Bristol: Abattoir workers jailed for 'savage' double murder

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

Two former abattoir workers who "savagely" murdered a colleague and his friend have been jailed.

Ionut-Valentin Boboc, 22, and Jacob-Bebe Chers, 46, stabbed to death Denzil McKenzie, 56, and Fahad Hossain Pramanik, 27.

Over a three-hour period, the killers mutilated the bodies of their victims at a house in Easton, Bristol.

They have both been given life sentences at Bristol Crown Court.

The pair tricked their way into Mr McKenzie's Wood Street home on 11 September 2021 after promising him a present, the court previously heard.

The killers had worked with Mr McKenzie at an abattoir near Bristol before they found jobs at a carwash in the summer of 2021.

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

Mr Pramanik was unknown to the two defendants, and is thought to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Boboc, of Abingdon Road, Bristol, admitted the murder of Mr McKenzie but denied murdering Mr Pramanik, while Chers, of Whitefield Road, Bristol, denied both murders.

A jury found them both guilty of the two murders earlier in December.

Imposing life sentences in court today, Mrs Justice Cutts jailed Boboc for a minimum of 37-and-a-half years and Chers for a minimum of 39 years.

'Savage brutality'

The judge said: "On that night in September last year you have taken the lives of these two men in a particularly cruel and savage way.

"Having determined to kill Mr McKenzie you could not leave Mr Pramanik alive - he too became a victim of your savage brutality.

"Only the two of you know precisely what happened at Wood Street. Neither of you has given a detailed account about it and both of you were silent at your trial.

"The injuries speak of the brutality of the attack upon them. I have no doubt both men suffered mental and physical suffering at your hands."

'Lovely, quiet man'

Following the sentence, Mr McKenzie's family said: "Denzil was a lovely, quiet, kind man and we miss him every day.

"This sentence certainly will never bring him back but the hope is that some justice is served and it will keep the defendants from committing such a heinous crime again."

After the murders, Boboc and Chers stole their victims' mobile phones, as well as audio equipment, jewellery and electronics belonging to Mr McKenzie.

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

In mitigation, Andrew Langdon KC said Boboc was a young man who was "extremely sorry" for the murder of Mr McKenzie.

Richard Smith KC, mitigating for Chers, said there was no direct evidence knives were taken to the scene of the murders.

"While we may never know why these defendants chose to murder two innocent people, it remains clear they are dangerous and violent men, and our communities are a safer place with them behind bars," Det Ch Insp Mark Almond said after the sentencing hearing.