Colchester: Rakar Rahimi found guilty of murdering flatmate

A shop worker has been found guilty of murdering his flatmate.

Bako Azad Sheikha, 22, died in Distillery Lane, Colchester, after being stabbed in the heart in the early hours of 12 September last year.

Prosecutors said Rakar Rahimi, 23, took the victim's money and his Nissan Qashqai, which he crashed into bushes 10 miles (16km) from the scene.

Jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court returned a unanimous guilty verdict. Rahimi will be sentenced on Thursday.

The trial had heard the pair arrived separately as Iraqi Kurdistan refugees about 10 years ago, but Rahimi worked at a supermarket managed by Mr Sheikha in Colchester.

Rahimi, of Wellington Street, Ipswich, claimed the pair took cocaine at their flat in Haven Road on the night of 11 September when he "noticed a change in [Mr Sheikha's] behaviour" and that the victim threatened to kill him if he did not have sex with him.

But prosecutors said Rahimi led Mr Sheikha by knifepoint out of the flat in the early hours of the morning, drove the pair to nearby Distillery Lane in the victim's car, before stabbing him and running him over.

Mr Sheikha, who had an estranged wife and child in the UK, died from a single stab wound to the heart.

The victim volunteered at Refugee, Asylum Seeker and Migrant Action (RAMA) who support those seeking refuge in the UK.

Shelley Braddock-Overbury, from RAMA, said: "He [Mr Sheikha] was open and kind. He wore his heart on his sleeve.

"He had his ups and downs like any young person, especially given the fact that he had arrived to the UK alone at such a young age and been through a lot.

"Even colleagues that had only a small interaction with Bako will think of him fondly, because he was a memorable person, and we are devastated that he is no longer here."

Det Ch Insp Antony Alcock, Essex Police's senior investigating officer on the case, said: "We have spent a lot of time with the Kurdish community in Essex and Suffolk, who have given Essex Police vital support throughout this investigation.

"I would like to thank them, as without their help, it's possible that Rahimi would have left the country prior to being arrested.

"I hope that Bako's loved ones are able to move forward and that today's conviction provides them with some closure and reassurance that Essex Police will always work hard to secure justice."

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