On April 6, 2024, a tragedy unfolded on Whiston Road in Hackney, east London, that would send shockwaves through a family and community. Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche, a 25-year-old woman described as bright and beautiful, was found dead in a Vauxhall vehicle. The man responsible for her death, her boyfriend Gogoa Lois Tape, 28, later admitted to killing her and was sentenced on September 1, 2025, to a hospital order under which he can be detained indefinitely.
According to Evening Standard, the events began with a violent altercation inside the car. Ms Westcarr-Sabaroche suffered blunt force injuries consistent with being punched several times, as well as defensive wounds on her hands that indicated she tried to protect herself from a knife attack. After the killing, Tape moved her body from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, buckled her seat belt, and drove away – a calculated attempt, as the court later heard, to avoid being seen by neighbors.
But Tape’s actions did not stop there. He bought cigarettes and, in a chilling move, sent a message from Kennedi’s phone to one of her friends pretending to be her. For over six hours, he drove around with her body in the car. Eventually, at around 6 a.m. on April 7, Tape confessed to his brother, waking him with the words, “I killed Kennedi, bro.”
When police detained him, Tape reportedly told officers, “I lost my head, I’ve been losing my head the last two or three years.” The court would later learn that at the time of the killing, Tape was an undiagnosed schizophrenic suffering from paranoid and persecutory delusions, which “substantially impaired your judgment and your exercise of self-control,” as Judge Freya Newbery stated during sentencing.
The courtroom was packed on the day of the sentencing, with about 40 of Ms Westcarr-Sabaroche’s loved ones present, according to Evening Standard. Judge Newbery referenced the pain and devastation felt by the family, particularly the impact on Kennedi’s young daughter, who was just weeks away from her second birthday when her mother was killed. “She was a bright and beautiful young woman, I heard, and still only 25 and killed by you just three weeks before your daughter’s – her daughter’s – second birthday,” Judge Newbery said. “That daughter – her daughter and your daughter – is left motherless and the victim of what you did, not just at the time, but she has to carry that around with her, her whole life – her father killed her mother. The family is, I learned, and it is obvious, left shattered and broken.”
The relationship between Tape and Ms Westcarr-Sabaroche had begun about a decade earlier, when they met as teenagers in college. Over the years, their partnership would be tested by Tape’s declining mental health. The court heard that his mental state began to deteriorate in 2023, marked by increasing paranoia and jealousy. He had some contact with mental health services that year and was specifically warned to abstain from cannabis, which he had smoked since 2014. Despite these warnings and the opportunity for intervention, his condition worsened, culminating in the fatal incident.
After his arrest, Tape admitted to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, as well as possession of a bladed article in a public place. The legal proceedings focused on his mental health, with the judge ultimately sentencing him to a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act, with an additional restriction order under Section 41. This means Tape can be detained indefinitely, with his release subject to the approval of the Secretary of State for Justice, rather than the parole board. The severity of the sentence reflects both the gravity of the crime and the ongoing risk posed by his mental condition.
The loss of Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche has left a deep wound in her family. Her mother, Linda Westcarr, spoke in court about the pain of losing her daughter: “My daughter Kennedi was brutally taken from us by someone she trusted, someone we welcomed into our home and trusted like family.” She described the heartbreak of watching her granddaughter struggle to understand her mother’s absence. “She talks about her mummy making pasta with a smile, these small memories are all she has left, she still asks for her mummy… she asks questions that no child should ever have to ask.” Ms Westcarr added, “This wasn’t just one life lost, it was a family shattered.”
The circumstances of the case highlight the complex intersection of mental health and criminal responsibility. Judge Newbery remarked that Tape’s untreated schizophrenia, marked by delusions and impaired judgment, played a significant role in the crime. Yet, for Kennedi’s family, these clinical explanations offer little solace. The reality remains that a young woman’s life was cut short and a child is left to grow up without her mother.
Community members and advocates have pointed to the need for stronger mental health support and earlier intervention, especially for individuals exhibiting signs of serious mental illness. Tape’s contact with mental health services in 2023 and the warning to avoid cannabis suggest there were opportunities to provide more robust care or monitoring. The case has reignited conversations about how the healthcare and criminal justice systems can better work together to prevent such tragedies.
As the court proceedings drew to a close, the sense of loss in the room was palpable. Friends and relatives of Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche gathered not only to witness justice being served but to honor her memory. The judge’s words echoed the grief felt by all: “The family is, I learned, and it is obvious, left shattered and broken.”
For the community in Hackney and beyond, Kennedi’s story is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences that can arise when mental health crises go unaddressed. It is also a call for compassion and vigilance – to recognize the signs of distress in those around us, and to ensure that support systems are in place for those who need them most.
The sentencing of Gogoa Lois Tape may bring some measure of closure to the legal process, but for Kennedi’s loved ones, the journey of healing is just beginning. Their hope, as expressed in court, is that her memory will inspire change and that her daughter will one day find answers to the questions no child should have to ask.
