Mum-of-three, 37, ‘died after being raped by stranger’, UK court hears

A trial has begun in the UK after a mum passed out on a park bench where a sickening crime allegedly unfolded. Warning: Graphic

Warning: Graphic

A British mum-of-three was raped and killed by a stranger while she was unconscious on a park bench after a night out, a court has heard.

Natalie Shotter, 37, had been on a night out enjoying herself before she was allegedly attacked by Mohamed Iidow.

The health care worker, who was employed by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), was found dead by a passer-by in Southall Park, west London, in the early morning on July 17, 2021, the Old Bailey was told.

Mr Iidow, 35, is on trial accused of her rape and manslaughter, The Sun reports.

A British mum-of-three was allegedly raped and killed by a stranger while she was unconscious on a park bench after a night out. Picture: Central News

Prosectors claim she ‘died after being raped again and again’ by a homeless man. Picture: Central News

Opening the case on Wednesday, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said: “The prosecution’s case is that Natalie was a vulnerable woman, out at night enjoying herself, who was then taken advantage of by this defendant.

“Natalie Shotter does not appear to have been conscious at the time that she was raped, let alone consenting to the defendant.

“He could never have believed that she was consenting.

“It was the process of raping Natalie repeatedly that caused her death.”

Ms Morgan told jurors that it had taken time to understand what happened to Ms Shotter that night and what caused her death.

CCTV footage showed her barely moving and that she appeared to have been unconscious when she was raped and therefore could not have consented, Ms Morgan said.

“She was raped repeatedly by this defendant and it was the process of raping her, again and again, that caused her death,” the prosecutor said, according to a report by the Daily Mail.

“Although it is grainy and at a distance, the CCTV footage shows the defendant engaging in acts of oral penetration.”

CCTV captured the alleged attack in a popular London park. Picture: Central News

Earlier that night, Ms Shotter was captured on other CCTV footage dancing outside a shop with other people.

Jurors were told the victim was little more than 5ft (152cm) tall and weighed just 43kg.

She had been drinking throughout the evening and may have also inhaled poppers – an “unsafe” liquid drug that can give an instant high effect – it was said.

Ms Morgan added: “Very sadly, by the time she was found, she had died and it was obvious that she had been dead for a number of hours.

“She had not been stabbed or beaten to death, there were no obvious signs of significant injury to her body and there was nobody else with her.

“It has taken time to understand what must have happened to Natalie that night to understand what it was that must have caused her death.

“Crucially a CCTV camera at some distance away from the bench on which she was found would reveal what had happened to her that night.”

Natalie Shotter had three children and was 37 when she died. Picture: Central News

Mr Iidow, who is homeless, was first arrested on August 4, 2021, and charged on December 21, 2023.

He has denied the charges against him.

The trial was adjourned until Friday and will last two or three weeks.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission