Two jailed over Seaford Moon of India waiter murder
Two men have been jailed for life for the murder of a restaurant waiter in a flat in an East Sussex seaside town.
Ahmed Remon Hayder, 27, was found dead in a flat next to the Moon of India restaurant where he worked, in Sutton Park Road, Seaford, in February 2010.
Shahadat Mollah Sohag, 21, of no fixed abode, and Mohammed Anhar, 33, of Tower Hamlets, east London, were ordered to serve at least 25 years in prison.
The pair were sentenced on Friday at Lewes Crown Court.
Mr Hayder, known as Ray, had suffered severe head injuries.
He had been running the family-owned restaurant while his parents were on holiday in Bangladesh.
Sohag and Anhar, who was the victim's cousin, had gone to steal from the flat but had murdered Mr Hayder after finding him inside, the court heard.
His body was discovered when a worker in the office below the flat saw blood dripping through the ceiling.
A British national from the Bangladeshi community, Mr Hayder lived with his family in the flat where he died and had lived in Seaford all his life.
In April 2010, Anhar admitted murder and aggravated burglary.
Sohag faced the same charges but denied them and went on to face a trial and a retrial after the original jury was discharged. He was convicted on both counts on Thursday.
In addition to the life terms for murder, Sohag was ordered to serve 10 years concurrently and Anhar was ordered to serve 12 years concurrently for aggravated burglary.
'A cherished son'
After the pair were sentenced, Det Ch Insp Adam Hibbert, from Sussex Police, said: "Remon was brutally killed in his family home, his young life cruelly cut short.
"The scene discovered by police was extremely gruesome and distressing."
He said police worked with forensic experts to establish the identity of the two men.
Det Insp Hibbert also said Sohag tried to evade capture by escaping to France, and police had been supported by the Bengali community in Sussex and London as they worked to find the killers.
After the hearing, Mr Hayder's family issued a statement through police which said: "Our house was filled with happiness and harmony.
"It was as if suddenly a cyclone occurred and turned everything upside down. We will never forget what has happened until the day we die.
"The verdict could not ease the pain and sense of loss of losing a cherished son and brother, but we find solace in knowing Remon's killers are imprisoned and justice has been done."