Convictions for multiple attempted murders following violent rampage at Central Middlesex Hospital

On 21 June 2023, a maintenance worker at Central Middlesex Hospital, named Matteo Bottarelli, carried out a spree of unprovoked and savage attacks against his colleagues.

The violence began when Bottarelli armed himself with a mattock – a tool similar to a large pickaxe. He was seen on CCTV approaching his first victim from behind, with the mattock raised above his head, ready to strike. Fortunately, the victim turned around, causing Bottarelli to pause before running off to the staff canteen.

On arriving at the canteen Bottarelli put the mattock down and approached his second victim from behind. He pulled the victim’s head back and cut his throat with a surgical scalpel.

Bottarelli then went up to an office on the first floor of the hospital, where he found his line manager. He struck him to the skull at least twice with the mattock, causing multiple skull fractures and resulting in the herniation of the brain through the fracture site.

At his trial Bottarelli was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. Sentencing was adjourned until 30 April 2024.

Thom Dyke, led by Sean Larkin KC of QEB Hollis Whiteman, acted on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Press Coverage: Daily Mail, BBC News, Independent, and The Guardian.

Firearms and drugs conspirators sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment

Members of a sophisticated organised criminal gang, responsible for the large-scale supply of crack cocaine and heroin in North London whilst armed with a range of lethal firearms, have been given sentences totally 35 years’ imprisonment.

The gang was prosecuted by Thom Dyke, leading Laura Hibberd, in a four-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court.

The ringleader of the gang received a sentence of nearly fifteen years’ imprisonment, whilst two of his trusted lieutenants received sentences of nine years. A fourth member was sentenced to just over three years for his involvement.

Success in High Court appeal

SP was charged with multiple counts of rape and assault against the complainant. He had previously been accused by two other complainants of similar sexual and violent offences and had gone on the run from police in 2021 for nearly four months.

Despite the significant danger posed by SP, he was granted bail by the Crown Court. Thom represented the Crown Prosecution Service in bringing a successful appeal to the High Court against the decision (CPS v SP [2023] EWHC 3239 (KB)).

In his judgment, Mr Justice Martin Spencer accepted Thom’s submissions as to the risk that SP would commit further offences and interfere with witnesses, were he to be granted bail.

The decision of the Crown Court was quashed, and SP was remanded into custody to await his trial.

Thom ranked in Chambers & Partners 2024 in criminal law

Thom has been ranked in the 2024 edition of Chambers & Partners for crime.

The 2023 edition described him as "a really hard-working, thorough and quite pugilistic prosecutor".

The 2022 edition noted that he is "a fair and effective prosecutor who gets on well with opponents and judges, and makes the extra effort to get the job done."

Thom prosecutes “truly dangerous” knifepoint rapist

Thom and Claire Harden-Frost successfully prosecuted a 37-year-old man for a prolonged and traumatic attack.

Sentencing Karan Pullock to an extended sentence of 18 years, HHJ Aaronberg KC said:

“You armed yourself with a kitchen knife, put a chest of drawers in your own bath and then climbed on top of it to gain access to your loft. Then, using a key to a fire door, you passed into [her] loft and then dropped through the hatch into her flat. She had a dog in her flat and you kicked the dog, which had cuts to the front of its face. Having locked the dog in her cage, you searched the flat, looking for money. You took a knife from [her] kitchen and put it in her wardrobe…you found a roll of duct tape. You fixed a blanket over a window, I infer to prevent anyone from seeing into the premises. Then, you waited for [her] to return.”

“You then held the broken knife to her throat and told her to stop screaming, saying that, if she did not, you would kill her…during the rest of your dealings with her, which continued for more than two hours, you repeatedly threatened that you would kill her.”

“You told her to get onto the bed. You then cut her top and bra off using either a pair of scissors or a knife. You cut the drawstring of her jeans and took them off. You put her on her back and took her knickers off. You then took all your own clothes off and tried to rape her.”

“You continued trying to rape her for about ten minutes, telling her to keep still. While you were doing this, she was begging you to stop. You responded by saying that you had worse things than a knife. You said that you had acid and that, if she wanted to see what acid would do, you would throw it on her dog.”

The case received widespread media coverage:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12106517/Man-broke-womans-home-attic-attempted-rape-jailed-12-years.html

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/karan-pullock-jailed-rape-woman-home-hackney-london-met-police-crime-b1082515.html

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/22422661/sex-attacker-broke-woman-home-attic/

Thom secures not guilty verdict in attempted murder

In September 2021, police attended a hotel in Surbiton following reports of an incident.  The complainant told officers her partner had beaten her and strangled her, telling her “now is your time to die”. She told police he licked the blood from her face and that his behaviour was like that of a serial killer. As a result of her extensive maxillofacial injuries she was taken to Kingston Hospital for treatment.

Thom acted on behalf of the defendant, who was arrested and charged with attempted murder. After a five-day trial at Kingston Crown Court, during which the complainant was cross-examined at length to highlight the inconsistencies in her account, the defendant was found not guilty of attempted murder.  He received a sentence of six years’ imprisonment for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Thom secures convictions in first ever modern slavery fraud case

After a three-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Thom Dyke, led by Claire Harden-Frost, have secured convictions in the first ever prosecution brought under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to involve trafficking victims for the purposes of carrying out fraud.

Nearly thirty vulnerable young girls were physically and sexually exploited by a gang led by Isaiah Olugosi. The fraud targeted retailers including Boots and Tesco and netted the gang over half a million pounds, which was spent on luxury items and holidays.

Sentencing for Isaiah Olugosi, Holly Chapman, Baran Karamagara and Eva Dambrauskaite was adjourned until April.

Thom and Claire were instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit.

Media Coverage

The Independent - Dozens of teenage girls trafficked and exploited in first ever modern slavery fraud case

The Times - ‘Fagin’ used girls for county lines shoplifting spree

Daily Mail - Modern-day Fagin gang are jailed for trafficking DOZENS of young girls around the country for £500,000 county lines shoplifting spree

Thom Dyke successfully prosecutes right-wing extremist who threatened politicians with “a white tsunami of hate and revenge”

Thom Dyke has successfully prosecuted a right-wing extremist who threatened politicians with “a white tsunami of hate and revenge”.

During 2019, Mr Thomas Thomas engaged in a sustained campaign of virulently racist, anti-Semitic, and violent abuse, in which he targeted a group of high-profile politicians with offensive and threatening emails.  These included the former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hilary Benn MP, and the then-Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP, as well as a journalist for The Guardian.

The jury heard that Mr Thomas was an active member of the neo-Nazi website Stormfront.  His emails threatened that “only the threat and implementation of violent revolt can change things for ordinary people”.  Mr Thomas went on to make reference to the terrorist attacks in New Zealand, saying that “a white tsunami of hate and revenge is on its way to Europe’s sacred shores…when it hits its gonna make Christchurch 2019 look like a chimps tea party”.

Mr Thomas was convicted by a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court of five counts of sending electronic communications with intent to cause anxiety or distress.  Sentencing was adjourned until 17 January 2022.

'Counter-Terrorism legislation in the UK after 9/11' - KCL lecture

On 18 February 2019 Thom gave a lecture on ‘Counter-Terrorism legislation in the UK after 9/11’, at King’s College London to students in the Department of War Studies, as part of the MA in Terrorism, Security, and Society.

The lecture examined the historical context to the UK’s counter-terror legislation, before going on to provide an in-depth critical analysis of the various ways in which the law has evolved to meet the changing terrorist threat.

Thom invited to join Advisory Group of the Centre for Criminal Appeals

Thom has accepted an invitation to join the Advisory Group of the Centre for Criminal Appeals.  The Centre is a charity committed to fighting miscarriages of justice and demanding reform in the area of criminal law. 

The Centre works to find cases with merit and high potential impact, and then investigates to uncover fresh evidence to show that a conviction is unsafe, or a sentence is unfair.  The Centre brings cases to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the Administrative Court, and the Court of Appeal. 

Other Advisory Group members include Simon Ford (producer of the Rough Justice television series), Gareth Peirce (lawyer for Birmingham Six and Guildford Four), and Clive Stafford Smith (attorney, founder of Reprieve).

Thom is instructed frequently to both advise and represent clients in appeals to the High Court and Court of Appeal. Click here for more information as to his appeals practice.