New evidence questions Benguit murder conviction
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 […]