A mother of two was fatally shot during a drive-by shooting, which took place when she was outside of a church while attending a wake in London.
Michelle Sadio was outside of the River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church in Harlesden when she was fatally shot on December 14, 2024, according to the BBC.
More than one year later, four men have been accused of murder in connection with Sadio’s death and are now on trial, according to BBC and ITV. In addition to killing Sadio, the suspects also allegedly injured two others during the shooting.
Tahjin Sommersall, Perry Allen-Thomas, Shaquille Sutherland and Amir Salem have all been charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder. Despite being charged, all four of the men have denied the charges.
Authorities believe that Sommersall, 19, was in the car during the shooting with two others who allegedly fled the country after the shooting and have not been publicly identified or apprehended, according to the BBC.
Additionally, prosecutors told the jurors that the Kia driven during the shooting was stolen and driven on false number plates. Following the crime, the car was doused in gas and set on fire.
Sommersall has denied possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and he has further insisted he was not in the Kia at the time of the deadly shooting.
Allen-Thomas, 27, and Sutherland, 26, were not at the scene at the time of the shooting. However, prosecutors have accused them of orchestrating the violent act that led to Sadio’s death, the BBC and ITV reported.
“In short, the prosecution alleges that Sutherland and Allen-Thomas got the three younger men to do their dirty work for them,” prosecutor Crispin Aylett said, according to reports.
Salem, 19, was arrested after he was accused of buying some of the gasoline that was used to set the car on fire following the shooting, according to prosecutors. Additionally, prosecutors said that they believe the group was targeting an unidentified rapper at the time of the alleged shooting.
When she was killed, Sadio leaving the wake of an 80-year-old woman who died just days before the service. It’s not currently clear how Sadio, who was a legal administrator and mother of two, knew the deceased woman.
Sadio was shot in the back, lung and shoulder, according to the BBC. She was pronounced dead at the scene from her injuries. Additionally, a man was paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot in the back during the same incident. A third man was also injured when he was shot in the foot.
“This attack was clearly as appalling as it was outrageous: innocent members of the public were gunned down as they were standing outside a church,” Aylett said during the hearing, according to the BBC.
He added that there was “nothing to suggest that any of the actual victims could have been the intended target.”
The trial is currently underway, and a verdict has not yet been decided.
