Justin Bello, who was from Croydon
(Picture: Met Police)A criminal lawyer is accused of plotting to cover up a murder allegedly carried out by her on-the-run partner and another man, a court has heard.
Solicitor Suzanne John, 40, allegedly used her knowledge of the legal system as she and others went to “great lengths” in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice after the death of 38-year-old Justin Bello.
It is said Mr Bello was killed at the Stockwell flat of Stasious Scott, 34, on November 23, 2019, before his body was stripped and “unceremoniously” dumped in a bin shed in Wembley.
The Old Bailey heard refuse collectors made the grisly discovery of the body around 48 hours later, finding a black suitcase with Mr Bello’s feet sticking out of it.
Scott fled the country four days after Mr Bello’s death, while a second man, Cornell Burrell, 36, from Wandsworth, is now on trial accused of murder.
John is also in the dock, accused of helping to cover up the crime along with Scott’s father, Oliver Scott, 53, from Hornsey, his half-brother Paris Bell-McKay, 28, from south-west London, and three others: Dawit Girmay, 34, from Lambeth, Cecilia Bruce-Annan, 50, from Stanmore, and Christopher Hatton, 44, of no fixed address.
Referring to John’s work as a criminal solicitor, prosecutor Joel Smith said: “The prosecution case is that her profession will have given her an insight into the method of police investigations which is likely to have been very valuable to Scott and Burrell as they set about trying to cover up.”
Mr Smith said the motive for the killing is unclear but what is known is that, on Friday November 22, Mr Bello left his home in Croydon, south London, and travelled to Scott’s flat.
He said: “The prosecution case is that Mr Bello was murdered by Stasious Scott and the only other person with him at his home that night when Mr Bello met his death… Cornell Burrell.”
The prosecutor said the alleged cover-up that followed “culminated in Mr Bello’s body being transported from Stockwell to Wembley just after midnight on November 25, where it was unceremoniously dumped in the bin shed, where it was found a few hours later.
“Having killed Mr Bello, Scott and Burrell quite literally wanted to get away with murder.”
Mr Bello’s phones and clothes were disposed of, it is said, and Scott’s flat was allegedly cleaned.
However Mr Smith said a stain from Mr Bello’s blood on a rolled-up rug was found by police, as well as a lock knife with Burrell’s fingerprints on it.
Burrell denies murder, while he, John, Oliver Scott, Bell-McKay, Girmay, Bruce-Annan, and Hatton, all deny conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
The trial continues.
