A man was murdered and left to rot by his neighbour who pawned his TV, laptop and mobile phone to fund his drug addiction.

Leonard Head, 50, has been found guilty of battering 51-year-old Jeffrey Coombes, previously from Sutton, to death in his Walthamstow flat in July last year. 

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Murderer: Leonard Head

Head was jailed for a minimum of 25 years at Snaresbrook Crown Court today.

Mr Coombes had just moved to Walthamstow, in late May, and was in the process of redecorating his new home.

He previously lived in Sutton and Sussex and had started a new life in London.

Mr Coombes was last known to be alive on June 21 when he had phone conversation with a friend.  Concerned relatives tried to contact him, visited his home and left notes on his door asking him to contact his sister.

Relatives called the police on Sunday, July 14, when his body was discovered and a post-mortem gave his cause of death as head and facial injuries.

It transpired that a HD TV was missing from Mr Coombes’ home, along with a mobile phone, a laptop, a wallet and a set of house keys.

Mr Coombes and Head lived opposite each other and knew each other.

A witness said Head, a drug addict, had tried to sell him a white television and a laptop similar to what was stolen from Mr Coombes’ home. Head's fingerprints were found on the TV along with Coombes’ blood.

Detective Chief Inspector John Sandlin of the homicide and major crime command said: "Leonard Head has not accepted any responsibility for the murder of Jeff.

“He attacked Jeff, stole his property for money in order to feed his drug habit, and then laid low hoping that his crime would not be discovered, stating he was oblivious to the smell of Jeff's decomposing body in the flat opposite his, even though it was described as overpowering.

“This was a cowardly attack on a man in his own home, who had been described as a man who sought no confrontation with anyone."

Did you know Mr Coombes? Leave a tribute below or email ssleigh@london.newsquest.co.uk


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