Murderer dubbed potential 'Ripper' by judge faces whole-life term

Brian Sengendo had a collection of Tarot cards and was recorded on his mobile phone talking about devils and demons

A "Devil-obsessed" murderer has been warned he faces a whole-life prison term for killing a woman and attacking two others in the space of four hours.

Brian Sengendo was convicted at the Old Bailey of seven charges, including the murder of Therasia Gordon, 44, as well as attempted murder, kidnap, and rape.

Judge John Hillen praised police for catching a potential serial killer.

He said: "This is, to use a journalist vernacular, a Ripper case where an offender has been caught."

Sengendo, 27, will be sentenced on 18 March. Judge Hillen warned him he could "die in prison", as it was such an "extreme case".

Therasia Gordon's mother said she could not get the thought out of her head of her daughter being in pain at Sengendo's hands

The delivery driver, from Gilbert Street in Enfield, north London, kidnapped vulnerable women, including sex workers, by "tricking" them into his van.

He beat and stabbed Ms Gordon before dumping her body in woods in Enfield on 3 August 2020.

Earlier that evening, he had kidnapped and raped his first victim at knifepoint, before trying to murder her by stabbing her seven times. His second victim was a woman he kidnapped and threatened to kill.

During the trial, the jury head Sengendo, who had a collection of Tarot cards, was recorded on his mobile phone talking about devils and demons, and told one victim "repeat after me, I'm the Devil's child" as he forced her into a sex act.

The delivery driver used his van to kidnap women

Speaking after the verdict, Ms Gordon's mother Jan said listening to the evidence in court had been "heart-breaking" and she could not understand why Sengendo had forced her family to suffer "day after day" through the trial, even though "he knew what he had done".

"I am always thinking about what Therasia must have gone through when she died," she said. "One of the things that keeps on going through my head, is the evidence that one of the witnesses could hear her groaning - I can't get the thought of her being in pain at his hands out of my head.

"As a family, we will never get over the fact that I have lost a daughter and they have lost their sibling. I will never come to terms with what this person done to my child. He has left a big hole in my heart."

Det Ch Insp Neil John, who led the investigation, said Ms Gordon's mother had shown "the utmost dignity" throughout the trial and he hoped she could take "some small comfort" knowing her daughter's killer will spend most of his life behind bars.

He also commended the bravery of the women attacked by Sengendo who survived, whom he said provided the evidence that was "crucial" to securing his conviction.

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