man found guilty of rape and manslaughter

A sexual predator has been found guilty of the rape and manslaughter of a woman he attacked while she was unconscious on a park bench.

Mohamed Iidow, 35, repeatedly sexually assaulted 37-year-old Natalie Shotter in Southall Park in west London in 2021.

The Old Bailey heard Ms Shotter died of a heart attack caused by Iidow raping her “again and again”.

Jurors were not told of Iidow’s previous convictions for sexual offences.

This article contains distressing details.

CCTV footage was shown of NHS worker Ms Shotter sitting on a bench with a different man when the defendant walked past and looked at them.

Prosecution barrister Alison Morgan KC said: “What was the defendant doing there, what was he seeking to do, walking up and down the paths in the middle of the night and thinking about what his objectives must have been – seeking out a vulnerable woman to rape.”

Jurors heard Ms Shotter was lying down, showing “no clear movement” for around half an hour before the defendant approached her.

During the attack, the victim had been “deeply unconscious”.

Further CCTV showed the defendant moving Ms Shotter’s body around in different positions as he raped her.

The defendant then drove back to his home in Hounslow via a Shell garage where he stopped to buy cat food and mouthwash.

Ms Shotter was found dead by a passer-by in the park in the early morning of 17 July 2021.

Swabs taken from her mouth area matched DNA samples taken from the defendant.

Ms Morgan told jurors: “The prosecution’s case is that Natalie died as a result of what was done to her by this defendant.

“She was not dead at the time when the defendant was orally raping her, it will be a matter for you to consider – that this defendant went to the park for a reason.

“He would not have sought to have sex with a dead body for over 15 minutes, he was having sex with someone he knew was alive but was deeply unconscious and therefore he was raping her.”

Iidow had denied the charges against him but declined to give evidence.

Following the guilty verdict he was remanded into custody to be sentenced on 13 December.