Two men were jailed for more than 30 years each for murdering two people in front of horrified members of the public.
Shkelqim Paja, 36, and his wife’s cousin Arber Fesko, 30, were stabbed 42 times in less than four minutes on December 19, 2019.
Crime boss Besnik Berisha and his “henchman” Kiziku Tuwizana, who was injured in the murder, then collected the bodies in two cars from Mill Hill and drove away.
Tuwizana was forced to ditch Mr. Paja’s Mercedes car with Mr. Fesko’s body in the trunk at Scratchwood Open Space, next to the A1.
Mr Paja’s body was thrown from Berisha’s van into a hedge at Hogg Lane, near Elstree airfield.
A police car guarding the entrance to Scratchwood Open Space in December 2019
Following a trial in Old Bailey, Berisha, 44, of Friern Barnet, and Tuwizana, 33, of no fixed address, were found guilty this week of double murder.
Sentencing the two men today (July 16), Judge John Hillen QC said: “The quiet streets of this country must not be used to lawlessly avenge criminals.”
He jailed the men for life, giving Berisha a minimum sentence of 33 years and Tuwizana at least 31 years.
Besnik Berisha (left) and Kaziku Tuwisana who were imprisoned for over 30 years each at the Old Bailey. Credit: Met Police
Following the guilty verdict, Metropolitan Police said they believed the stabbing was due to an argument over a sum of money – around £ 15,000 – Berisha owed Mr Paja.
The Old Bailey learned that Mr Paja had become involved in serious organized crime, after loaning thousands of pounds to his former friend Berisha.
When he demanded the reimbursement, Berisha recruited “hired muscles” and assembled knives, a tasers and cable ties in a plot to kidnap and kill Mr. Paja, it has been learned.
But something went wrong and the plan was presented with Mr Paja and Mr Fesko stabbed in Courtlands Avenue in Mill Hill.
Police later arrived at the scene near the gates of a school and found two knives and puddles of blood from the victims.
Officers later discovered the bodies of Mr. Paja and Mr. Fesko and were able to link Berisha and Tuwizana to the murders medically and with CCTV.
A forensic tent in the parking lot of Scratchwood Open Space near Borehamwood. Credit: SWNS
Related: Pair Guilty Of Murder After Bodies Found In Car Trunk And Bushes
A map of the locations where the victims were stabbed (blue), where Mr. Fesko was found (red) and where Mr. Paja was found (yellow). Credit: Met Police
In court, Mr. Paja’s widow, Rezarta, cried while reading a victim impact statement.
She described meeting her “wonderful” husband in college, saying it was “love at first sight”.
Her husband and cousin were torn off in a “brutal and barbaric” manner.
She said: “What makes it even worse is the thought of how they died. My husband was stabbed 28 times in the body, then taken away and thrown into a ditch.”
A police cordon in Hogg Lane in December 2019
Mr Fesko’s twin brother, Seldi, has called for a maximum sentence for “bad and cold-blooded” killings.
In a statement, he described his “heartbreak” that his brother was killed and “thrown in the trunk of a car like garbage”.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-16 13:40:00