Man who allegedly killed elderly woman with lawnmower flex in north London to be retried

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A jury has failed to agree a verdict in the trial of a man accused of strangling an elderly woman at an allotment.



Rahim Mohammadi, 41, allegedly killed Lea Adri-Soejoko, 80, with a lawnmower flex and hid her body at Colindale allotments in north London last February.

Adri-Soejoko, who was allotments secretary, was found in a locked mower shed after her family raised concerns that she had failed to turn up at a meeting. She was wearing wellingtons and an apron and had her keys in her pocket, the Old Bailey in London heard.

Mohammadi, from Hackney, north London, denied her murder.

The 12-strong jury deliberated over three days and was given a majority direction on Thursday afternoon but could not agree a verdict.

The judge, Nicholas Hilliard QC, discharged the jurors and said a fresh jury would decide the case later in the year.