Hainault man and his son cleared of murder

A HAINAULT father and his son who are serving a 15 year sentence for paralysing a rival have been cleared today of causing his death three years later amid uproar at the Old Bailey.

Philip Ali, 53, of Manford Way, Hainault and son Matthew Ali, 33, of Gorseway, Romford, attacked Richard Cabby, then 34, with a baseball bat, lump hammer and knife on Christmas Day 2005.

The blows to his head crushed the right side of his face, fracturing almost every bone, fractured the back of his skull and burst his eyeball which left him partially sighted.

He also suffered a punctured lung and a fractured spine that rendered him paraplegic, plus multiple stab wounds.

Despite his appalling injuries, Mr Cabby survived for more than two years due to skilled medical intervention and care.

In January 2007 the two Alis went on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court and were found guilty of attempted murder.

But Mr Cabby, who needed daily nursing care after the attack in Dagenham, died on February 14 2008 from septicaemia, brought on by infected pressure sores which had worn his skin down to the bone.

Within weeks prosecutors applied to re-charge the Alis with murder, because a pathologist ruled his death occurred as a direct result of the injuries he sustained in the attack.

Both Alis denied murder, claiming Mr Cabby contributed to his own death by being difficult with nurses and failing to follow medical advice.

Jurors took two hours to clear the men of murder after a four-day trial.

As the verdict was announced the court descended into scenes described by one court official as “a riot on the The Jeremy Kyle Show”.

Judge Gerald Gordon ordered the gallery be cleared.

Both men have been given an earliest possible release date of 2015.