A satanic killer who pledged to "sacrifice only women" before murdering two sisters in a London park has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 35 years in prison.
Danyal Hussein, 19, murdered sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, in a "shocking and chilling attack" in June last year, as the pair celebrated Ms Henry’s birthday with a group of friends.
Mrs Justice Whipple was unable to hand down a whole life order for the killings because Hussein is under 21-years-old.
Handing down a life sentence with a minimum term of 35 years, Mrs Justice Whipple condemned the killings of these "beautiful and gifted women" as the "most harrowing" of cases.
Speaking outside the Old Bailey, the victims' mother Mina Smallman said of her daughters' murderer: "He's a broken human being. If he hadn't been caught - other families may have been suffering what we have.
"Well he ain't out there now. And I think he's so deluded.
"Come 35 years time - they won't give him they won't let him out. They won't let him out. I won't let them let them out."
Officers investigating the murders believe Hussein watched the sisters for sometime before launching his "frenzied and relentless" attack in Fryent Country Park, Wembley, before stabbing Ms Henry eight times and Ms Smallman 28 times.
The sisters were reported missing the following day and their bodies were discovered by family and friends who went looking for them.
His trial heard how in October 2017, Hussein was referred to Prevent, the Home Office’s anti-radicalisation programme, by his teachers over concerns that he was vulnerable to radicalisation and violent extremism.
Shortly after he was discharged by Prevent, Hussein started to become "fascinated by demons" behind "locked doors in his bedroom".
During a search of Hussein’s bedroom, officers discovered a handwritten note in which Hussein pledged to "perform a minimum of six sacrifices every six months" and to "sacrifice only women".
Victims' mother's statement, in full
I think you've heard me say in the past, there'll be no celebrations here, but justice has been done.
I think we do need to review that kind of separation - when is someone an adult - and I think it's very disrespectful to say that children can't tell the difference between good and evil.
So that's something else I will be campaigning about.
But today we're celebrating what is wonderful about the Metropolitan Police. I've never been one to cast a whole organisation by one particular sort of incident.
But we do have a problem. We do have an underground that has infiltrated and growing in our Met Police.
But once again, I want to say thank you to this team that work tirelessly to find the killer. The hours that they put in, and you know when someone's just doing a job, and when they're invested.
While so many people have become invested in this story, and I want to thank the media.
You're finally getting our story. You're understanding why everybody's important. And you're not falling into the trap of highlighting one story against another.
Everybody is worth knowing about. And sadly, I've had lots of requests for interviews, but the last few weeks have been extremely difficult for me.
They have triggered my ailments which is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia - and what happens is your brain doesn't work how it should do.
So I only want to speak when I feel I can do it justice.
But thank you all for being here and caring and get the message out to your bosses.
When you interview someone for an hour and they only put it on for two minutes, they're saying something very bad about the importance and the significance of those people.
And whether they're on the front page, the middle page or the back page, you put a precedent on who is more important.
Everyone's important. Don't make that mistake. Because when I feel better, I'm coming for you.
Tribute to her daughters
They were beautiful, beautiful girls to look at anyway. But they had real they will a real people with hearts.
Bibaa has left behind a daughter who has given birth to a son in the last year and I'm a great-grandmother.
And because of Covid I only met him for the first time at the celebration of life.
So life is going on. There is a legacy.
Nicole, I think we grieve more for her because there was 20 years difference.
She had 20 years less than Bibaa, but to know her was to love her and there's so much more I'm going to share with you and you can see her in action.
Lots and lots of families have given tribute to Bibaa because she was an amazing social worker who was able to drill down and make the difference.
She wanted to see the kids, she wanted to know if there was food there, she wanted to know whether they were really on it.
But she would never take a child away unless she tried everything.
So, good girls. I'm really, really proud of them.
Danyal Hussein's behaviour in court
You know, I taught secondary kids for 20 years 15 of those were all boys.
There's nothing you can't tell me about men and boys.
And that is a performance designed to... I don't know elicit sympathy or to have us believe that there's something really wrong with him.
There's nothing wrong with him - he's just an obnoxious human being.
And at one point there was a screen in front of us and it was a tiny bit - we could only see a tiny and the clerk said 'Would you like us to make that bigger'.
I said, 'No, thank you. We don't actually need to see him'.
He's a broken human being. If he hadn't been caught, other families may have been suffering what we have.
Well he ain't out there now. And I think he's so deluded.
Come 35 years time. They won't let him out. I won't let them let them out.
Killer doesn't qualify for whole-life term because of his age
Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC told the court that but for his age, Hussein would qualify for a whole-life order.
He suggested the appropriate starting point for a minimum term was 30 years in jail.
"Significant" aggravating features included taking a knife to the scene, destruction of evidence, and disposal of Hussein's weapon and clothes, Mr Glasgow said.
He added that Hussein had failed to co-operate with experts preparing reports and the only relevant diagnosis was for autism.
The defendant maintains he was not the killer and never wrote a pact with a demon, the court heard.
Mr Glasgow told the court: "His offending is a product of his belief in Satanism and his belief you could enter into a bargain with a devil.
"That belief system is something he researched for some time."
Aside from the horror of the agreement, Mr Glasgow said it was "logical from the way he approached it and set out what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it".
Hussein's lawyer, Ms Karmy-Jones, said he was "little more than a child with significant issues" at the time of the killings.
She said there remained many unanswered questions, adding: "We hope in time and after some treatment the family will get some answers as to how and why these offences came to happen".
The lawyer said: "He has got a loving family who are devastated by what has happened."
Priti Patel: 'It's right questions are being asked within Met Police'
Home Secretary Priti Patel said the Government must "ultimately do much more in the protection and the prevention of these abhorrent crimes".
When asked why missing person cases disproportionately affect black communities, in relation to how the sisters' case was originally reported to police, she said: "This is a terrible, terrible tragic, tragic case, it really is.
"And I think it's right actually that questions are being asked within the Metropolitan Police right now.
"We're very clear not just in our determination that the work that we are doing to stop violence against women and girls, but making sure we do more in terms of preventing abuse and preventing violence.
"There is also an important message that everyone across policing must respond in the right way to complaints of violence, reporting of violence against women and girls, but ultimately do much more in the protection and the prevention of these abhorrent crimes."
Detective Inspector Maria Green said: "Daniel Hussein is a dangerous, arrogant and violent individual who from the outset has shown no remorse for his actions.
"The sentence handed down by the court today is a reflection of the seriousness of his crimes."
She said it had been a "shocking and chilling case" which would stay with the officers who investigated it for a long time.
"Danyal Hussein went out that night with the intention of killing to satisfy his bizarre fantasies under the deluded belief he would be rewarded with financial prosperity."
Instead he took the lives of two innocent women who were "simply celebrating a birthday", she said.
Ms Green praised the sisters' family for showing the "utmost dignity and strength in the most unimaginable circumstances".
