Fresh evidence uncovered by BBC Panorama suggests that a man who has spent 23 years in prison for murder may have been framed by police.
Omar Benguit was convicted in 2005 for the 2002 killing of South Korean student Jong-Ok Shin, known as Oki, who was stabbed while walking home from a nightclub in Bournemouth. Two earlier trials had ended without verdicts before a third jury found him guilty.
Panorama’s latest investigation indicates that officers were aware key prosecution testimony was contradicted by CCTV evidence. Phone records also suggest Benguit may have had an alibi that undermined the central witness account. According to the programme, that information was not properly pursued.
The case against Benguit relied heavily on witness testimony, as there was no forensic or CCTV evidence placing him at the scene. The main prosecution witness, a drug user referred to as BB for legal reasons, claimed she had driven Benguit and two others on the night of the murder. She alleged that after stopping her car, Benguit stabbed Oki when she refused to attend a party.
However, BB had previously made false allegations and changed her account multiple times during the investigation. CCTV checks at locations she said she had visited that night failed to show her, the men, or the vehicle. Footage from a nearby crack house she claimed they visited after the attack also did not support her version of events.
Panorama reports that 13 additional witnesses who supported the prosecution have now told the BBC they were pressured by police to exaggerate or provide false testimony. Two more witnesses have since said they lied in court under pressure, while four others claim officers tried unsuccessfully to persuade them to give inaccurate evidence. In total, the credibility of 15 key prosecution witnesses has now been challenged or undermined.
Retired murder detective Brian Murphy, after reviewing the programme’s findings, said the case warrants investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. He stated that, in his view, the conviction appears unsafe. Benguit’s barrister, Des Jenson, said that if witnesses were coerced, it would amount to manufacturing evidence and perverting the course of justice.
Further questions arise from new alibi material. In 2021, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) began examining the case after CCTV footage emerged showing a man resembling Benguit using a phone box roughly 25 minutes after the murder. Phone records obtained by Panorama indicate a call was made from that phone box to Benguit’s drug dealer at the exact time captured on camera. If confirmed, this would contradict claims that he was at a crack house cleaning up.
The CCRC has noted that 135 CCTV tapes from the original investigation are missing. While it concluded the man in the footage could be Benguit, it said it could not be certain. Panorama reports that police were aware of the potential alibi at the time but did not fully investigate it.
The programme also revisits the role of Danilo Restivo, who lived near the crime scene and was initially considered a suspect. Restivo was later convicted of two separate murders — one in Italy and one in England. Although he was discounted as a suspect in Oki’s case by the Court of Appeal in 2014, Panorama identified CCTV footage of a cyclist near the scene minutes before the attack who could resemble him. Restivo did not respond to the programme’s request for comment.
Now 53 and reportedly drug-free, Benguit maintains his innocence. He would potentially be eligible for parole if he admitted guilt, but says he will not confess to a crime he insists he did not commit.
In response, Dorset Police said the original investigation was thorough and complex. The force noted that Benguit’s conviction has been reviewed by the Court of Appeal, which dismissed his challenges. It added that any further action rests with the CCRC and the courts, and expressed sympathy for the victim’s family.
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