London violence 2023: Names and faces of every woman killed in the capital this year

Last year 25 women were killed in the capital as a result of femicide, according to the Counting Dead Women project.

This figure includes the death of 35-year-old law graduate Zara Aleena, who was attacked and killed while walking home in Ilford.

Her murder follows the deaths of 33-year-old marketing executive Sarah Everard and 28-year-old primary school teacher Sabina Nessa, who were also attacked while walking home in 2021.

These deaths sparked a national outcry, with the Met Police releasing an updated action plan to target violence against women and girls in April 2022.

City Hall says it has allocated over £100m in investment to tackle violence against women and girls.

Despite these actions, according to data gathered by the Murder Map and Counting Dead Women, 15 women in London have lost their lives as a result of male violence this year so far.

Sandra Giraldo

Sandra Giraldo, 46, was found dead at a flat in Canute Gardens, Bermondsey, Southwark, after police forced entry to the property on March 1.

Officers had received reports of a concern for welfare at 8.23pm. Her husband Weimar Mosquera, 53, was also found injured in the flat. He was charged with murder.

Prosecutors believe the victim was strangled to death.

Unnamed 27-year-old woman

A 27-year-old woman was found seriously injured after police were called to a disturbance at a block of flats in Elephant Road, Elephant and Castle, Southwark, at around 3.56pm on April 6. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The same day a 31-year-old man who was known to the victim died after falling from a height at around 8.43pm.

DI Mike Nolan said: “While we are at the very early stages of our investigation, I would like to reassure the community that we don’t believe that any other persons are outstanding in connection with this tragic sequence of events.”

Suma Begum

Suma Begum, 24, who lived in Orchard Place, Tower Hamlets, was reported missing to police on April 30.

On May 10, a member of the public called the police to report the discovery of a body in the River Thames. A formal identification has yet to take place but the police have informed the family of their findings.

Police believe Suma was killed and her body was put into a suitcase and dumped in the River Lea. Her husband, Aminan Rahman, 45, was arrested on May 2 and charged with murder at the Old Bailey on May 9. He will appear again at the same court on July 25.

Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey

Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, 31, was attacked and stabbed to death as she walked along Stockwell Park Walk in Brixton on May 1.

Mohamed Nur, 33, of Bond Way, Vauxhall, has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon.

He has also been charged with three counts of causing grievous bodily harm over attacks against two women and a man.

The two women and a man suffered slash injuries in separate incidents in Town Hall Parade, Brixton Road and Acre Lane in Brixton, that happened within a one-hour period on Saturday April 29.

Johanita’s family said: “We are devastated by the news of the passing of our daughter. Johanita was a smart, dedicated, and loving girl who always helped anyone.

“She hasn’t got one bad bone in her body. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. We can’t believe a senseless crime like this has happened as we can’t imagine who would do this to her.”

Maya Devi

Maya Devi, 77, was found injured at her home in Cowdray Way, Elm Park, Havering, after her 79-year-old husband attended a police station at around 9.30pm on 2 May. Maya was pronounced dead at the scene.

A postmortem found she had suffered blunt force trauma to the head. A rounders bat and a rolling pin were found next to her body.

Her husband, Tarsame Singh, 79, was charged with murder on May 4.

Tejaswini Kontham

Tejaswini Kontham, 27, was stabbed at a residence in Neeld Crescent, Wembley, Brent, at around 9.59am on June 13. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A second woman aged 28 also suffered knife injuries and was taken to hospital.

Fellow resident Keven Antonio Lourenco De Morais, 23, of Neeld Crescent, Wembley, was charged with murder and attempted murder.

Ms Kontham was from Hyderabad, India and had travelled to London three years ago to study for her master’s degree at the University of Greenwich.

Ms Kontham’s father told a local TV channel that she came home for a month in August last year and was supposed to come back again for her wedding.

“She said she will return after [the wedding plans] were finalised. She had resigned from her temporary job,” he said.

Felecia Cadore

Felecia Caldore, 29, was found with stab wounds at an address in Grenaby Avenue, Croydon on Friday, June 9.

She was taken to hospital in a critical condition but sadly died on Wednesday, June 14.

Hussain Haron, 22, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday June 23 where he was charged with her murder. He was remanded in custody and will next appear at the same court on Friday September 8.

Monika Wlodarczyk

Monika Wlodarczyk, 35, and her children Maja, 11 and Dawid, 3, were found dead at their home in Hounslow. Her husband Michal Wlodarczyk, 39, was also found dead.

It is not yet known on which date the four people died. Police were called by Maja’s school at 3.12pm on Friday June 16, since they and her friends were concerned that she had not attended school since Monday June 12 and family members had not replied to messages.

Officers forced entry to the family home – a flat in Staines Road, Bedfont - a short time later, where, tragically, the four bodies were found.

Detectives said they were treating Monika’s death as murder after a postmortem found she died of multiple sharp force injuries.

DCI Linda Bradley said: “Specialist detectives continue to investigate the circumstances which led to this tragic incident. We are continuing to support family members at this unimaginably difficult time, and we thank the local community for their understanding in recent days whilst we conducted enquiries at the scene.

“The situation remains that we are not currently seeking anybody else in connection with the incident.”

Nelly Akomah

Nelly Akomah, 76, was found dead at her home in Ladbrook Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon, at around 10.40am on June 21. An initial postmortem was inconclusive as to the cause of death and police are awaiting the results of further tests.

Detectives said they were investigating the possibility of a burglary at the house. Hugo Da Silva Pires, 28, of  Fernham Road, Thornton Heath was charged on Sunday, June 25 with murder, burglary and fraud.

Catia Feliciano, 31, of the same address was charged with fraud and perverting the course of justice.

The pair were arrested at Stansted Airport on Friday, June 23 and appeared in custody at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Monday June 26.

Fiona Holm

Fiona Holm, 48, was last seen alive in Verdant Lane, Lewisham, on the evening of June 20. She was captured on CCTV cameras visiting an off licence and then later walking along the same road at around 9.30pm. In the later footage she was wearing what is thought to be a green top, with dark coloured leggings or trousers, possibly with Converse-style trainers. 

Fiona was reported missing on June 29 and has not made contact with anyone since. The investigation was taken over by the Met’s specialist crime command on July 11 because of the nature of her disappearance and Carl Cooper, 65, of Broadfield Road, was arrested on suspicion of murder. 

On July 13 Cooper was charged with the murders of Fiona and a second woman, Naomi Hunte, who was found stabbed to death in Woolwich on February 14 2022. Police said the suspect was known to both women and appealed for information. Fiona’s body has not yet been found.

Ann Murphy

Ann Murphy, 77, was found dead in a residence in Harold Road, North Acton, Ealing, after police were alerted to concerns about her welfare at 6.39pm on June 25. She was pronounced dead at the scene and a postmortem found the cause of death was a head injury. 

A 74-year-old man known to the victim was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and taken to hospital due to concerns for his health. DCI Neil John said: “We have made one arrest and are not looking for anyone else at this time in relation to this investigation. We would reiterate our appeal for anyone with any information to come forward and speak with officers.”

Elianne Andam

Elianne Andam, 15, was stabbed as she made her way to school in Croydon at around 8.30am on September 27. She was pronounced dead at the scene near a bus stop on Wellesley Road at 9.21am. A 17-year-old boy who knew the victim was arrested in New Addington at 9.45am the same day. 

A knife was recovered in Cedar Road, Croydon, on September 28. The teenage suspect was charged with murder on 29 September. Elianne’s family said in a statement: “Our hearts are broken by the senseless death of our daughter. Elianne was the light of our lives. She was bright and funny, with many friends who all adored her. She was only 15, and had her whole life ahead of her, with hopes and dreams for the future. All those dreams have now been shattered. Our lives have fallen apart, along with that of our wider family. We ask the media to please respect our privacy as we try to grieve the short life of our beautiful child.”

Mehak Sharma

Mehak Sharma, 19, was found stabbed at a residence in Ash Tree Way, Croydon, at around 4.10pm on October 29. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death was found to be a stab wound to the neck. Police believe she is an Indian national who recently arrived in the UK. 

Sahil Sharma, 23, of Ash Tree Way, Croydon, who was known to the victim, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. Police appealed for witnesses who heard or saw a disturbance at the address.

Christie Eugene

Christie Eugene, 64, was found injured at her home on Strathleven Road in Brixton, Lambeth, after police were called at around 8.10am on November 2. She was taken to hospital but died at 10.05pm the same day. Her son, Jason Phinn, 35 of Strathleven Road, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder.

Lianne Gordon

Lianne Gordon, 42, was shot in Vine Close, Hackney, at around 6.30pm on 5 December. She died at the scene. A 20-year-old man and 16-year-old boy also suffered gunshot wounds, but were later discharged from hospital.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was further charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs. Lianne’s family said: “Lianne had a heart of gold, we her family are going to miss her immensely.”

Met Police

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Tackling all forms of violence against women is a priority for the Met. Every woman should feel safe, and we remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure that is the case.

“We are supporting the mayor of London’s refreshed strategy which champions a public health approach to ending violence against women and girls, and places a stronger emphasis on partnership working, prevention and education across a wide range of services in London.

“This includes Met support for the Mayor’s Women’s Night Safety Charter as well as other initiatives such as ‘Ask for Angela’ to help keep people safe while enjoying a night out.”

Mayor of London

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Keeping Londoners safe is my number one priority. Every woman and girl is entitled to be safe, and to feel safe – whatever the time of day and wherever they are in the capital.

“Tragically, too many women and girls are still losing their lives to male violence, but I am determined to do everything within my power to ensure that we end this epidemic.

“I have overseen more than £100m in investment to tackle violence against women and girls, which is funding programmes that are helping to save lives and continue funding for vital specialist support services for victims.

“But more needs to be done and we must not simply respond to male violence against women and girls – we must prevent it.

“That’s why my new strategy is about championing a public health approach to ending violence against women and girls to ensure it is treated with the utmost urgency – not just by the police and partners, but by Londoners across our city and our society as a whole.”