Habib Saliba (lost audio tape of murder of banker; 1996)

This article has been tagged as NSFL and NSFW due to its disturbing subject matter and discussion of sexual topics.

Habib Saliba.

Status: Lost

On 24th June 1996, the body of Syrian banker Habib Saliba was discovered in his Fulham flat. Samantha Enoch, a sex worker who had engaged in a long-term sexual relationship with Saliba, was arrested and later convicted of his murder. The crucial piece of evidence was an audio recorder Saliba secretly installed in his flat to confront Enoch over her theft of his mother's ring. The dictaphone captured the banker's final moments.

Background

46-year-old Habib Saliba worked as an assistant vice-president for the Union Bank of Switzerland. A Syrian national, Saliba had moved to England in 1980 and purchased a flat in Napier Court, Fulham. Most sources describe Saliba as a wealthy individual. However, neighbour Robert Kelly revealed in a 27th June 1996 interview with the Fulham Chronicle that Saliba may have actually experienced money troubles. Having been harassed by bailiffs, Saliba placed new security locks at his flat a week before his murder. In contrast, the 4th April 1997 issue of Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette reported that Saliba, who was unmarried, had around £30,000 in his bank account.

The alleged run-ins with bailiffs were likely connected to Saliba's costly relationship with Samantha Enoch. Aged 20 in 1996, Enoch had met Saliba two years prior. She had reportedly left school at 15 and turned to street prostitution a year later. During her time as a sex worker, Enoch gave birth to a boy. Several newspapers deemed her as very attractive. In 1994, Enoch met Saliba outside the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane. According to the 18th April 1997 issue of Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette, Enoch was 17 when the pair first interacted. The banker took a liking to the young sex worker and invited her back to his flat. For the next two years, Saliba regularly paid Enoch for intercourse in what prosecutor Richard Horwell described as a "sugar daddy" relationship. Saliba had reportedly grown attached to Enoch, letting her stay in his flat for eight months. He was concerned over Enoch's street lifestyle and sought to assist her and her young son.

In contrast, Enoch appeared to be taking financial advantage of Saliba's support and trust. Aside from the regular payments, Enoch had allegedly stolen money and property from Saliba's flat on multiple occasions. At some point, Enoch moved into a home in Clapham with 27-year-old lodger and friend Ronald Tamplin. Horwell described Tamplin as being "very protective" of and loyal to Enoch. Despite this, Enoch still regularly lived with Saliba and oftentimes was left alone in his flat. During one of these visits, Enoch stole a cash box which contained £300 and various expensive jewellery. Saliba was aghast at this, as one diamond ring worth £8,000 belonged to his mother. He had planned to return it to her on his next trip to Syria. Despite the betrayal, Saliba gave Enoch £300 and ordered her to bring back the ring, which she had pawned for double that. Alas, upon learning that Enoch squandered the money elsewhere, the banker filed two theft reports to the police. However, the young woman still occasionally visited Saliba during this period, which the prosecution believed was the result of Saliba directly attempting to gather evidence on Enoch's thievery.

The Murder and the Audiotape

On 24th June 1996 at 11 am, the caretaker of Napier Court entered Saliba's flat and found his body in the dining room. He had been stabbed 26 times, with the dining room's table and carpet covered in his blood. The news stunned Fulham residents, especially as days prior it was revealed that couple Joseph and Kornela Ploch were murdered a few streets away by brothers Marioz and Robert Mackza. Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Malton was called to assess the scene. She interviewed one of Saliba's close friends, who informed her about a woman who regularly visited the flat for sex and of whom Saliba had planned to confront over stolen jewellery. Acting on this information, police arrested Enoch, Tamplin and an unidentified individual on suspicion of Saliba's murder, which was believed to have been committed on 21st June. The pair were then formally charged with murder on 4th July 1996.

Their trial officially began at the Old Bailey on 1st November 1996. The prosecution was led by Horwell, who presented two key pieces of audio evidence. The first was a voicemail on Saliba's phone where Enoch allegedly threatened "I hope you die Habib. I hope you die somewhere on the street". But this paled in comparison to the police's discovery of an audio recorder hidden within Saliba's display cabinet. Horwell claimed Saliba purchased the mini-recorder, known as a dictaphone, days beforehand in order to confront Enoch and gather critical evidence on her thievery. On 21st June, Saliba opened the door to a woman and a male accomplice, who the prosecution deemed were Enoch and Tamplin. The tape captured the pair requesting £500 in exchange for the ring's safe return. This backed up Enoch's claim she and Tamplin attempted to extort more money from Saliba. However, the prosecution argued they in reality had come to silence Saliba, with Enoch aware she could face a lengthy prison sentence for her acts of theft.

This time, Saliba refused the request. Consequently, the banker was brutally attacked in his flat with a large carving knife. Unbeknownst to the two attackers, the dictaphone recorded the entire murder. On the tape, Saliba's dying screams could be heard as he pleaded "Stop it, stop it! Oh no, oh no!". A woman's voice could also be heard, as well as her accomplice who instructed her to cease the relentless attack. He then said "Where's my knife? It's under my other knife. Let's go, let's go. Grab the wallet. Take the cash." The tape revealed Saliba died over three hours after the attack. The audio recording horrified the jury and others present at the Old Bailey, with Detective Inspector Rick Turner having described it as a "chilling experience". Meanwhile, Enoch cried during the playback though insisted her voice was not captured on the tape. However, Horwell was unconvinced. He claimed that Tamplin's tone of voice was "deliberate" and that it demonstrated a full intention to murder. Horwell believed the killing of Saliba was motivated by greed and a need to silence him.

As the trial progressed, Enoch and Tamplin turned on one another. Enoch testified that she had zero knowledge of Saliba's murder until the police informed her. Originally, she had denied ever being at Saliba's flat on the day of murder, but later changed her story to admit she and Tamplin visited to extort more cash. However, the sex worker insisted only Tamplin was at the flat when the killing occurred. These claims were directly contradicted by Enoch's sister Michelle. Michelle told the jury that Samantha instructed her to provide an alibi, which alleged her sister tried to shield Saliba as Tamplin stabbed him, only for the banker to punch her on the forehead. Later that day, a "perfectly normal" Samantha shopped in Brixton with her sister to replace her blood-soaked trainers. Meanwhile, Tamplin claimed Enoch was the one who killed Saliba. He recalled waiting in the living room when he suddenly heard screams in the lounge. As he entered, he witnessed Enoch stabbing Saliba in the chest with one of Tamplin's carving knives. As Saliba collapsed to the floor, Enoch stabbed him several times in the back. Tamplin denied having any foreknowledge of the attack but agreed Enoch was motivated by financial gain.

Both suspects continued to deny murder. In particular, Enoch rejected claims she had any intentions to physically harm Saliba. On 14th April 1997, the jury retired to begin a three-day deliberation. In fewer than ten hours, the jury found Tamplin not guilty of all charges. In contrast, it took around 13 hours to convict Enoch of murder on 16th April 1997. Jury consensus determined Enoch killed Saliba following a botched blackmail attempt. They also deduced Enoch attempted to pin Tamplin for the crime, whose "misguided loyalty" caused him to help Enoch with the initial cover-up. Judge Henry Pownall QC sentenced Enoch to life in prison. He told a visually emotionless Enoch "In this court, there have been some calculated, calculating, and callous defendants but few to touch you. What you did in that flat and what you said about it in evidence and what you did after it is almost beyond belief. In my view, you are dangerous, devious, and wicked."

On 3rd March 1998, then-Home Secretary Jack Straw recommended a minimum sentence of 14 years. Enoch, who later changed her surname to Dainty, appealed this sentence in June 2007 and had it successfully reduced by nine months and 19 days as time served in custody. Therefore, it is believed Dainty was released from prison prior to 16th April 2011.

Availability

The murder of Habib Saliba is relatively obscure in the world of British crime. Most newspaper publications focused on how Saliba inadvertently audio-recorded his own slaying. The tape, described as "exceptionally distressing" by Horwell, likely still resides somewhere within the British court system. However, because of the tape's obscurity and disturbing nature, as well as out of respect for Saliba and his relatives, a public release of the tape seems highly unlikely.