Drug dealer admits killing vulnerable former chef who slept beside dogs

A drug dealer has admitted beating a vulnerable former chef to death after allegedly forcing him to sleep beside dogs.

The body of Dimitrios Tsavdaris, 55, was found in the foetal position inside a "cuckoo" flat in Hackney, north London, after weeks of violent attacks, the Old Bailey was previously told.

He had been taken there from the home of Bamidele Fawehinmi in Wickford, Essex, where he allegedly slept on a mattress in a garage beside American pitbull cross-breed dogs.

The victim was a frail "vulnerable person", weighing just over eight stone, who may have been dead or dying for several days before his body was discovered on 29 January 2024, jurors heard.

He had sustained multiple fractures to his ribs, face and breastbone, as well as internal injuries and old and new bleeding on the brain.

On Thursday, partway through his retrial at the Old Bailey, Fawehinmi, 33, from Haringey, north London, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm.

He was remanded into custody to be sentenced on 8 May.

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Detective Superintendent Kelly Allen, who headed the Metropolitan Police's investigation, said: "I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Dimitrios must have gone through in the final weeks of his life, enslaved by Bamidele Fawehinmi and living in fear for his life.

"Dimitrios was a frail man who did not pose a threat to Fawehinmi. His initial claim in police interview that he acted in self-defence is utterly preposterous, and the words of a coward.

"Fawehinmi is a violent bully, who preyed on vulnerable people to exploit them for his own gain.

"His conviction will not erase the pain felt by Dimitrios's family, but I hope the fact he will spend a significant period of time behind bars brings them some small sense of justice."

The victim, known as Jimmy, had worked as a chef and taxi driver before his world "unravelled" following his brother's sudden death some years ago.

The flat where he died had been "cuckooed" by the defendant, who took it over from another man and used it for drug dealing, it was alleged.

The victim had been attacked at this property, and the defendant's home some 30 miles away in Essex, the court heard.

Ms Carberry told jurors: "There Dimitrios slept on a mattress on the floor of the garage where the defendant kept his dogs."

He was already badly injured when he was taken to Hackney by the defendant a week before his body was discovered, she said.

Ms Carberry added: "The police were alerted to Dimitrios' death by this defendant's own father who, upon learning from his son that there was a dead body in a flat associated with him, did the right thing and reported it to the police.

"Meanwhile his son, knowing he had killed a man, tried to flee the country via Heathrow airport to Lagos in Nigeria."

The victim had been told to look after the defendant's dogs, with 14 puppies seen in the garden at one point, the court heard.

Police found Mr Tsavdaris's blood at the Wickford property, and in the Kia car the defendant used to move him to Hackney, the court was told.

The defendant had previous convictions for criminal damage and common assault in 2015, and he admitted to selling crack cocaine.

At an earlier trial last year, Fawehinmi admitted hitting and elbowing Tsavdaris, and potentially causing injuries to his rib and sternum during a fight, but claimed he acted in self-defence after his hair was pulled.

Fawehinmi was acquitted of murder at his first trial, but ordered to stand trial on the other charges against him.

(c) Sky News 2026: Drug dealer admits killing vulnerable former chef who slept beside dogs