A 30-year-old man is accused of murdering Jorge Ortega, 61, at Ilford railway station
An Ilford man murdered a station worker after missing his train, a court has heard. Ayodele Jamgbadi, 30, allegedly punched Elizabeth Line assistant Jorge Ortega in the face at Ilford railway station.
Mr Ortega hit his head on the concrete platform after being punched, the court heard. A trial at Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday (September 15) heard Mr Ortega, 61, had been trying to calm down Jamgbadi, of Kingston Road, Ilford, after he “just missed a train” on the Elizabeth line route heading to London Stratford.
Mr Ortega was taken to hospital in a critical condition after the incident on December 4, 2024, and sadly died in hospital two days later from a “severe traumatic brain injury”.
Jamgbadi, accused of murder, is unfit to plead. This means he is not mentally well enough to stand trial, and he is currently in hospital for that reason.
He is not attending court, and the jury will not be deciding whether he is guilty or innocent. The case is a “trial of issue”, in which the jury will be asked whether he punched Mr Ortega, and whether the punch was a significant cause of Mr Ortega’s death.
Opening the case, prosecutor Patrick Dennis told the court: “Jorge Ortega was a staff member for TfL. He was based at Ilford station, he was 61 years old and at around quarter to nine or so in the evening on December 4, 2024 he was on duty at Ilford station and he was on a break officially in the staff office, which is by platform three.
“Jamgbadi, the defendant, he arrived at the station and the CCTV shows that he just missed a train which was heading towards London Stratford. After he missed that train, he repeatedly kicked an advertisement frame.”
On hearing the noise, customer experience assistant Mr Ortega and two other staff members came out of the office and “tried to calm Jamgbadi down”.
Mohammed Alim, also a customer experience assistant at the station, told the court today that Mr Ortega asked Jamgbadi if everything was ok. Mr Alim said Jamgbadi “seemed a bit angry, a bit disturbed” and asked “What? Who’s got a problem?”.
Mr Dennis said: “What then happened is, as Mr Ortega retreated backwards the defendant punched him once to the face and then that caused Mr Ortega to fall onto the platform and he struck his head and that rendered him unconscious.”
The prosecutor added that Jamgbadi punched Mr Ortega “with significant force”. He continued: “So that happened, the defendant displayed some aggressive behaviour to other staff members and then he left the station.”
Mr Alim said that Mr Ortega was brought into the staff office after the incident, where he was “going in and out of consciousness” while waiting for an ambulance. He was taken to The Royal London Hospital in Tower Hamlets.
Mr Dennis said Mr Ortega died of a “severe traumatic brain injury” and it was “the punch that caused Mr Ortega to hit his head on the platform”.
Mr Ortega’s family have previously paid tribute to him, saying in a statement released by his son: “Our dad was the most loving person, the kindest soul you could have the pleasure of meeting. Everyone who has met our dad or who has ever worked with him over the years will tell you this.
“He had a brilliant mind, enjoyed cooking, loved drawing, and was highly skilled in art. He was an amazing family man and would always put other people first. He loved his grandchildren, and in turn, they adored our dad. He was totally devoted to our mum and loved her beyond what words can describe.
“Having been together for over 38 years, he is an example of what a great man should be like and a role model that we highly look up to. We can only hope to be like him. Dad is and will always be in our hearts.”
The trial continues.
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