Celebrity obsessed burglar who stole £200,000 worth of designer goods from Rita Ora's house previously tried to sell autopsy pictures of a murdered Harry Potter actor

  • Charaf Elmoudden, 26, broke into house shared by singer and her sister
  • He ransacked the home and stole jewellery and electronics from Ora
  • Elmoudden was today convicted of burglar by a jury's majority vote
  • He previously handled stolen photos of a murdered Harry Potter actor 

Terror: Rita Ora's home was targeted by burglars while she and her sister slept in their beds

Terror: Rita Ora's home was targeted by burglars while she and her sister slept in their beds

A celebrity-obsessed burglar who previously tried to sell pictures of a dead actor's corpse has been convicted of ransacking pop star Rita Ora's home and stealing thousands of pounds worth of jewellery and handbags.

The singer and her sister Elena were left terrified by the home invasion, and locked themselves in a room while Charaf Elmoudden, 26, took their possessions.

A court heard that two women threatened to 'f*** up' Elmoudden and his accomplice in an attempted show of bravado while on the phone with police.

The burglar - who has a number of previous convictions - was found guilty by a majority verdict at Harrow Crown Court today. 

It can now be revealed that Elmoudden was previously jailed for handling stolen photographs of Rob Knox, a Harry Potter actor who was murdered at the age of 18.

Elmoudden and another thief made off with designer goods and electronics which included iPhones, Apple Mac computers, a Fifty Shades Of Grey handbag worth £2,700 and a Louis Vuitton doggy bag.

He was found wandering around the 25-year-old singer's home in Kensal Rise, North London, by Elena Ora, who also lives at the address with their parents. 

The unemployed burglar was found guilty after six hours and 51 minutes of jury deliberation. Wearing a pink long-sleeved polo shirt, he put his head in his hands as the verdict was read out.

A woman in the public gallery shouted: 'You have left my kids without a dad,' before storming out.

Elmoudden had denied being involved in the burglary but police discovered £3,500 in cash hidden in an envelope in a sofa bed at his home in Muswell Hill, North London, at the time of his arrest in January.

As a teenager in December 2006 he pleaded guilty to forcing entry to a Costcutter shop and stealing property from within. 

Charaf El Moudden
Murdered actor Rob Knox

Case: Elmoudden, left, previously tried to sell photographs of murdered Harry Potter actor Rob Knox, right

Family: Rita was living with her sister Elena, left, at the time that their house was ransacked

Family: Rita was living with her sister Elena, left, at the time that their house was ransacked

Five years later he admitted breaking into a house in north-west London and stealing goods including jewellery, watches, foreign currency and a BMW with a total value of around £75,000.

He also pleaded guilty in 2010 to handling stolen goods in relation to photographs of murdered Rob Knox, who played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, after he was stabbed outside a bar in Sidcup, south east London, in May 2008.

Mr Kimsey previously said the prior conviction showed Elmoudden had an interest in media personalities.

Last week, the jury heard a recording of the 999 call in which Rita told police: 'I need you to come to the house right now, there's a burglary in my house.

'I have just locked myself in my room, my sister saw him in my room. Can you just send them right now? How long are you gonna be?'

Rita Ora at X Factor auditions in Manchester
Rita Ora at The X Factor in London

Fear: Rita Ora's 999 call to police was played to court today; she is pictured outside X Factor auditions in 2015

TV: The singer has also been a judge on The X Factor with Nick Grimshaw, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Simon Cowell

TV: The singer has also been a judge on The X Factor with Nick Grimshaw, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Simon Cowell

The singer could be heard audibly gasping and panicked: 'What do I do, what do I do, oh my God.' Asked her name, she replied: 'Rita Ora, R-I-T-A O-R-A.'

Turning to her sister, she said: 'We need to get ready just in case some s*** happens.'

In an apparent attempt to scare the invader away, she then turned away from the phone and screamed: 'Don't f****** come up these stairs. I will f*** you up, you f****** hear me.'

When the phone call finished, Rita struggled to continue giving evidence from behind a curtain, saying: 'That phone call freaked me out, just give me a minute.'

DC Karen Beck of the Metropolitan Police said today: 'This was a terrifying experience for the two young women victims as they were at home at the time when this man attacked and entered their property.

'I hope this conviction sends a message that the Met Police will do all it can to pursue, apprehend and bring to justice callous criminals of this nature.'

Elmoudden will be sentenced at a later date.

 

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