An elderly allotment association secretary described as a "pillar of the community" was brutally strangled with the starter cord of lawnmower by Rahim Mohammadi.
Lea Adri-Soejoko was found under a blue coat in a shed on some allotments in Colindale, near Sheaveshill Avenue last February, with fractures to her ribs and one of her spinal bones plus several cuts and bruises.
Mohammadi was soon identified as a suspect and charged but the jury at the first trial were unable to reach a verdict, however, after a retrail, the 42-year-old was found guilty of murder on Thursday (November 29).
Lea's granddaughter first noticed something was wrong when Lea was not at home on February 27. The same day she had been due to meet a friend and had not turned up.
Lea's friends and family were concerned at her uncharacteristic behaviour, and searched for her, eventually reporting her missing to police at 1.40am on February 28.
Within 20 minutes, officers in Colindale tried to search the allotments, where Lea was the secretary of Colindale Allotment Association.
Family members kept trying to call Lea's phone, which was eventually heard ringing in the allotments.
Police forced entry to the shed and discovered Lea with the lawnmower cord wrapped around her neck. A post-mortem result ruled her death was caused by "ligature compression of the neck" and that she had likely been beaten up before being strangled.
Lea's allotment keys were found with her but her house keys were missing and have still not been found. Police believed the killer had access to the shed and began talking to other allotment owners as witnesses.
During one of these interviews, they met Rahim Mohammadi who had provided them with an inconsistent picture of his movements that day which later proved to be false.
Mohammadi of Goldsmith Row in Hackney, had owned a plot at the allotments for several years, but was described by other plot holders as an "aggressive, threatening and highly manipulative man".
He also owned a key to the shed where Lea was found dead.
Police charged Mohammadi with Lea's murder on March 3, after learning she had been wary of him following an incident at a meeting in 2016 when he had told her to "shut up".
A Met Police spokesman described their relationship by saying: "There is no doubt that Lea was very uncomfortable around him; it could best be described that she tolerated him but Lea would ultimately pay with her life."
Police believe Mohammedi killed Lea after a spontaneous outburst of violence, in order to hide his actions and to avoid losing his allotment plot.
The court was shown DNA evidence linking Mohammadi to the lawnmower starter cord which Lea had been strangled with and despite denying her murder, he was found guilty by the jury at the Old Bailey.
Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "Although I never had the privilege of meeting Lea, we have learnt what a lovely caring, lady she was, like everyone’s mum or gran.
"She was a real pillar of the community, a sprightly 80-year-old grandmother who was very active in her local neighbourhood and secretary of Colindale Allotment Association.
"We don't know exactly what happened on the day Lea was killed, but we know there must have been some kind of argument which led to Mohammadi brutally attacking her.
"Knowing he would be in very serious trouble for what he had done, he went a step further and murdered her in the hope he would never been found out."
Mohammadi is due for sentence at the Old Bailey on Friday (November 30_
