Crossbow killers' own CCTV footage helped police prove their guilt
CCTV played a key part in bringing the Black Country crossbow killers to justice, the detective in charge of the murder investigation has said.
Saghawat Ramzan, 46, was found guilty of murdering both his brother Waseem Ramzan, 36, and Khuzaimah Douglas, 19, following the fight on Pensnett Road, in Brierley Hill, on February 20 last year.
Saghawat's son Omar Ramzan, 24, and family friend Mohammed Sageer, 33, were found guilty of Mr Douglas' murder and guilty of the manslaughter of Waseem Ramzan – an alternative charge put to the jury after they were both found not guilty of his murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Munro, of West Midlands Police, was the senior investigating officer in the case.
He explained: "It has been painstaking work around CCTV and house-to-house enquiries.
"Obviously, we are keen to thank members of the community who assisted us with providing CCTV, and witnesses who were driving to work in that early hour, who came forward and spoke with the police, which obviously helped us formulate a case before the court, in relation to two allegations of murder."
WATCH CCTV from night of killings:
He said the key piece of evidence was CCTV from the defendants' home, next door to the cannabis factory.
Mr Munro said: "Saghawat tried to delete the CCTV footage. We managed to recover that footage which was instrumental in understanding what exactly took place during the early hours of that morning and it has allowed us to paint the complete story and allow the jury to formulate their verdicts from that evidence."
Mr Munro believes Saghawat and Omar used crossbows to intimidate the intruders and discourage other gangs from burgling the cannabis factory.
But he believes the use of crossbows was an isolated incident and said such crimes are rare.
He continued: "This was a brutal, punishing attack using deadly weapons, which in my view was used to send a message to the burglars of the cannabis farm, and to warn other people away from the properties.
"Thankfully, this was isolated.
"While crossbows are a weapon, in certain circumstances they can be lawfully possessed by people over 18.
"Clearly the use of those in a public place would potentially constitute an offensive weapon and the severe nature around their use.
"Also, the injuries that were caused to Khuzaimah Douglas and Waseem Ramzan, who both died in the tragic incident, made evident the deadliness of the weapon.
"The force that is used when they are discharged... they are a very, very deadly weapon which has resulted in the death of two men."
While the murder investigation is over, Mr Munro said a probe is still ongoing into the actual burglary on the cannabis factory.
He added: "We are investigating the burglary into the cannabis farm as well.
"There has been a substantial number of people charged with that matter, 13 in total, so we continue to investigate that."
Saghawat Ramzan and Omar Ramzan, both of Pensnett Road, and Sageer, of Gorsty Avenue, Brierley Hill, are due to be sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on March 12.
