Daily Mail
January 25, 2014
A PhD student who studied criminology used her in-depth knowledge of crime to help her boyfriend run a heroin and crack cocaine ring, months before he and his friends murdered a rival, a court has heard.
Rachel Kenehan, 35, of Hewlett Road, London, was in a relationship with one of the men accused of shooting Jahmel Jones in the head in Southampton in 2012.
She met her boyfriend Pierre Lewis through a prison mentoring scheme, Winchester Crown Court heard.
Kenehan, who also has a Masters degree in sociology, was charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs, assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice.
She was said to have used her academic career at London School of Economics to assist Lewis and his friends deal drugs.
Kenehan’s boyfriend, Pierre Lewis, 20, and his friends Jemmikai Orlebar-Forbes, 22 and Isaac Boateng, 22 are accused of the murder of Jahmel Jones,, 23, also known as Lucky, after he was shot in the head in Southampton in 2012.
The jury heard Kenehan had ‘an in-depth knowledge of criminal behavior and the frailty of human nature’ that she had gained from the studies that she used to aid the crimes.
According to prosecutor Ian Lawrie QC she played a ‘robust, direct and calculating role’ in the conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, spending thousands hiring cars and making trips on the M3 between London and Southampton.
Sometimes she would cover hundreds of miles in a day in her alleged attempts to aid the drug ring that spanned a length of the country.
Other times, one hire car would be dropped off and another one picked up ten minutes later, and these cars were frequently caught by speed cameras.
Every time one of the cars was caught, Kenehan would take the blame, but the pictures showed a black man was behind the wheel.
Kenehan and Lewis met when she was volunteering for a charity that put young men with mentors to stop them from breaking the law, and they soon developed a relationship.