Two ex-police officers jailed for taking photos of murdered sisters are released early

Two former police officers jailed for taking photos of murdered sisters have been released early, despite one offering to re-share the horrifying footage.

Mina Smallman, the mother of the victims, said yesterday she feared the gruesome photos of their bodies would resurface after one of the captured officers lied about having them erased and was wiretapped for others to see.

She spoke out as the Mail can exclusively reveal today that Deniz Jaffer, 49, and Jamie Lewis, 34, have been released from prison early after serving less than 17 months.

The two officers were jailed for two years and nine months in December 2021 for misconduct in public office, but were automatically released after serving half of their sentences.

The embarrassed pair were ordered to protect the cordon of a murder scene after Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, were stabbed to death in a Wembley park in June 2020 by 19-year-old devil worshiper, Danyal Hussein.

But instead, the two officers took six photos of their bodies, which were sent via WhatsApp to a group of police officers and civilians, including a doctor and a dentist.

While standing at an indoor cordon, Lewis texted colleagues saying, “Unfortunately, I am sitting next to the two dead birds with stab wounds.”

Jaffer then risked contaminating the crime scene when he crawled past the cordon to take more photos with his phone.

The duo was reported by a colleague who received the shocking messages and was seen snooping around the scene.

When they were caught, Jaffer insisted that the images were removed.

But Mrs. Smallman, the Church of England’s first black female archdeacon, learned that one of the men had kept a copy.

She has requested that the couple be banned from discussing or sharing the appalling photos as part of their licensing terms.

“There are some conditions – they can’t contact us – and I’ve actually asked that they include an additional clause that if they try to show pictures of our girls, they’ll go right back in,” she said.

“One of them said they deleted the photo and they didn’t. The IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) contacted us because one of them heard that he offered to show the image.

“He could have sent it to anyone. He was called in and had to remove it again. Will those photos suddenly appear one day?

“That’s my biggest concern. That’s the one thing Chris (her husband) and I couldn’t do. We couldn’t see the bodies. I want to remember the girls as they were, not pictures of them afterwards.

“That is cause for great concern and fear.”

Officials did not inform the family when the pair were released on Friday, April 21, and waited until the following week to notify them.

“I knew the day would come. I choose not to look at the calendar. They are unimportant to me. They are a lost cause.

“When I got the call, I was on my own and that’s not nice,” said Ms. Smallman.

Yesterday, Jaffer was photographed shopping in the sunshine near his home in Hornchurch, East London.

A Justice Department spokesman said: “The crimes committed by these perpetrators were deeply abusive and our thoughts remain with the families of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.

“Lewis and Jaffer are subject to strict licensing conditions and can be sent back to prison at any time if the rules are broken.”