Extradited man denies double murder in alleged Walthamstow arson attack
Two men died
Last updated 20th Aug 2026
A man has pleaded not guilty to murdering two men in an arson attack after a row over a mobile phone.
Algerian national Fouad Boudra, 25, was extradited from France over the house fire in Walthamstow, east London, two years ago.
On Wednesday, he appeared at the Old Bailey and denied the murders of Mohammed Djellal, 24, and Fawzi Bouchabou, 35, who died in the blaze on April 21 2024.
Boudra also pleaded not guilty to alternative manslaughter charges, causing grievous bodily harm with and without intent to Mohammed Dhahri, and arson with intent to endanger life, and the alternative of being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
On the evening of the fire, Boudra had allegedly been involved in a row in which he had claimed his mobile phone had been stolen.
People upstairs in the multi-occupancy block in Forest Road became aware of a fire downstairs before the building was “overwhelmed” by flames.
The blaze resulted in the deaths of two men from smoke inhalation, and forced other occupants to jump from first-floor windows to escape.
The defendant, of no fixed address, entered his pleas at the Old Bailey by videolink from Belmarsh jail.
Judge Richard Marks KC further remanded him in custody with a case management hearing on December 11 ahead of a trial from January 4.