 19 December 2019 with Emmons and Dawuda-Woda and they stabbed him eleven times. He died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics.

The team of detectives investigating the murder located CCTV of the car used by Dube, Emmons and Dawuda-Wodu

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

The exact circumstances of Mr Algar’s death are not known, but he was last seen alive on 1 December 2019, cycling to a cashpoint along Castlenau in Barnes. It is believed that the gang of drug dealers including the three convicted of Mr Cham’s murder took over his house in Nowell Road Barnes in a ploy known as cuckooing in which the property of a vulnerable person is used as a base for illegal activities.

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

Mr Algar was stabbed to death with a Rambo-style knife in his home after he complained to Dawuda-Woda 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 the murder of Ebrima Cham.

It was the prosecution’s case that Dawudu-Wodu, Emmons, Lucima and Harding were all involved in the movement and disposal of Mr Algar’s body.

Searches on Emmon’s phone were conducted on Tuesday, 17 December, he had typed: “Can acid dissolve a body?” and ten minutes late on “Hydroflouric acid/Breaking Bad wiki” which was an apparent reference to a TV series in which men attempt to dispose of a body in a bath.

Lucima was also involved in the body disposal and made his way to a shop where he purchased a number of household cleaning products: bleach, washing-up liquid, J-cloths and black bin bags.

On 18 December, Dawudu-Woku, Emmons and Harding, picked up bags and a suitcase and then travelled in a cab to a road just off Nowell Road. They took the bags and suitcases with them and told the cab driver to wait for them. When they returned it took two of them to carry the suitcase. They then got the cab driver to take them to Simpson Road – which leads directly onto Hounslow Heath. Police later recovered body parts belonging Mr Algar on Hounslow Heath.

The body had not been disposed of completely when the trio decided to deal with Ebrima Cham.

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 sentences passed down by the courts – especially in relation to the murder of Brim Cham – properly reflect the danger these men represent to society and the public can feel confident they will be off the streets for a very long time. I would like to praise the family of Brim Cham and the dignity they showed throughout these very difficult proceedings.”

August 20, 2021