'Cuckoo' drug dealer jailed for killing frail man

A drug dealer who beat a vulnerable man to death over five weeks and forced him to sleep beside dogs has been jailed for 12 years.

Bamidele Fawehinmi, 33, from Haringey, north London, treated former chef Dimitrios Tsavdaris as his "lackey" before the 55-year-old died in a "cuckoo" flat in Hackney in January 2024.

The Old Bailey heard Tsavdaris, known as Jimmy, was found in a foetal position after weeks of sustained violent attacks, sustaining fractures to his ribs, chest and head, as well as brain injuries.

Fawehinmi pleaded guilty to manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm.

Tsavdaris had been dead or dying for several days, with no way to summon help, before his body was discovered.

He was described as a frail crack cocaine addict who weighed just over eight stone (50kg).

Fawehinmi had transported the seriously injured Tsavdaris from his home in Wickford, Essex to the flat in Hackney.

Sentencing on Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said Fawehinmi had kept his victim in "squalid" conditions.

He was made to sleep on a mattress in a garage alongside the defendant's American pitbull cross-breed dogs, which he was told to look after.

Police were alerted after the defendant's father reported the death. Fawehinmi tried to flee to Nigeria but was arrested after his hire car triggered a camera on the M11.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm part-way through a retrial in March.

An earlier jury cleared him of murder and failed to reach a verdict on a servitude charge.

Tsavdaris's former wife Andrea Lavor said in a victim impact statement: "Dimitrios was the love of my life and the father of our son, Antonio.

"He came from a good family, was proud of his Pontic Greek heritage, loved music, loved life, and was a caring, kind and loving father."

Det Supt Kelly Allen, of the Metropolitan Police, described Fawehinmi as "a violent bully who preyed on vulnerable people to exploit them for his own gain".

"I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Dimitrios must have gone through in the final weeks of his life, enslaved by Bamidele Fawehinmi and living in fear for his life," Allen said.

"Dimitrios was a frail man who did not pose a threat to Fawehinmi. His initial claim in police interview that he acted in self-defence is utterly preposterous, and the words of a coward.

"His conviction will not erase the pain felt by Dimitrios's family, but I hope the fact he will spend a significant period of time behind bars brings them some small sense of justice."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk