A killer who bundled his naked victim into a car boot, then set fire to him in a woodland, died before his sentencing, a report says. Samuel Stewart, 36, had cocaine and other drugs in his system when he was found ‘cold and stiff’ in his cell at HMP Wormwood Scrubs on July 15 2023, only a few weeks after his manslaughter conviction following a four-week murder trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
Stewart was awaiting sentence over the death of 28-year-old Subere Badade, whose smouldering body was discovered by firefighters at Belvue Park in Northolt, West London, in June 2020. Stewart, along with 35-year-old David Pilgrim, assaulted Subere at Stewart’s house in nearby Lilliput Avenue before stripping him down and loading him into Stewart’s car while unconscious but still alive.
The killers then took Subere into a woodland within the park and doused him in petrol before setting him on fire. At trial both men denied he was still alive. CCTV enquiries allowed Met Police detectives to piece together the crime, while also retrieving Subere’s burnt clothing from a bonfire in Stewart’s garden. A witness also said they had seen Stewart and Subere arguing over a mobile phone.
Now a report from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman reveals Stewart never made it to his sentencing hearing, becoming the seventh inmate in three years to end their own life in the prison. Stewart had already made his suicidal intentions clear when he was remanded there ahead of the trial, meaning investigators were tasked with exploring what more the prison could have done.
The report says two days before his death, Stewart was sacked from his job in the waste management team after a drug parcel, thrown over the prison walls, was found in his trolley. Stewart denied involvement, but was sacked immediately rather than being suspended pending investigation. The PPO has recommended the Governor find out why standard procedures were not followed.
After his death, police found a handwritten note expressing guilt towards his victim Subere. In March this year, an inquest concluded Stewart’s death was drug-related.
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