Manchester Arena bomber apologised to landlady about mess before detonating device
Written by News on 27/02/2020
The Manchester Arena bomber left a handwritten note to his landlady apologising for the mess and leaving an extra £150 for cleaning just hours before he detonated his device, a court has heard.
Jurors were shown the note which was left in the third-floor one-bedroom flat in Granby House rented by Salman Abedi after he returned from Libya four days before the bombing.
It read: “Sorry if there is anything missing in the apartment or any mess made. The extra 150 and the rest of the weeks rent on cover can hopefully cover.”
It was signed “Sam”, with quotation marks, the name Abedi had given to the landlady when she rented him the flat.
Abedi, 22, used the false name “Sam Abdi” to rent the property from Ruth Bain, agreeing to pay £750 for a two-week short-term stay.
But four days into the let, he was seen on CCTV heading to Manchester Arena, where he detonated his suicide bomb as thousands of men, women and children left an Ariana Grande concert.
Prosecutors said Abedi and his younger brother Hashem used various addresses, vehicles and mobile phones to organise, stockpile and store components for the bomb.
The brothers left their family home in Elsmore Road, Fallowfield, in April on one-way tickets, accompanied by their parents. But Salman returned, alone, on 18 May, jurors were told.
Hashem, now also 22, denies 22 counts of murder and further counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to cause explosions by helping his brother build the bomb.
Photographs taken during searches of the Granby House flat and the family home in the days after the bombing showed discarded oil cans, residue from bomb-making chemicals, and various nuts and bolts, the court heard.
At Granby House, officers also discovered items including scrapings from match sticks, various bits of wire, black tape, a serrated edge saw, and a roll of clear acetate, prosecutors said.
Electronic circuitry notes in the name of the bomber’s brother were found at the family home.
There were two identity cards for Salman and Hashem Abedi’s trip on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, two years earlier.
On a printed piece of paper with Salman Abedi’s National Insurance details on it were the handwritten words Abdulrauf Abdallah, and another number.
Abdallah was convicted of trying to help an RAF veteran travel to Syria to fight with militants there. Salman Abedi visited him in prison in January 2017.
The trial continues.
(c) Sky News 2020: Manchester Arena bomber apologised to landlady about mess before detonating device
