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December 21, 2004

Murder suspect blames deaf friend

From: ic SouthLondon.co.uk - London,England,UK - Dec 21, 2004

Greenwich Mercury

TWO men accused of a brutal murder in Plumstead were waiting to hear their fates on Monday.

Derek Dale, a deaf 18-year-old, and Nabeel Aljubori, 24, are accused of murdering Paul Geddes, 32, at his home in Dawson Close.

During their trial at the Old Bailey the jury heard how intruders broke into Mr Geddes' flat and fractured his skull and ribs, stamped on his genitals and cut his left ear with a craft knife.

The jury had not yet reached a verdict as we went to press on Monday, following summing up by Judge Peter Fingret earlier that day.

Dale and Aljubori are said to have attacked Mr Geddes after burgling two homes in the area to feed their drug habits.

It is alleged that after attacking Mr Geddes they returned to his home to burn his body and destroy evidence.

Mr Geddes has been described in court as a loner who was "somewhat eccentric" but "no harm to anybody".

He was said to have been vulnerable to those who might take advantage of his position. Aljubori claimed on Monday last week that he had not seen the attack take place, but said he believed Dale was responsible.

"I thought he had had a fight with the man. I thought the man got cut a bit," he said.

Prosecutor Victor Temple QC asked him: "Who did you think might have been doing the cutting?"

Aljubori replied: "Derek."

He denied going back to burn down Mr Geddes's home later on June 19 last year, even though his singed coat was later found by police.

Mr Temple asked: "Can you explain why there was fire damage on your Burberry coat?"

Aljubori replied: "No I can't."

Mr Temple asked what had happened to the trousers he had been wearing on the day of Mr Geddes's death.

He said: "Why should you have thrown away a perfectly good pair of trousers?"

Aljubori replied: "I don't remember what I did with them. I lost them in my house some-where."

Mr Temple suggested: "You got rid of them because they were covered in blood and you wanted to get rid of the evidence.

"Between the two of you, you caused the injuries to Mr Geddes that caused his death. That's why you went back there to destroy the evidence."

Aljubori said: "No I didn't."

He admitted he had lied when he told police he had never been to Mr Geddes's flat, and that he could have helped their investigation.

Mr Temple asked: "Did you want to assist the police with this awful murder?"

Aljubori replied: "No."

Mr Temple asked: "Why didn't you want to help them find who had done it?"

Aljubori said: "I didn't want to get Derek into trouble."

Dale, of Arthur Grove, and Aljubori, of Kempt Street, Plumstead, both deny murder.


Copyright Trinity Mirror Plc 2004