A woman has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice in relation to a teenager who was murdered in Enfield and concealed in a loft for eight months.

Stacey Docherty, 28 (09.08.90), of Hartmoor Mews, Enfield, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at the Old Bailey today, Friday 31 May.

Docherty was found not guilty of murder by a jury in March. However, the jury reached a hung verdict on the charges of perverting the course of justice and preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body.

Her partner Gary Hopkins, 37 (09.10.81), of the same address, was convicted in March of murder after killing 17-year-old Abdi Ali at his home address in Enfield and then hiding his body in the loft for eight months.

Hopkins was found guilty on Thursday, 28 March of murder, perverting the course of justice and preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body.

They will both be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday, 27 June.

Acting on information received, officers attended a residential address in Hartmoor Mews, Enfield, at around 14:00hrs on Monday, 27 August. The body of a male was found inside.

The body was eventually identified as Abdi Ali, 17, of Ostell Crescent, Enfield, who had been reported missing to police by his family on 31 December 2017. He was last seen by them on 11 December 2017, at a family wedding.

The discovery of his body at Hopkins’ home address followed information provided to police by a friend.

This information led to officers searching their address and finding Abdi’s body which was wrapped in bedding and hidden in the loft.

The friend told police that on the evening of 25 August 2018, she had gone to visit the flat in Hartmoor Mews. Hopkins was angry with a male who was asleep at his address. He informed the friend that he intended to rob and kill the man. Hopkins claimed he had done it before and that the body was in his attic.

Hopkins placed a ladder against the wall and encouraged an associate who was also at the address to look into the loft encouraging him to touch what he was looking at.

The shocked friend would later be told that the body was an unknown Somali male who was about 18 years old and that he had been disrespectful whilst in the house. Abdi often stayed in the address because he was homeless and would sell drugs in return as a mutual arrangement.

On the day of the murder, just before Christmas on 21 December 2017, Abdi was asleep on the sofa. Hopkins hit Abdi with a hammer; the hammer broke but Abdi was not dead so Hopkins went into the kitchen and got a knife and stabbed him in the heart.

Abdi was then robbed of cash and drugs before his body was cleaned up, wrapped in a bed sheet and black bags, and put into the loft.

After hearing this information, the friend attended a Hertfordshire police station on 27 August 2018.

Hopkins and Docherty were arrested at their address on the afternoon of 27 August after officers acted on the information and found Abdi’s body.

Hopkins account was that two men, known associates who dealt drugs had been looking for Abdi on the day he was murdered, they killed him and out of fear he and Docherty had left with their children, returning home a week later.

Hopkins continued to stick to his story and attempted to leave the interview room, becoming abusive towards the interviewing officers.

Hopkins and Docherty were charged on 29 August 2018.

A post-mortem examination which took place on Friday, 31 August at Haringey Mortuary, gave Abdi’s cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head and stab wounds to the chest.

In a victim impact statement, Abdi’s mother, Iisha Abdullahi said: “I cried every day Abdi was missing, people would say to me that Abdi was maybe dead because he had been missing for so long, but I would not believe this. When I was informed about Abdi’s death, I fainted because where his body was found was the same area that I used to pass every day for the eight months that Abdi was missing and it is very close to my home address. As a family we miss Abdi very much and I cannot understand why they did what they did to Abdi.

“I and my family fled from Somalia and we came to this country for safety but what these two people did to me and to my family and to Abdi is not something that we can ever forget. They broke my heart and this is not something that I can ever forget or forgive them for. My son was only 17 years old and they did not give him the chance to lead his life. Abdi never harmed anyone and I cannot understand why someone would do such thing to another human being. I will always love Abdi and I will never forget him.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “I am pleased that Doherty decided to plead guilty to perverting the course of justice today – this has been a tragic case to investigate. Not only was a young man brutally murdered, but his body being hidden put Abdi’s family through the anguish of not knowing where he was. Great efforts were taken to conceal the body and make sure it could not be found.

“This has been devastating for Abdi’s family who were not aware of a lot of aspects of his life. Hopkins showed a callous disregard for the consequences of his actions, which were driven by money and drugs.

“If the friend had not done the right thing and informed police, Abdi’s family would have had to endure even longer than they did without knowing where he was or what had happened to him.”