LONDON // A hammer-wielding thug is facing the rest of his life in jail after he was found guilty on Tuesday of trying to kill three Emirati sisters.
Khuloud Al Najjar, 36, and her sisters Ohoud, 34, and Fatima, 31, were beaten and left for dead in their London hotel room in the early hours of April 6.
On Tuesday, a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London convicted Philip Spence, 33, of attempted murder. He will be sentenced next month, and Judge Anthony Leonard QC said: “I will have to consider a full life term.”
The sisters suffered smashed skulls and other life-threatening injuries when Spence battered them with a claw hammer at least 15 times before he ransacked their room and fled with cash and valuables. Ohoud is unlikely to recover fully from appalling injuries.
Khuloud and Fatima said on Tuesday their lives had been destroyed, and no sentence was harsh enough for the thug who attacked them.
“He has never once shown any ounce of remorse; his sole concern has been for himself and to find some way of getting away with what he did,” Khuloud said. “I will never ever forgive him, and sincerely hope that one day he feels the full burden of what he has done.”
After the verdict it was revealed that Spence was accused a year ago of violent assault on a pregnant woman, and walked free from court after claiming he had acted in self-defence.
A British law designed to ensure fair trials meant the jurors in the Emirati case had no idea Spence had been charged before with attempted murder.
On Tuesday the Metropolitan Police thanked Abu Dhabi Police, whose officers visited London and provided “crucial assistance” in the investigation. The Met also thanked the UAE Embassy, whose staff “helped us to enhance our knowledge of the needs of visiting communities”.
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