Cops searching Thames for body of suspected chemical attacker Ezedi

Police are searching the River Thames for the body of chemical suspect Abdul Ezedi after admitting he is probably dead.

Cops leading the manhunt, which is now well into its second week, now believe he went into the River Thames at Chelsea Bridge.

The last confirmed sighting of Ezedi was crossing over Chelsea Bridge shortly before 11.30pm on the evening of January 31 – around four hours after he attacked a mother and her two young children, aged eight and three, in Lessar Avenue, near Clapham Common.

The children have since been released from hospital but the mother, aged 31, who cops have said was previously in a relationship with Ezedi, remains there.

In an update, officers said the 31-year-old mother was still sedated in hospital and too ill to speak due to her “significant injuries”.
She may lose sight in her right eye after being set upon with the corrosive alkali.

The Met have said the motivation for the attack on January 31 appears to be the “breakdown of a relationship”. Officers say the mother agreed to meet him on the day of the incident.

CCTV footage shows Ezedi disappearing from view. The Met’s specialist team have spent the past 24 hours obtaining more footage of the area, including from passing buses, to confirm as far as possible what has happened.

Commander Jon Savell said: “Our enquiries continue but we have been very closely following all the available evidence for the past week and indications are now that Ezedi entered the water.

“We have tracked him since the moment the attack happened walking for four hours through London, in the main hugging the river.
“He is a man who had just carried out the most horrific attack, and was suffering from significant injuries himself which must have been causing him an extraordinary amount of pain.

“It is just over four miles from Tower Hill, where he was seen leaving the Tube station, to Chelsea Bridge. He walks purposefully. Halfway across Chelsea Bridge he pauses and paces back and forth towards the railings, as well as looking over them, this is a change in behaviour. Then he is lost from sight.

“We have been closely liaising with a variety of experts through the National Crime Agency throughout the course of this investigation.

“Those experts have considered our latest information. At that time of night, at this time of year, and entering the water from the middle of a bridge at height, the chances of Ezedi surviving are extremely remote. The Thames current is very strong which is an additional factor.

“Our Marine Policing Unit will be carrying out boat searches at low tide in the area over the coming days. We have not recovered a body at this stage.

“We have updated Ezedi’s family this afternoon with these latest developments and they are being supported by a specialist family liaison officer. Notwithstanding the horrific crime Ezedi committed, his family undoubtedly will be struggling to come to terms with the events of the last week and this latest development.

“We still have some enquiries to complete. But having looked at all the possible camera angles, we are as satisfied as we can be at this stage about what has happened to Ezedi.

“Our team of detectives will continue with a range of other enquiries to be as certain as we can about the exact events of that night.”

About 500 people across the county have called police with information about Ezedi and his possible whereabouts since the incident happened.

Commander Savell added: “We remain immensely grateful to all those who called – the public support for our investigation has been tremendous and I want to thank all those who helped.

“Our thoughts are also with the 31-year-old woman who remains in a critical but stable condition sedated in hospital on her long road to recovery.”

Pictured top: Ezedi at King’s Cross Underground Station (Picture: The Met)