Nigerian Billionaire's Daughter Arrested for Murder of 84-Year-Old UK Woman

An 84-year-old white woman was brutally murdered in the UK by the daughter of a Nigerian billionaire.

Kemi Adeyoola, daughter of a Nigerian billionaire, moves to open prison despite brutal murder of 84-year-old Anne Mendel, raising concerns about parole system and public safety.

The daughter of a multimillionaire Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, who wrote a murder manual while incarcerated and then murdered an elderly woman in a break-in, has been moved to an open prison in anticipation of her parole.

In March 2005, Kemi Adeyoola, then 17 years old, fatally stabbed Anne Mendel, then 84, fourteen times at her Golders Green, Northwest London, home. Her husband discovered Mendel's body.

Judge Richard Hone called Adeyoola a ruthless and cold-blooded killer during her sentencing at London's Old Bailey in June 2006, describing her as clever and cunning.

Adeyoola received a mandatory life sentence with a 20-year minimum. Following her initial parole hearing in March 2023, the Board recommended that she be placed on open conditions.

It is unusual for someone convicted in a murder case of such public importance to be advised to have their security downgraded during their initial appearance before the three-member board.

However, a spokesperson for the Parole Board said: “The Parole Board refused the release of Kemi Adeyoola but recommended a move to an open conditions prison following an oral hearing in October 2023.

“This was a recommendation only and the Secretary of State for Justice considers the advice before making the final decision on whether a prisoner is suitable for open conditions.

“We will only make a recommendation for open conditions if a Parole Board panel is satisfied that the risk to the public has reduced sufficiently to be manageable in an open prison and if a transfer to open prison is considered to be essential to inform future decisions about release.

“A move to open conditions involves testing the prisoner's readiness for any potential return into their community in future. Prisoners moved to open conditions can be returned to closed conditions if there is concern about th behaviour.

“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public. A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.

“Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing.

“The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”

Although he could have stopped Adeyoola's transfer to open conditions, UK Justice Secretary did not take that action.

According to a representative of the UK Ministry of Justice, “Ann Mendel's murder was an appalling crime and our thoughts remain with her family.

“The independent Parole Board conducts a thorough risk assessment before recommending a transfer to open conditions but the Prison Service retains the ability to return offenders to closed prison at the first sign of any concern.”

Adeyoola's case drew widespread media attention due to her affluent background and the calculated nature of her crime, which was highlighted during her incarceration at Bullwood Hall Young Offenders' Institute in Essex for shoplifting.

She carefully laid out her plan to locate a vulnerable retiree to rob and kill in an eighteen-page document found by the police. It included a list of the tools she would need and how she intended to use the money she had stolen.

Privately schooled Adeyoola indicated that she would require a minimum of £3 million in her statement, which she named “Prison and After: Making Life Count.”

She intended to rob and kill an old woman in order to accomplish this, then frame the woman's husband for the crime.

The incident was detailed in horrifying detail: “With your butcher's knife remove her head. Wrap it in film to contain bleeding, detach limbs one by one,” she wrote.

“When you have completed the task, put head, body pieces in black bag.”

Mendel, her former neighbor, was just another easy target for Adeyoola to train on until she found a wealthy, elderly, and helpless widow to kill for money. The youngster claimed during the trial that the notes were just research for a mystery novel she planned to write, but the jury did not buy her version of events.

Judge Hone stated: “I regret to say I have formed the view that you are a remorseless and cold-blooded killer who is a serious and continuing danger to the public.

“I believe that your motive was to draw attention to yourself by the act of murder.

“I think you wanted to experience what it felt like to kill someone in cold blood, possibly so that you could write about it, but more probably so that you could boast about it and possibly even do it again.”