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Bermondsey: Man charged with murders of four family members stabbed to death in London home

Joshua Jacques, 28, to appear in court over deaths of three generations of same family

Chiara Giordano
Thursday 28 April 2022 05:17 EDT
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Bermondsey: Three women and a man stabbed to death in south-east London

A man has been charged with the murders of four members of the same family at their home in southeast London.

Joshua Jacques, 28, will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with the murders of Dolet Hill, 64, Denton Burke, 58, Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, and Samantha Drummonds, 27.

It comes after police were called to reports of a disturbance at a terraced house in Delaford Road, Bermondsey, at 1.40am on Monday.

Armed officers broke down the door and found the family stabbed to death inside.

Mr Jacques, of Minard Road, Lewisham, was charged by homicide detectives on Thursday morning.

Joshua Jacques, 28, from Lewisham, will in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with the murders of Dolet Hill, 64, her long-term partner Denton Burke, 58, daughter Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, and granddaughter Samantha Drummonds, 27, who were all found stabbed to death inside a terraced house in Bermondsey
Joshua Jacques, 28, from Lewisham, will in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with the murders of Dolet Hill, 64, her long-term partner Denton Burke, 58, daughter Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, and granddaughter Samantha Drummonds, 27, who were all found stabbed to death inside a terraced house in Bermondsey (Facebook)

Retired NHS worker Ms Hill lived with her long-term partner Mr Burke at the three-bedroom house in Delaford Road.

It emerged Ms Drummonds, the youngest family member killed, had only returned to the home days before the killings because renovation work was being done at her flat in Forest Hill, Lewisham, while her mother Ms Ofori-Akuffo was staying there to take care of her own mother, who was being treated for cancer.

Bermondsey stabbing victims Dolet Hill, 64, and Denton Burke, 58, who were knifed to death at their home in Delaford Road alongside two other family members
Bermondsey stabbing victims Dolet Hill, 64, and Denton Burke, 58, who were knifed to death at their home in Delaford Road alongside two other family members (Family handout/Metropolitan Police)

Ms Ofori-Akuffo’s husband Danny said he had been left “totally destroyed” by the death of his wife of nearly two decades.

He described Ms Ofori-Akuffo as “such a lovely woman” and said he didn’t know how he was going to live without her.

Samantha Drummonds was stabbed to death just days before her 28th birthday after going to stay at her grandmother’s home during renovation work at her flat in nearby Forest Hill
Samantha Drummonds was stabbed to death just days before her 28th birthday after going to stay at her grandmother’s home during renovation work at her flat in nearby Forest Hill (Family handout/Metropolitan Police)

More details have also emerged about the other family members, including the only man to have been killed.

Denton Burke is said to have been a trained chef who moved to the UK from Jamaica 25 years ago.

The husband of Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, also known as Rachquel, said he had been left “totally destroyed” by the death of his wife of nearly two decades
The husband of Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, also known as Rachquel, said he had been left “totally destroyed” by the death of his wife of nearly two decades (Metropolitan Police)

According to his sister Juleth Hutchinson, he and Ms Hill had worked at the same hospital and had been together for 16 or 17 years.

She described him as “always smiling, making jokes and cooking” and said Ms Hill was a “lovely, bubbly, kind lady” who was “so genuine”.

Ms Drummonds had been just days away from her 28th birthday when she was killed at her grandmother’s home.

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