Jay Dawes: man, 28, ‘strangled girlfriend with dressing gown cord’ then text drug dealer he’d ‘got rid’ of her

A young woman was murdered by her boyfriend who later sent a text to his drug dealer saying he had “got rid” of her before killing himself days later, an inquest heard.

Amani Iqbal, 28, is believed to have been strangled with a dressing gown cord at her home in East London and was found lying in a bathtub three days after it is thought she was killed on New Year’s Eve 2020.

Cocaine and gambling addict Jay Dawes, also 28, had texted his friend telling him he had “gotten rid” of his girlfriend shortly after.

He also said he had got himself another girlfriend, had broken up with Amani and was now feeling “happy and upbeat”.

Just days later on 2 January last year, Mr Dawes subsequently died after driving his Peugeot into an HGV lorry that was parked in a layby near Saffron Walden, Essex. The lorry burst into flames and he was killed almost instantly.

Miss Iqbal, a Durham University graduate who worked as a marketing propositions manager for Sainsbury’s, was found after Mr Dawes’s death.

Dawes withdrew £750 from her bank and ordered pizza

An inquest at Waltham Forest Coroner’s Court heard that over a two-day period between Miss Iqbal’s suspected death and his fatal collision, Mr Dawes withdrew £750 from her bank account in three separate transactions, drove her Fiat 500 and ordered pizza on her Apple Pay.

Miss Iqbal was last seen on CCTV crying as her boyfriend closed the curtains at their flat just after 9pm on that day.

He began texting his drug dealer Brian Alexander within an hour, with the pair exchanging around 60 texts and meeting in person three times in the time between her disappearance and the car crash.

Mr Alexander insisted the texts were about whether Mr Dawes could do gardening work for his mother.

In his police statement, he said: “I have known him for a couple of years through friends and he did gardening and fencing.

“On New Year’s Eve 2020 I got a text from him saying he had got rid of her or broken up with his girlfriend, I can’t remember the exact words he used.

“He said had got another girlfriend who he had broken up with and now he was happy again. He appeared upbeat and happy.”

Mr Alexander claimed he could not remember reading texts where Mr Dawes spoke about his girlfriends, whether he spoke about girlfriends when they met up and whether he said he had “got rid of her” or not.

He added: “I can’t remember any of these calls or sending any of these texts. People say they have got rid of a pair of shoes or a car, that doesn’t mean they have killed them.”

Killing ruled ‘unlawful’

Miss Iqbal’s lifeless body was found on 3 January 2020 in the bath at the couple’s flat in Walthamstow.

Her t-shirt was partially removed and a dressing gown, believed to have been used as a ligature, was found in the bathroom but was not around her neck.

A bag of ice was found on top of her body and Mr Dawes had been caught on CCTV buying ice shortly after she was last seen.

Pink plastic gloves were also found in the bathroom, plus a clump of hair in the hallway and blood stains on the hinge of the door.

Pathologist Dr Olaf Biedrzycki said: “It (the cause of death) appears to be compression of the neck caused by a third party.”

Police also said their findings at the scene were also consistent with an unlawful killing, the hearing was told.

Miss Iqbal’s mother Samina Iqbal told the inquest, in evidence that was read out by the Coroner, that the family is “still in shock and struggling to make sense of such a sudden and unexpected event”.

The couple had reportedly been talking about getting married, having babies and getting a dog in the days before she died, and were seen on CCTV holding hands together just hours before the killing.

Ms Iqbal added: “At first their relationship went very well and they moved into a flat in Bounds Green together. We often had them over and went to their house for lunch.

“However, I soon saw him undermining her friendships with her closest school friends, which turned her against them to some degree.

“Then he changed and he decided he didn’t want to be with her. She came back to live with me. I was taken aback by the fact that they broke up but they never completely broke away from each other. They kept speaking and seeing each other as friends but I didn’t like the way he treated her.

“She told me about his depression, instability, previous suicide attempts, lack of work and the fact he had debts. He told her repeatedly his family didn’t care about him and they only got back together when she bought a flat in Walthamstow in 2018. Their relationship became obscure and I thought he was not a good influence on her.”

Ms Iqbal said she believes the “last texts” from her daughter sent to her dad and friends to wish them Happy New Year on WhatsApp were not sent by her because they contained spelling and grammar mistakes, and the family believe she was killed on New Year’s Eve.

Nadia Persaud, area coroner for East London, recorded a conclusion of unlawful killing, saying Miss Iqbal’s injuries “are strongly indicative of third party involvement”.

She said: “Amani Iqbal was found lying in the bath with a t-shirt that had been partially removed. A crime scene manager and a homicide team car attended. The crime scene manager noticed bruising to Amani’s neck that looked in keeping with strangulation.”

She continued: “A broken section of a dressing gown belt was found in the bathroom and was considered to have been used as a ligature. It was not found around her neck.”

Ms Persaud summarised that while the pathologist had raised the “theoretical possibility” that Miss Iqbal could have caused these injuries to herself, the ligature would have remained around her neck had there been no third party involvement.

In a statement released at the end of the hearing, Miss Iqbal’s family said: "At only 28 years of age, Amani Iqbal was sadly taken from us at the end of 2020 under very tragic circumstances.

“Amani was an incredible and vivacious young woman. She was an overachiever who without doubt would have gone on to do wonderful things. She touched the hearts of so many people around her, leaving behind a legacy of love and laughter. She is sorely missed by many.

"The inquest draws to a close a long and painful process that we have had to face as a family. We thank our family and friends for their love and support during this time. The family respectfully request privacy to heal in peace after this terrible ordeal."

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