Bristol abattoir workers guilty of 'sadistic' double murder

Ionut-Valentin Boboc (left) and Jacob-Bebe Chers repeadedly stabbed then mutilated their victims' bodies

Two abattoir workers are facing life sentences for the "sadistic" murder and mutilation of two men.

Ionut-Valentin Boboc, 22, and Jacob-Bebe Chers, 46, repeatedly stabbed Denzil McKenzie and Fahad Pramanik in Bristol on 11 September 2021.

Boboc admitted murdering Mr McKenzie but denied the killing of Mr Pramanik, while Chers denied both murders.

They were convicted of all counts against them at Bristol Crown Court on Wednesday following a month-long trial.

They will both be sentenced for two counts of murder on 21 December at the same court.

'House of horrors'

The bodies of the two victims were found at Mr McKenzie's address on Wood Street, Easton, on 12 September by police after a 999 call from a member of Boboc's family.

Officers described the scene as "a house of horrors".

Extensive injuries had been inflicted on the bodies after death and the defendants had tried to cover their tracks by spraying thick black car paint around the house.

The two defendants, from Hillfields, had met Mr McKenzie, 56, through their work at an abattoir near Bristol, where their job involved making incisions in the bellies of pigs.

They would sometimes drink together at his house.

The bodies were found at a house on Wood Street in Easton

Mr Pramanik, 27, was unknown to either defendant, and had been visiting Mr McKenzie from London on the night of the murders.

Investigators believe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the night he was killed.

Prosecutor Kevin Dent KC described the way the bodies had been mutilated as a "a gruesome echo" of the two defendants' butchery work.

Text messages between Boboc and Mr McKenzie revealed the defendant had repeatedly sought loans from the victim.

Fahad Pramanik was believed to have been 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'

The messages suggest Mr McKenzie had sought sexual favours from Boboc in exchange.

On the night of the killings, the court heard Boboc tricked Mr McKenzie into allowing him and Chers into his home by claiming he had a special "gift" for him.

The two defendants were caught on CCTV walking towards Mr McKenzie's home at 20:30 BST, then returning the same way at about 23:00.

On the return journey, they were apparently staggering under the weight of goods stolen from Mr McKenzie's house including jewellery and electronics, the court heard.

Further CCTV footage showed the two men dumping some of the stolen items in the Coombe Brook nature reserve in Speedwell, north east Bristol.

Chers was also captured putting some of the goods in a bin at a carwash and cleaning his vehicle thoroughly on the morning after the murders.

The pair were arrested when Boboc told his family what he and Chers had done.

'Sadistic and cruel'

They initially thought he was joking or drunk, but later decided to call the police.

Neither defendant gave evidence in their defence.

Following the verdicts, Det Ch Insp Mark Almond described the murders as "sadistic, senseless and cruel".

He said: "This has been a highly distressing investigation, especially for the families of Denzil and Fahad, who've had to endure the terrible ordeal of hearing how their loved ones were murdered.

"While we may never know why these defendants chose to murder two innocent men, it remains abundantly clear they both have a dangerous propensity for violence and cruelty, and our communities are a safer place with them behind bars."

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