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May 05, 2024

Jomaa Jerrare: Murdered woman stored in freezer then set alight

A man has been convicted of murdering a woman whose body he stored in a freezer before burning her body in a car. Jomaa Jerrare, 52, had been living with her killer, Clive O'Connor, in the months

A man has been convicted of murdering a woman whose body he stored in a freezer before burning her body in a car.

Jomaa Jerrare, 52, had been living with her killer, Clive O'Connor, in the months before her death, police said.

Her burned body was found in a layby in Perton, Staffordshire, on 9 August 2021 and was so badly damaged the mother-of-one was identified by her fingerprints.

Fifty-eight-year-old O'Connor, from Bilston, was convicted after a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

He had admitted killing Ms Jerrare earlier in his trial, saying he smothered her with a pillow, but had denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

A post-mortem examination revealed Ms Jerrare had received two forceful neck compressions causing fractures, up to 10 days before she died.

She had lost contact with her family before her death on 3 or 4 August, police said, adding officers discovered she had been living with O'Connor at his flat.

Although he claimed he had last seen her weeks before her body was found, CCTV showed him buying things with her bank card up until 31 July.

Further inquiries revealed he had bought a chest freezer and a band saw around the time Ms Jerrare died.

When police investigated the freezer, traces of her DNA were found inside, leading detectives to believe he had stored her body in it for a number of days.

It would be 15 months after Ms Jerrare's body was found in the layby on Bridgnorth Road before O'Connor was charged with her murder.

Staffordshire Police said her body had been badly burnt and it was clear O'Connor had used accelerant in an attempt to destroy evidence and conceal how she died.

His car was seen three times late at night in the area where Ms Jerrare's body was found and witnesses also spotted it in the layby.

Ms Jerrare's brother, Majed Larbe, travelled from Canada to sit through the four-week trial.

"She was very driven, very passionate," he said and added she was the first person in their family to have gone to university.

"She did care about people, she put other people ahead of her quite often," he said and they had "challenges growing up" but she was a "tough" person.

"As her brother, for me to truly understand, I had to sit there," Mr Larbe said about his decision to hear evidence in court every day.

"I needed to experience it, as graphic as some of the testimony was, I could only truly understand it by being here. It's the last thing I could do for Jomaa."

Ch Insp Dan Ison, from Staffordshire Police, said the investigation had been "particularly harrowing".

"I hope the conviction of O'Connor will bring justice to Jomaa's family and friends who have shown immense strength throughout the investigation," he said.

"Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time."

O'Connor is due to be sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Friday.

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Man charged with murder of woman found in lay-by

Staffordshire Police

HM Courts & Tribunals Service