David Rhodes client cleared of all charges for Park Lane murder

At the Old Bailey, David Rhodes secures the acquittal of Adham El Shalakany on the remaining charge of violent disorder, after the Crown earlier dropped the charge of murder against his client.

The case concerned the murder of a doorman, Tudor Siminiov, in the early hours of New Year’s Day, outside an unlicensed party at an exclusive Park Lane address organised by Lord Eddie Davenport. The case attracted substantial media attention and two of the suspects fled to Morocco. The prime suspect, Ossama Hamed, remains at large.

Adham El Shalakany was arrested at his home address on 29 January 2019. He was initially charged with the murder of Tudor Siminiov and violent disorder. The charges were brought on a joint enterprise basis. Mr El Shalakany was initially remanded into custody at HMP Belmarsh.

David Rhodes was instructed by Alex Chapman at Hodge Jones and Allen within days of the arrest. He advised at an early stage on targeted disclosure which uncovered police material that undermined the Prosecution case against Mr El Shalakany. In the result, the Crown dropped the allegation of murder against Mr El Shalakany before the PTPH and David obtained bail for his client.

Six defendants were tried at the Old Bailey over the summer. In the result, two defendants pleaded guilty to manslaughter and another defendant pleaded guilty to violent disorder. The jury were unable to reach a verdict in respect of the remaining defendant charged with murder. However, the jury unanimously found Adham El Shalakany not guilty of violent disorder on the basis that he was defending himself against an attack by another bouncer. A female defendant was also found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Media coverage: BBC, The Sun, Evening Standard.