NHS worker died of 'cardiac arrest after orally raped four times'

The parents of a woman who was allegedly raped to death sat together today and watched as her final moments were played to the court.

Mother-of-three Natalie Shotter, 37, was attacked after apparently falling unconscious during a night out in Southall, West London, a court heard.

Mohamed lidow, 35, is accused of orally raping her around midnight on July 16, 2021, the Old Bailey heard. He denies rape and manslaughter. 

He was caught on CCTV with Ms Shotter, who was just five foot tall and weighed six and a half stone.

Relatives of Ms Shotter - including her mother Dr Cas Shotter Weetman - sat in the public gallery at the Old Bailey as CCTV footage of Iidow approaching her daughter on a park bench late at night was played to the jury.

After around 15 minutes, Iidow got up and left the scene, on his way home he bought cat food and Listerine from a Shell garage. 

The NHS worker was found dead by a passerby in Southall Park early the next morning.

The prosecution alleges that the repeated rape caused Ms Shotter to die of cardiac arrest. The CCTV from a camera in the park was shown to the jury and narrated by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC.

A male member of the jury was in tears as the footage was shown and two female members of the jury turned their faces away from the footage.

Members of Ms Shotter's family, who sat in the well of the court, were also visibly upset.

Ms Morgan KC claimed Iidow - who appeared in court via a live video link from Belmarsh prison - had orally raped Ms Shotter to such an extent that the 'hyperstimulation of the delicate nerves at the back of her throat' led to cardiac arrest.

She told the court: 'At 23.41 her arm can be seen moving, swinging a little bit, she is lying down along the bench.

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NHS worker mother-of-three, 37, was 'repeatedly orally raped until she died', court hears

'Natalie is lying down and there's nothing to suggest a sudden falling down to the ground dead, or that she's having a seizure.

'Consuming alcohol and consuming poppers might make her lie down in that way, she must have been drowsy and semi-conscious.

'The prosecution's case is that even if she had consumed those substances, there was no reason for her to die before this point.

'She may very well have been lying down on that bench thanks to what she consumed.

'What was the defendant doing there? What was he seeking to do, walking up and down the paths in the middle of the night?

'Seeking out a vulnerable woman to rape.'

'The one person who would have known whether Natalie Shotter was alive was this defendant,' the prosecutor said.

'He was raping her repeatedly, the prosecution's case is not just rape it is also manslaughter, the prosecution's case is that Natalie died as a result of what was done to her. She was not dead at the time.

'He had sex with someone who was alive but who was deeply unconscious.

'He said that Natalie Shotter lay down on the bench and that he then tried for a minute or two to get her up, he 'tapped her' and asked whether she was okay and then left. He said that the entire process lasted six minutes.

'During the course of the third police interview, the defendant was informed that Natalie Shotter had been found dead in the park in the early hours of the morning. He was shocked and said that he wished he had helped her.'

The court was shown a recording of the interview in which Iidow reacted to the news of Ms Shotter's death by saying 'Holy s***' and 'Oh God'.

The prosecutor continued: 'One of the questions you will want to ask yourself is, if Natalie Shotter had been dead before the defendant even encountered her, why was he then so shocked to learn of her death?

'He's shocked because the person he orally raped was alive - not conscious - but alive.

'He then stated that Natalie Shotter was a fully consenting adult, she was in control of her movements and verbally responsive.

'When he left Natalie, she was fine, if not a little slumped on the bench. He said that whilst he was behind the bench with his shorts down, Ms Shotter had positioned herself so that she was on her knees facing him. 

'He further stated that he asked if she needed him to call anybody for her, to which she declined and mentioned she was waiting for friends.

'So, the defendant's account is that Natalie Shotter was alive and consenting to the sexual activity with the defendant. You will want to consider whether the CCTV footage suggests that Natalie Shotter appeared to be consenting to sexual activity in the manner contended for by the defendant.'

In a police interview, he said Ms Shotter had offered him a 'blow job' for £10. 

A toxicology report showed that Ms Shotter was over three times the legal driving limit, but that neither her alcohol nor poppers consumption were likely to have caused her to die.

Ms Morgan KC said: 'That night out, and consuming what she did made her vulnerable, vulnerable to males, vulnerable to this defendant but it did not kill her.

'By raping again and again [he] caused the cardiac arrest.'

The court was previously shown CCTV from earlier in the night which showed Ms Shotter walking through the streets and talking on her mobile.

At one point she stopped outside a shop to dance to the sound of a drum and was joined by a man and two other women.

Ms Morgan pointed out that Ms Shotter did not appear to be so drunk that she was unable to stand or struggling to walk, adding she looked 'happy'.

Lidow, of St Paul's Close, Hounslow, was first arrested on 4 August 2021 and charged on 21 December 2023.

The trial continues.