East Finchley shooting: Man to face fifth trial over same murder charges Published duration 22 April

image copyright Metropolitan Police image caption Obina Ezeoke denied murrdering Annie Besala Ekofo and Bervil Kalikaka-Ekofo

An Old Bailey judge has ruled that a man can go on trial on the same murder charges for a fifth time.

Obina Ezeoke is accused of shooting dead a 53-year-old woman and her nephew at a flat in north London.

Mr Ezeoke, 27, denies murdering Annie Besala Efoko and 21-year-old Bervil Kalikaka-Efoko in East Finchley, in September 2016.

The first trial, in 2017, was abandoned after the judge became ill.

Juries at two subsequent trials, in 2018 and 2019, were unable to reach verdicts.

At the fourth trial, which began in February, the jury was discharged after they had started deliberations but before agreeing verdicts.

Mr Justice William Davis said: "The discharge was required once the number of jurors fell below nine.

"This occurred against the background of the Covid-19 epidemic," he added.

The judge said the prosecution had then applied for a fifth trial and he had granted its request, following a hearing on Monday.

Mr Justice Davis set out his reasons for granting the trial in a 31-paragraph ruling.