Adam Clapham Rotherham: Five jailed for life over murder of dad tortured and raped over £300

The ringleader of a gang who tortured and murdered a Rotherham father-of-one has been told he must serve at least 39 years in prison by a judge who said the suffering inflicted "is difficult to imagine".

Arbab Yusuf was one of five people jailed for life today for murdering addict Adam Clapham in the "dark and dingy" basement of a house in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

A trial earlier this year heard that Mr Clapham was tied to a chair and tortured for five hours, including being beaten with a hammer, hit with bottles and having boiling water poured over him.

The 31-year-old was held captive along with another man in the early hours of September 18, 2022, after the pair were blamed for £300 of drugs money going missing from the address, which was used for dealing.

Prosecutor Mark McKone KC told the court during the trial how the sickening acts were the drug gang’s way to “send out a message that they should not be crossed.”

Mr Clapham died of a brain injury and blood loss, a post-mortem examination found. Sheffield Crown Court heard that a pathologist found 214 areas of injury on Mr Clapham’s body, including 52 on his head.

Emergency services were alerted to the murder just before 11pm on September 18, 2022, when the surviving victim of the gang’s attacks told police how they had been tied up, beaten and tortured over a period of hours in a property in Rotherham.

Mr Clapham’s body was found by police after they attended the house and forced their way inside. There, they found Mr Clapham naked in a sleeping bag in the dining room of the house where he died.

Evidence later found how both of the men held captive were filmed as they were forced to perform sex acts on each other, while their attackers mocked them.

The judge, Mr Justice Dove, said the horrific incident illustrated the "appalling consequences of the drugs trade in our communities".

At the end of a lengthy trial in June, Arbab Yusuf, 24, of Lord Street, Rotherham; Muhammad Ashraf, 18, of Fraser Road, Rotherham; Kieron Millar, 30, of Mount Pleasant Road, Rotherham; Robert Crookes, 31, of no fixed address; and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named, were all found guilty of murder.

Ashraf, Yusuf, Crookes and the 17-year-old were also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, false imprisonment and rape.

Millar and a sixth defendant, Lynette Myers, 39, of Hounsfield Crescent, Rotherham, were found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent and false imprisonment.

On Monday, all five of the defendants convicted of murder were jailed for life, with Yusuf given a 39-year minimum term, Crookes a minimum of 37 years, Millar a 30-year minimum, Ashraf a minimum of 28 years, and the 17-year-old a 21-year minimum.

The judge told the teenager he was sure he had been groomed for a life as a drug dealer.

Myers was jailed for 12 years.

The judge highlighted the "sadistic element" of the incident, saying it was a "relentless, sadistic attack".

He said: "The suffering inflicted on (Mr Clapham) is difficult to imagine."

Mr Clapham's mother, Carol Clapham, read an impact statement to the packed court, saying: "The circumstances of his death gives me nightmares and will forever by imprinted in my thoughts. No-one deserves what happened to Adam.

“I never thought I would have to try and explain how I feel at the loss of my son. This is every parent’s worst nightmare. It was certainly mine and now my nightmare is a reality.

“The death of Adam has impacted the whole family, he leaves behind a seven-year-old daughter, who he will never see develop into a young woman, who he will never see get married or have children of her own. This leaves a seven-year-old fatherless and having to process the loss of her dad.

“Adam also leaves behind a loving father and sister, and several nieces and nephews who are all devastated. We as a family are still trying to come to terms with what has happened, but I doubt we ever will. When Adam died, a part of me died with him. I will never be the same.

“Adam was a kind, gentle man and he would not hurt anyone. I cannot put into words how much we miss him. Adam we love you, always have, always will and until we meet again you will forever be in our hearts.”

A statement was also read from the man who survived the incident in what he described as the "dark and dingy" cellar.

He said: "What happened to me was horrific but what happened to Adam was far worse.

"The abuse was horrific and I have been left with physical and mental scars. We did not know what they were going to do next."

He added that he was "tortured and humiliated" and they "left me for dead in that cellar".

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Emma Knight, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “The sentences given today reflect the extreme levels of violence used and the gravity of this group’s offending.

“I would like to thank all those involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case, who have worked tirelessly to secure justice for those involved.”