Allotment 'blighted by disputes' before alleged murder

Lea Adri-Soejoko was secretary for the allotments where her body was found

An allotment was blighted by disputes before a grandmother was found strangled on the site, a court heard.

Widow Lea Adri-Soejoko, 80, was allegedly beaten up by fellow plot-holder Rahim Mohammadi in February last year, and then throttled her with a lawnmower cable to stop her reporting him.

Her body was found in a locked shed on the Colindale allotments in north London.

Mr Mohammadi denies murder.

Giving evidence, Mrs Adri-Soejoko's daughter Tessa said her mother would talk to her about problems on the allotment.

She said: "She saw it as part of her role that, with a large quantity of people, there was bound to be some disputes and it would not always be straightforward."

Following an allotment meeting in September 2016, Ms Adri-Soejoko found out from her daughter Amber that her mother had been involved in an incident involving Mr Mohammadi.

Mrs Adri-Soejoko's body was found in a lock-up store at the allotments

The court has heard that the defendant had become verbally abusive towards the pensioner and swore after she told him to shut up.

Prosecutor John Price QC asked: "What was her attitude to it with you?"

Ms Adri-Soejoko replied: "She seemed to brush me off. And, to clarify what that means, she was not her normal forthright self. She was subdued in her manner.

"She did not argue with me when I scolded her about the confrontation.

"I said to her that she could not speak to Rahim in that way, that he's not family."

She also told the jury about another dispute on the allotment which she found out about on February 24, just days before her mother's death, involving claims a woman threatened a man with a knife.

Previously friendly

Ms Adri-Soejoko told the court the allotment was her mother's "passion".

She said: "She loved the work at the allotment and she spent a lot of time almost running the place. She really enjoyed it."

The witness said she had met Mr Mohammadi several times at her mother's house.

Cross-examining, Tyrone Smith QC asked about her mother's relationship with the accused.

He said: "Before the AGM meeting in September 2016, were you aware they were on friendly terms?"

Ms Adri-Soejoko agreed.

'Sounded distress'

Colindale Allotment Association chairman Clive Critchley told jurors that Mr Mohammadi was one of three people who frequently used the mower shed where Mrs Adri-Soejoko's body was found.

On the day of the killing, Mohammadi had texted him twice, about meeting his psychotherapist and to report that another plot-holder had complained about his neighbour, the court heard.

The defendant rang him the next day, saying he had heard that Mrs Adri-Soejoko had been found dead and had gone to the allotment with a friend, only to find it taped off by police.

Mr Critchley said: "He sounded distressed. It sounded like he wanted more details and also to share. I think he said something like "what happened to Lea?".

The trial continues.