Best friend, 18, of student Richard Okorogheye, 19, reveals trolls prank called her during the two weeks he was missing to claim they had seen him or his body… before he was found dead in Epping Forest
- Hala Mohamad, 18, was friends with student, 19, who went missing from home in West London on March 22
- Richard Okorogheye was found dead on other side of the capital in Epping Forest two weeks later on April 5
- Miss Mohamad received ‘really stupid prank calls of people saying I’ve seen Richard, or I’ve found his body’
- She told her friends at the time that she was struggling to handle it ‘because in a stupid way it gave me hope’
The best friend of Richard Okorogheye whose body was discovered two weeks after he went missing has revealed that prank callers continuously called her during the police search to say they had seen him or found his body.
Hala Mohamad, 18, was friends with the 19-year-old student who went missing from his home in Ladbroke Grove, West London, on March 22 and was found dead on the other side of the capital in Epping Forest two weeks later.
She said she received ‘really stupid prank calls of people saying I’ve seen Richard, or I’ve found his body’ and told her friends at the time that she was struggling to handle this ‘because in a stupid way it gave me hope’.
Speaking to BBC Radio 1Xtra’s ‘If You Don’t Know’ podcast, Miss Mohamad said: ‘Every day I’d get calls and texts and people adding me to group chats and people DM’ing me on Insta, on Twitter, people finding my Snap.
Richard Okorogheye (left), 19, is pictured with his best friend Hala Mohamad (right), 18. Mr Okorogheye went missing from his home in Ladbroke Grove, West London, on March 22 and was found dead in Epping Forest two weeks later
The student’s body was found at Epping Forest on April 5, where a Metropolitan Police officer is pictured the following day
‘It was crazy. And then there was prank calls, really stupid prank calls of people saying I’ve seen Richard, or I’ve found his body. In the moment it was all too much.
‘I would text my friends and be like ‘I can’t handle this anymore, it’s too much for me’, because in a stupid way it gave me hope. I wasn’t in the best shape, I’m still not. I’m still trying to push past it.
Watchdog to probe how police handled Richard Okorogheye case
Police handling of the disappearance of Richard Okorogheye are to be investigated by a watchdog following complaints by his mother.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it will investigate Evidence Joel’s complaints about the way she was initially treated by police, and how her reports about her son’s disappearance were handled.
It will also look at the Met Police overall handling of the missing person report.
IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: ‘Our thoughts are with Richard’s family and friends and all those affected by this tragic loss. We have spoken to his family and explained our role.
‘Our investigation will establish whether the police responded appropriately to the concerns raised that Richard was missing.
‘We will examine whether the force appropriately risk assessed those reports, and if the amount of resources the Metropolitan Police dedicated to its enquiries were suitable based on the information known by the police and the risks posed.
‘As there is a mandatory requirement for police forces to refer to us incidents which result in a death or serious injury, we will examine the actions and decisions of the police when dealing with the missing person report made in respect of a vulnerable young man.
‘We will also consider whether Richard’s or his mother’s ethnicity played a part in the way the initial reports of his disappearance were handled.’
‘I could barely sleep because every time I’d sleep I’d get a call and think even though it’s no caller ID maybe it’s the police or maybe someone did find something. I had to answer every call that I could.’
Mr Okorogheye, who had sickle cell disease, went missing on the evening of March 22.
His mother, nurse Evidence Joel, 39, contacted police the following day, but he was not officially recorded as missing until 8am on March 24.
The student’s body was found at Epping Forest on April 5 – and his mother later said she was ‘disappointed’ with the initial police response to his disappearance.
Like Mrs Joel, Miss Mohamad said the police should have acted quicker, telling If You Don’t Know podcast hosts De-Graft Mensah and Roshan Roberts: ‘They could’ve checked CCTV earlier, they could’ve taken us seriously earlier instead of just saying ‘he’s an adult, he’s fine, he’ll be with a friend’.’
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog is investigate Mrs Joel’s complaints about the way she was initially treated by police, and how her reports about her son’s disappearance were handled.
It will also look at the Metropolitan Police’s overall handling of the missing person report.
IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: ‘Our thoughts are with Richard’s family and friends and all those affected by this tragic loss. We have spoken to his family and explained our role.
‘Our investigation will establish whether the police responded appropriately to the concerns raised that Richard was missing.
‘We will examine whether the force appropriately risk assessed those reports, and if the amount of resources the Metropolitan Police dedicated to its enquiries were suitable based on the information known by the police and the risks posed.
‘As there is a mandatory requirement for police forces to refer to us incidents which result in a death or serious injury, we will examine the actions and decisions of the police when dealing with the missing person report made in respect of a vulnerable young man.
‘We will also consider whether Richard’s or his mother’s ethnicity played a part in the way the initial reports of his disappearance were handled.’
Mr Okorogheye, who had only been going out for regular blood transfusions during the pandemic, left his family home at around 8.30pm on March 22 and headed in the direction of Ladbroke Grove.
Metropolitan Police officers at the scene at the Wake Valley pond in Epping Forest on April 6 after the discovery of the body
Mr Okorogheye’s mother, nurse Evidence Joel, 39, contacted police the following day, but he was not officially recorded as missing until 8am on March 24
He was last seen on CCTV in Loughton, walking alone on Smarts Lane towards Epping Forest at 12.39am on March 23
Police said further inquiries have established that he then took a taxi journey from the W2 area of London to a residential street in Loughton, Essex.
Mr Okorogheye, who had sickle cell disease, went missing on the evening of March 22 – and his body was found on April 5
He was last seen on CCTV in Loughton, walking alone on Smarts Lane towards Epping Forest at 12.39am on March 23.
Speaking to Sky News earlier this month, Mrs Joel said: ‘At this moment of time I just want answers as how my son lost his life. I want answers. I desperately need closure. I am completely hollow and devastated and empty.
‘Life is already empty, there’s like a cloud just hovering around, it took the sun away from me. What am I going to look forward to? What is there to look forward to again?’
The Oxford Brookes University business and IT undergraduate’s death is being treated as unexplained and police do not believe anyone else was involved.
A post-mortem examination found no evidence of physical trauma or assault.
Mrs Joel had said her son was struggling with remote learning, and had left his wallet and bus pass at home.
She also told how her son had no reason to travel to Essex. ‘It’s too far for Richard to walk into the darkness alone,’ she said. ‘How did he get there? We don’t know. I feel something happened there.
‘The forest is massive and scary, it’s a place that one wouldn’t wish to go at night. It was not a very comfortable place to be.’
Mrs Joel had criticised the police’s initial response to his disappearance, and told reporters that when she made the initial missing persons report to police they asked ‘if you can’t find your son, how do you expect us to?’
She had said she was initially told police didn’t have the resources to check CCTV around her home and did not take the disappearance seriously until Mr Okorogheye had been missing for six days.
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