Killer Danyal Hussein's character exposed in deals with demons

At the heart of the murders of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman was an evil plan to get rich by winning a lottery jackpot and secure the love of a girl at his school, the Old Bailey heard.

But ultimately he was a failure on all counts. He never won the lottery and girls found him creepy.

Screen grab from video dated 30/06/20 issued by the Metropolitan Police of Danyal Hussein being arrested

Hussein, who is of Iraqi descent, had much younger siblings and divided his time between his parents homes, with his mother in south east London and father in Wembley.

Socially awkward with girls, he ran into problems at Thomas Tallis School, a mixed comprehensive in Blackheath.

He was referred by his school to the Prevent anti-terror scheme in October 2017 over concern he was vulnerable to radicalisation and violent extremism.

He was given support and intervention through the Channel de-radicalisation programme until May 2018, with follow ups after six and 12 months, with no further concerns reported.

Hussein's signature written in blood

Last year, Hussein had no plans for further education and was instead looking to go abroad to a summer camp in the United States, police said.

But by the time of the Covid-19 lockdown, Hussein had fallen under the spell of a sinister demon cult, evidenced by material found in his bedroom.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding concluded Hussein’s ideology made him arrogant and very dangerous, particularly to women.

He said: “He is a particularly arrogant young man. Described as a boy in court but he is a young man with an ideology that would lead him to do that with such calmness. He is quite a frightening character.

“He was speaking online to other people about love spells and potions and there was some evidence of far-right research."

He added: “We believe there was a lot more he was accessing on the dark web.”

Jurors were shown pictures of Hussein’s narrow bedroom, with a single bed, glass television shelving and wardrobe.

Danyal Hussein showing cuts on his hand following his arrest.

Handwritten notes found on the shelf exhibited a preoccupation with gaining money, power and sex.

Hussein chose King Lucifuge Rofocale to strike a bargain to win the Mega Millions Super Jackpot.

Appropriately enough, Lucifuge Rofocale – which in Latin means “He who flees the light” – is in charge of Hell’s government and treasury by order of Lucifer, according to the black magic book The Grand Grimoire.

The note singled out women only to be sacrificed, suggesting a hatred of the opposite sex.

Even more disturbingly, Hussein promised to carry on making sacrifices for as long as he was able, so he could have gone on to murder more.

The note also made it clear that he knew what he was doing was wrong, because one of his requests was not to be caught.

The fact that he planned his attack carefully by buying knives, a full-face balaclava, tape and shovels shows these were not just words but deadly intent.

He fully expected his efforts to be rewarded, as he continued to spend money on Mega Millions Jackpot bets and lottery tickets in the days afterwards – without success.

Queen Byleth, to whom Hussein appealed to make him irresistible to women, would appear to be linked to the King of Hell, King Byleth.

A handwritten book of spells was also found in his bedroom along with pieces of paper bearing symbols for demons on them.

Jurors were not told about the A-level student’s activities online and on the dark web, much of which remains unknown due to his refusal to hand over passwords.

Lottery tickets found in Danyal Hussein's room

While murder squad detectives liaised with counter-terrorism colleagues, the murders were not treated as terror-related.

DCI Harding said Hussein’s demon pact did not refer to race but he could not rule out a racist element to the killings.

Hussein, who had no previous convictions, told police he suffered from Asperger’s syndrome and memory problems.

And he claimed that cuts to his hand from the savage knife attack on his victims were sustained when he was robbed.

Yet his legal team called no evidence about him having a recognised condition and instead asked jurors not to hold his “odd” behaviour against him.

That included frequently interrupting proceedings for toilet breaks, sitting with his back to the trial judge Mrs Justice Whipple, and staring at the victims’ family and female court staff.

He was even seen making an L for loser sign with his fingers at the first paramedic who attended the victims.

His lawyer, Riel Karmy-Jones QC, addressed the issue in her closing speech, saying: “You have seen how he has behaved in court. You may think at times his behaviour has been odd.

“Please judge him on the evidence, not on his behaviour in court if you have noticed something out of the ordinary.”

However, DCI Harding said his behaviour was that of a “belligerent child”.

He said: “The way he performs in the courtroom is despicable.

“The women he tried to attract; trying to engage with family in court trying to catch their eye; making loser signs at professional witnesses.”

DCI Harding said rather than displaying any signs of mental illness, which were explored before his trial, Hussein was just evil and very dangerous.

He said: “I’m totally convinced he would have gone on to commit more murders.

“He would have been looking at six in six months if he had fulfilled his contract.”