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A careworker who seduced a high-rolling poker player and lured him to his death in a honeytrap robbery is facing jail.
Leonie Granger, 25, from Balmoral Road, Gillingham, has been found guilty of manslaughter at the Old Bailey this afternoon.
Mehmet Hassan, a father-of-three and profession gambler, was found lying in a pool of blood in his Islington flat on March 24, 2014, after his sister alerted police.
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The former Upbury Manor pupil targeted Mr Hassan, 56, after spotting him flashing his roll of £50 notes at an exclusive casino in London’s Mayfair district.
The flirtatious “party girl”, who was tired of her stressful and low-paid job at a care home for dementia sufferers, led Mr Hassan to believe he could wine and dine her into his bed.
But after he took her back to his flat on their second date she made her excuses and walked out, leaving the door open for two robbers, her boyfriend Kyrron Jackson and his friend Nicholas Chandler, both 28.
Jackson and Chandler kicked Mr Hassan to death while ransacking his flat in Islington, north London, before fleeing the scene with £3,000.
Whe officers broke down the door of his flat in Islington, north London, they found Mr Hassan lying in a pool of blood on the floor of his bedroom. His knees were tied together by parcel tape and his ankles were bound with a necktie.
A visible shoeprint on his cheek, a broken nose and other injuries revealed he had been kicked and stamped on in “a vicious and sustained attack”.
Video: CCTV shows Granger with Mr Hassan before she lured him to his death
The flat had been ransacked and the TV and Mr Hassan’s mobile phone were missing.
A film was found on Granger's phone showing the trio holding bundles of £50 notes and laughing. Chandler can be seen spraying money over the floor while Jackson, wearing a gas mask, stuffs the cash into his underpants.
The jury cleared Granger of murder but convicted her of manslaughter by a majority of 10-2 and conspiracy to falsely imprison.
Video shown to jurors in the Mehmet Hassan murder trial
During the trial Granger admitted agreeing to take part in the robbery, but claimed she did not think Mr Hassan would be harmed.
Granger visibly shook and fought back tears as the guilty verdicts were delivered.
Jackson and Chandler were both convicted of murder, robbery and conspiracy to falsely imprison Mr Hassan. They were also convicted of involvement in two raids on a casino in the weeks before the murder and possession of imitation firearms.
Mr Hassan’s sister Meyrem Musa said in her statement “our lives have been altered forever and our happiness shattered”. She described her brother as full of “compassion and humanity” who was a “witty and professional poker player”.
His daughter Stephanie Hassan said: “We cry ourselves to sleep every night. He will never get to meet any of his grandchildren, see us grow up or be here for myself or my brother’s wedding days or give me away.”
DCI Mr Andy Partridge of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command said: "Mehmet Hassan was lured into a 'honey trap' by Leonie Granger, having been targeted for his affable nature and success at the casino tables.
"Granger realised Mr Hassan kept significant quantities of cash in his flat and cooked up a plan to rob him with her associates Nicholas Chandler and Kyrron Jackson.
"The violence inflicted on Mehmet Hassan was horrific and it appears from the comments made by Granger, and overheard by the taxi driver on the night of the murder, that the gang were intent on finding that cash, whatever the cost.
"People who knew Mehmet Hassan - his family, friends and associates - described him as a likeable and generous man. His death was senseless, motivated by the greed of three people who exploited his generosity in the most callous manner imaginable."
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