Man found guilty of rape and manslaughter of a woman he repeatedly orally raped in Southall Park, west London in 2021.
35-year-old Mohamed Noor Iidow has been found guilty of raping and killing 37-year-old mother-of-three Natalie Shotter, who was found dead on a park bench in London by a passer-by in the early morning of 16 July 2021. Iidow’s DNA was found in the deceased woman’s mouth, with CCTV footage showing him “orally raping” her repeatedly for “over 15 minutes”.
Shotter, stated to have been five feet tall and weighing just 95 lbs at the time of her death had been out partying with friends before she was attacked. The death of the woman has been the subject of a campaign for justice by her medical doctor mother, who says an appeal for help to police for the vulnerable woman was rejected by disinterested officers.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan said of the CCTV footage shown to the court of Iidow attacking Shotter that she was “drowsy and semi-conscious” while lying on a park bench having taken alcohol and drugs while partying with friends. Even so, she said, even with those substances in her system it was the prosecution’s position that the toxicology report showed she wouldn’t have died from those had she not been assaulted.
Telling the court that Iidow was “walking up and down the paths in the middle of the night” because he was “seeking out a vulnerable woman to rape”, it was stated he approached Shotter from behind and touched himself “in his groin area”. Prosecutor Morgan said: “he was taking his penis out of those cargo shorts, he’s grabbing Natalie’s head, he is positioning Natalie’s head so that he can thrust his penis into her mouth… her head slightly falling backwards. The defendant is now stood in front of her, he pulls her head up towards his groin- and her head falls back when it’s not being supported.”.
CourtNews records members of the jury wept and looked away as the footage of Iidow raping Shotter in the mouth was shown to the room.
Morgan summarised that: “By raping again and again inserting [his] penis hard into her throat, banging down on her when she was unconscious, he overstimulated the nerves at the back of her throat, and caused the cardiac arrest.”.
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley said of the conviction: “Iidow’s predatory attack on Natalie was disturbing and shocking… Even after his arrest, Iidow attempted to claim that his actions were consensual.” The officer said “diligent experts” were consulted to prove it was the rape that killed Shotter. The Metropolitan Police said in their statement: “When reviewing CCTV footage from the night of the attack, detectives discovered Iidow walking past Natalie multiple times before approaching her and raping her repeatedly. He then left her on the bench and drove home.”
In a bid to escape the manslaughter charge, Iidow’s lawyers countered that Shotter was in fact already dead before she was raped, but the jury rejected this notion and found him guilty of manslaughter and rape.
Shotter’s mother, cardiologist Dr Cas Shotter Weetman criticised police for attempting to excuse themselves from helping her daughter when they had been alerted to her vulnerable state the night of her death. As had been previously reported of her campaign for justice for her daughter, who she says was badly let down by police, the Independent Office for Police Conduct had been contacted but decided the Metropolitan Police could investigate themselves over the matter.
The BBC reported in 2022: “[a] friend told officers nearby she was unwell and needed help but they refused… She was then assaulted before her body was found… The Met Police says its internal investigation found the officers’ actions “did not amount to misconduct”.”
Iidow, who faces a custodial sentence and already has past convictions for online sexual offences, will be sentenced in December.
