A woman has been found guilty of throwing acid
in the face of a friend while disguised in a veil. Naomi Oni, 21, suffered burns to her face and chest
in the attack near her home in Dagenham, east
London. Mary Konye, also 21, dressed in a veil and attacked
Ms Oni after following her home, Snaresbrook
Crown Court heard. Konye, of Canning Town, denied throwing or casting
a corrosive fluid with intent to burn, maim, disfigure,
disable or do grievous bodily harm. She attacked Ms Oni, an assistant at a Victoria's
Secret lingerie shop, because she once called her
ugly, the court heard. Following the attack on
30 December 2012,
Konye pretended to
give Ms Oni a shoulder
to cry on. The court heard that
Ms Oni suffered
serious burns to her
face and chest, lost
her hair and eyelashes. Dressed in black,
Konye remained calm
as the jury of eight
men and four women
returned their verdict. Judge David Radford warned Konye that she will
face jail, saying: "I should make clear that, in my
judgment, this is a case that will, in all likelihood,
need a substantial custodial sentence." He thanked the jurors for their efforts, saying they
had looked at the evidence "with great
thoroughness, taking your time to reach your
verdict". Ms Oni burst into tears as she left the courtroom
and was hugged by friends and family. CCTV footage obtained by police showed a figure in
a niqab following Ms Oni as she left work at
Westfield shopping centre in Stratford at about
23:30 GMT. The jury heard the following day, Konye texted Ms
Oni in hospital, saying: "OMG, I can't believe it." The pair, who had been friends since secondary
school, fell out in April 2011 when Ms Oni allegedly
accused Konye of texting her boyfriend and called
her an "ugly monster". Mary Koyne was captured on CCTV following Naomi
Oni After the attack, Konye posted a picture of the burnt
faced Freddy Krueger character from the horror film
Nightmare on Elm Street, together with the
message: "Who looks like Wrong Turn now?" Following the verdict, investigating officer Det Ch
Insp David Whellams said: "Konye was almost
obsessively jealous of the victim's good looks and,
after a previous argument between them, hatched
an almost unbelievable plan to attack her with acid. "The victim's life has been changed forever and she
will always bear the scars of what happened, but
she has been incredibly brave and I am pleased she
has seen justice done today." Konye will be sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown
Court on 7 March.