A robber who murdered a betting shop manager by hitting him repeatedly with a hammer has today, Monday 13 January, been jailed for life.
Shafique Ahmad Aarij, 21 (28.3.92) of no fixed address, was ordered at Southwark Crown Court to serve a minimum of 26 years.
He had previously been found guilty of murdering 55-year-old Cypriot Andrew Iacovou in a unanimous jury verdict.
Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Eric Sword, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “This was an incredibly violent and unprovoked attack on a hard-working father-of-two – the level of violence was completely disproportionate to what the suspect sought to achieve which was robbing the shop.
“An initial hammer blow knocked the victim to the floor but Aarji continued to swing the weapon another eight times. He then calmly stepped over his victim in the hunt for cash.
“It is only right that Aarij will now serve many years behind bars.”
The victim was the manager of Ladbrokes in Aberconway Road, Morden, and had worked for the company for 25 years.
On the morning of Saturday 25 May married Mr Iacovou was working alone at the branch.
Around 10:00hrs a customer come into the shop. Seeing no one behind the counter, he looked into the office area and saw the victim lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
London Ambulance Service and police attended but Mr Iacovou was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers found a hammer and a knife in the office. The cash drawers were open and empty and coins were scattered on the floor. A safe had been damaged as attempts were made to smash it open.
A post-mortem examination gave the cause of Mr Iacovou’s death as blunt trauma to the head.
CCTV clearly showed the suspect entering the shop at 08:30hrs. He approached the victim and there was a struggle in the office area.
The suspect placed his arm around the victim’s throat and then produced a hammer which he used to hit Mr Iacovou over the head. The victim fell to the floor but the suspect continued to attack him with the hammer another eight times.
The killer then removed a bag strapped across his body and emptied a coin tray on the counter, stealing £296.68 in total. He moved around the office before leaving – CCTV showed him with the victim’s blood splattered across his face.
CCTV images of the suspect were circulated and other Ladbrokes staff recognised him as a regular customer.
Fingerprints taken from the knife left at the scene and a door matched that of Aarij.
A hunt began for Aarij and on Thursday, 30 May police received information that he was on a bus headed towards Ilford and he was arrested.
In police interview he admitted going to Ladbrokes armed with the knife and hammer intending to rob the premises at a time when he knew it would be quiet with only one staff member on duty. He accepted a struggle had taken place and he had demanded access to the safe, which the victim was unable to open.
He said the victim pushed a panic alarm and he became scared and upset and “not in his senses”. He admitted hitting the victim.
Evidence also showed Aarji had wired £271 to Pakistan just 90 minutes after the murder.
He was charged the following day.
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