A man has been convicted of the rape and manslaughter of a woman while she lay unconscious on a park bench in west London after a night out.
Natalie Shotter, 37, an NHS worker, was attacked after apparently passing out in Southall in July 2021. Mohamed Iidow orally raped her “until she died”, his trial heard.
Iidow, 35, pleaded not guilty to rape and manslaughter but did not give evidence in his defence.
The prosecutor, Alison Morgan KC, said Shotter’s body was discovered on the bench by a passerby early on 17 July, hours after the attack.
Morgan described Shotter, who had three children, as “vulnerable” and told the court she had struggled with mental health and alcohol issues. She was about 1.5 metres (5ft) tall and weighed just over 41kg (6st 7lb).
Shotter had been drinking on the night she died and is also thought to have taken poppers, but these were not identified as a cause of her death. Pathology reports found the cause to be “unascertained”, the trial at the Old Bailey heard.
CCTV footage showed Iidow with his shorts around his ankles and his groin close to Shotter’s head as she lay on the bench. Shotter appeared to be unconscious in the footage. In his police interview, Iidow said Shotter had approached him and offered him sexual services.
Morgan told the jury Shotter was raped repeatedly and that this led to her death, thought to be as a result of a heart attack.
Before she went into the park, CCTV showed she stopped outside a shop to dance to the sound of a drum and was joined by others.
Shotter’s mother, Dr Cas Shotter Weetman, a cardiology practitioner who has worked in the NHS for 45 years, campaigned for justice for her daughter. She previously told the Guardian: “She was a feisty little being. We are missing a beautiful girl, a lovely mum. She was a really good kid.”
“Nat doesn’t have a voice. I’m her voice. I’m not stopping my fight for justice. It’s a long-term mission. If Nat knew what I was doing, I know she would be right there saying: ‘Thanks, Mum.’”
Speaking to the Guardian after the verdict on Friday, Shotter Weetman said: “We are celebrating getting justice for Natalie. This is a landmark case in terms of the medical evidence which helped to convict Mohamed Iidow. All of the family are jubilant and ecstatic about the verdict.”
DCI Wayne Jolley, from the Metropolitan police’s specialist crime south unit, who led the investigation, said: “Iidow’s predatory attack on Natalie was disturbing and shocking.
“This man drove to the park that night and took advantage of a vulnerable woman who should have been safe. Even after his arrest, Iidow attempted to claim that his actions were consensual.
“This case has deeply affected those involved, due to its rarity and tragic details. We needed to prove Natalie’s death was caused by being raped, and that involved diligent work using experts in this field to charge and now convict Iidow.”
Iidow will be sentenced on 13 December.
