Killers had long criminal records

Timy (l) and Diamond Babamuboni had a string of convictions

Two of the killers of a woman shot dead while cradling her baby niece at a party had a string of previous convictions and now face deportation.

Diamond Babamuboni, 17, and his brother Timy, 15, were under supervision orders when Zainab Kalokoh was killed in 2005.

The pair, originally from Nigeria, had carried out crimes ranging from burglary to robbery and possession of a knife since they were 12 and 10.

They will be sentenced in February and deported after serving their sentences.

Diamond had been part of the Boyhood to Manhood Foundation in Camberwell, south London, which tries to get youths off the street and interested in studying.

Criminal career

But both he and his brother chose not to take advantage of any opportunities they were given to reform, police said.

Diamond's criminal career began in 2001 when, aged 12, he was given a conditional discharge for stealing a car.

Nine months later he appeared in court accused of burglary and in the same year he received a six-month detention and training order for robbery.

He was then given a further four-month detention order in 2003 for possession of a knife and, in 2004, he was given a 12-month supervision order after appearing in court accused of shoplifting, attempted robbery, robbery, theft and breach of an Asbo.

His brother Timy had been in trouble with the police since he was 10 years old.

'Really unpleasant'

In 2001 he pleaded guilty to being part of a street gang who followed a group of schoolgirls, one of whom he threatened with a knife and robbed of her mobile phone.

Murder trial judge Mr Justice Gross called it a "really unpleasant" crime but said he would not allow it to be submitted as "bad character" evidence because "it seems to me too long ago".

In 2002 he pleaded guilty to theft and a year later he was given a 12-month supervision order. This was followed by another order - for two years - in 2004 after being convicted of assault with intent to resist arrest.

Zainab Kalokoh was shot in the head as she held a baby

Prosecutor Brian Altman had sought for some of the pair's previous convictions to be brought out in court, arguing Diamond's crimes had shown a pattern of increasingly serious offences.

But the judge said he did not believe the crimes had led to the offence for which he was being tried.

During the murder trial, the jury was shown mobile phone footage recorded after Mrs Kalokoh's death.

The footage briefly featured Diamond's brother Timy and showed an unidentified person pointing a large shotgun at a frightened youth who was forced to strip on camera.

The firearm is believed to be the same used in the raid which killed Mrs Kalokoh.