Gay Saudi prince guilty of murdering servant
A Gay Saudi prince has been found guilty of murdering his servant in a London hotel room.
Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, 34, had beaten and strangled Bandar Abdulaziz, 32, after a campaign of “sadistic” abuse.
The prince, a member of the Saudi royal family, had denied he was gay but the Old Bailey heard he had been visited by male escorts, looked at hundreds of images of naked men online and had “compromising” photographs of Mr Abdulaziz in his phone.
The attack took place at the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone last February after the pair returned home from a Valentine’s night out.
When Saud was first arrested, he wrongly believed he had diplomatic immunity, the court heard.
Mr Abdulaziz was said to have been so tired and worn down that he did not resist the attack. His body showed evidence of a recent assaults.
Police found CCTV footage from a hotel lift in which Saud was seen attacking his servant.
Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane, who led the investigation, said: “The defendant used his position of power over the victim to gratuitously inflict violence upon him over a long period of time.
“After the victim’s body was discovered he made every effort to evade justice, including misleading police by alleging that the victim had been robbed and then trying to claim diplomatic immunity, which he was not entitled to in the UK.
Saud was found guilty of murder and a second count of grievous bodily harm which related to the attack in the lift.
He initially pleaded that he was only guilty to manslaughter but the jury took just over an hour and a half to convict him.
He will be sentenced tomorrow.
