Man Sentenced for Manslaughter of Partner in Haggerston

A 29-year-old man, Gogoa Tape, has been sentenced to a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act with an additional restriction order under Section 41 for the manslaughter of his 25-year-old partner, Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche. The incident occurred on April 6, 2024, in Talavera Place, near Whiston Road, in Haggerston. Kennedi was found dead in her car after officers forced entry and attempted to resuscitate her.

Key Takeaways:

• Gogoa Tape, 29, was sentenced for the manslaughter of his partner, Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche, 25, after she was found dead in her car in Haggerston on April 6, 2024.
• The investigation revealed that Tape traveled on public transport to meet Kennedi in the Bruce Grove area on the evening of April 5 and then drove her around the local area before ending back in the Whiston Estate.
• Detectives gathered evidence from CCTV, Automatic Number Plate Recognition, and car tracker data indicating that Tape was the last person to be with Kennedi inside the car.
• The post-mortem concluded the cause of death as compression of the neck, with Kennedi also suffering blunt force injuries to the face.
• Tape entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility on December 17, citing paranoid and persecutory delusions arising from schizophrenia at the time of the killing.
• The Metropolitan Police Department is committed to improving how it protects the public from harm, especially the violence women and girls suffer, as part of its New Met for London strategy.

Statistics:

• 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime (Source: NHS).
• 1.4 million women in the UK will experience domestic abuse every year, with 2 in 5 incidents going unreported (Source: WeCan).
• The Metropolitan Police Department aims to identify and tackle the most dangerous and prolific perpetrators of Violence Against Women and Girls, with a goal to reduce domestic abuse incidents by 20% within the next 5 years (Source: Met Police).

Sources:

• Metropolitan Police Department.
• NHS.
• WeCan.