Burglar jailed for life for murdering teacher

Yousef Bouhaddou, 28, was convicted of the murder of Robert Symons at the Old Bailey yesterday, following a seven day trial.

Bouhaddou will serve a minimum of 27 years.

Bouhaddou murdered the 45-year-old teacher during a break-in at his £1 million Cheswick home.

The father of two had gone downstairs from his bedroom to investigate a noise at about 4.30am on October 20, 2004, when he was stabbed in the heart by Bouhaddou, with a knife the burglar had found in the kitchen.

His wife, Linda, rushed downstairs to find her husband bleeding profusely as Bouhaddou fled the scene.

Mr Symons, a father of two young children, was taken to hospital, where he later died. The wound had cut into rib penetrating his lung and heart.

The knife was found in a nearby garden and four days later detectives arrested five people, including Bouhaddou, in West London.

Mr Symons was a teacher at Queens Park Community School in North West London. He had been in teaching for about 6 months, having previously worked as an IT consultant.

He became a teacher in order to "give something back to the community".

DCI Steve Morris, the officer in charge of the investigation, said: "Robert Symons was a loving and devoted husband and father. He was ambushed and wickedly murdered in his own home by a man whose only intention was to save his own skin.

"The attack was carried out in such a way that Robert Symons would have been totally unaware of the danger he was about to face when he went downstairs.

"Yousef Bouhaddou showed a callous disregard for his victim in his determination to get away. The conviction today should be a strong message to others who break into people's homes and attack the occupiers. Our thoughts are with Robert Symons wife and young children at this time.

"This has been a difficult investigation and I would like to thank my officers for their perseverance and professionalism in bringing this case to a successful conclusion."