Abuser avoids rape trial after girl dies and sparks fury in court docket with ‘my world’ letter

Joel Osei, 33, was jailed for strangulation, assault and controlling behaviour against girlfriend Tianne Robinson, 29, who later died – he told the court ‘she was everything to me’

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A ‘vicious’ brute who ‘devastated’ his girlfriend through strangulation and brutal attacks has escaped a full trial for alleged multiple rapes following her tragic death.

Joel Osei, 33, made 29-year-old Tianne Robinson’s life hell after they started their relationship in 2021, tormenting her so severely that, relatives say, the beauty influencer could no longer look after herself.

Tianne died of a blood clot on September 12, 2025. The court was told that Tianne was “unrecognisable” as a result of Osei’s violence, though this wasn’t connected to her death.

Osei, from Redbridge, was facing four rape charges at a trial last year, but Tianne’s death meant she was unable to testify. CPS barristers attempted to have Tianne’s video-recorded police statement accepted as hearsay evidence, but following six days of legal debate and discussions with her relatives, Osei’s admissions to the remaining charges were accepted and the rape accusations were dropped.

Osei has rejected all four rape allegations. This week Osei received a four-year and two-month prison sentence at Snaresbrook Crown Court for domestic violence offences including strangulation, assault, and controlling and coercive conduct.

The incidents involved Osei booting and hauling Tianne across the floor; smothering her face with a pillow before throttling her; and threatening to inter her in Epping Forest and detonate her property, reports MyLondon.

Speaking outside the court on Wednesday (January 28), Tianne’s mum Amanda Taylor said: “[Osei] destroyed her through domestic abuse, and silenced her, made her scared, where she couldn’t reach out to her family… Unfortunately it’s not the sentence I wanted, but I don’t believe the justice system helps women fleeing domestic abuse or survivors of domestic abuse.

“No sentence would have been enough for Tianne, and one of the main charges I did want [Osei] to be tried for; rape. When my daughter was alive her evidence wasn’t hearsay. When he tried to get bail three times, her evidence wasn’t hearsay. When she passed away, he again tried to get bail and her evidence wasn’t hearsay. That should have been enough for it to go to trial.”

Tianne’s allegations of rape were left to lie on file this week. MyLondon understands she had already withdrawn support for the prosecution before she died. Osei has denied all four counts of rape.

When Osei met Tianne in 2021 he already had a lengthy criminal record, including for robbery, knife possession, and a series of serious assaults, though none targeted at women. That changed during their relationship when Osei’s conduct became “violent and aggressive”, and he began shouting abuse like “fat f****** b****” and “s***”, the court heard.

Osei would also taunt Tianne about her inability to have children due to her endometriosis diagnosis, a uterine condition she openly discussed on TikTok and Instagram.

Tianne, who lived in Nottingham, had amassed tens of thousands of followers across both platforms by sharing makeup and wig tutorials alongside updates about her health struggles.

Beyond throttling her, destroying her mobile phone and threatening to take both their lives if she attempted to leave, Osei also threatened to dump Tianne’s body in Epping Forest and detonate her residence.

Following the bomb threat, Tianne dialled 999 using her phone’s emergency feature, allowing the call operator to hear Osei’s verbal assault before he snatched the device and terminated the call.

On a separate incident, Osei smothered Tianne’s face with a cushion and choked her after she declined to send her mate and young child away during the early morning hours.

Officers responded that evening and noticed marks around Tianne’s throat, leading to Osei’s arrest despite his efforts to dissuade Tianne from providing a statement.

Osei was freed after four weeks as Tianne withdrew her support for the prosecution. Following his release, the pair visited a nightclub where Tianne expressed she didn’t wish to engage in a threesome with another woman.

The court heard that Osei reacted by tearing off Tianne’s wig, forcing her to the concrete ground, kicking her, and hauling her away.

As she delivered her victim impact statement, Tianne’s mum Ms Taylor confronted Osei directly, insisting he meet her gaze and “show some respect”. “Why did you put your head down?” she challenged after Osei appeared to look away, “Did your mum not tell you to look at people when they talk to you?”.

Reflecting on her daughter’s final years, Ms Taylor declared: “Since my daughter met you, her life was never the same. You took her beautiful smile. You broke her spirit and her soul. You hurt her in ways that no human should ever have to experience…. She had a big heart and only because she felt sorry for you she tried to stay with you.”

Ms Taylor revealed that Tianne rarely spoke about Osei because she was too good for him, and understood the family would have disapproved of him. “Does that make you a man, scaring Tianne into thinking she had to keep the abuse a secret to protect me and her sisters?” she questioned.

“I do not believe you are sorry for any of it and do not believe you will change. The images and messages I have seen from you, a father with a daughter, are pure evil. I have listened to the audio of you abusing her.

“I died with Tianne on September 12. You robbed me of my child, my first child. You robbed her siblings of a big sister. As a family we had to bury our beautiful Tianne, and I know you are a rapist, even though you said ‘not guilty’.”

Defence barrister Bartholomew O’Toole reminded the court that Osei had not faced prosecution over Tianne’s death, and implored the judge not to allow the family’s emotions to influence his sentencing. “Whatever harm he caused her, my understanding is he did not cause or contribute to the loss of her life and if he had he would have been charged with some other crime,” he stated.

Reading out Osei’s letter to the judge, which sparked outrage in the public gallery, Mr O’Toole said: “Tianne was everything to me. She was my world… I never got the chance to say I am sorry and she never got to see the changed man I have become. She was my other half and part of me has died. I have shed buckets knowing I can never get her back. I always put her best interests at heart.”

Handing down his sentence, Recorder James Willian KC described the “persistent and significant” domestic abuse as being fuelled by “jealousy” and noted that Tianne, a “deeply loving and caring person”, was so terrified by the threats and behaviour that she started self-harming. Recorder Willan also acknowledged Ms Taylor’s assertion that Tianne was “unrecognisable” because of Osei’s abuse, though he did not connect it to her death.

Taking into account Osei’s PTSD alongside the assessment of a psychological expert, who concluded the diagnosis wouldn’t prevent him from comprehending and making decisions about his behaviour, Recorder Willan extended the overall sentence for coercive and controlling conduct to four years and two months, incorporating the concurrent terms for strangulation and assault.

Following the proceedings, Ms Taylor revealed she is now demanding that Nottinghamshire Police transfer her daughter’s mobile phone to the Metropolitan Police.

This would enable the device to be examined for potential evidence that could support any rape inquiry, should one commence.

Osei has refuted all four rape charges.

MyLondon has learned the phone remains with Nottinghamshire Police as part of their probe into Tianne’s death, whilst the Met leads the investigation into the abuse allegations against Osei.

“The Metropolitan Police have said it’s not for them to get into the phone even though I have advised them that there’s evidence on there,” Ms Taylor alleged.

MyLondon approached both forces this week regarding Ms Taylor’s assertions, but neither provided a response within 24 hours.

An inquest commenced at Nottingham Coroner’s Court in December, establishing Tianne’s preliminary cause of death as pulmonary artery embolism and deep vein thrombosis.

A comprehensive inquest into her death is scheduled for this year, where Tianne’s family hope Osei’s abuse will be acknowledged as a contributing element. A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service stated: “Our thoughts remain with Tianne Robinson’s family following her tragic death.

“We have a duty to keep all live cases under review. During his trial, the defendant in this case pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation, controlling or coercive behaviour and assault by beating. After careful consideration of all the available evidence, we accepted those pleas. The victim’s mother was kept informed before this decision was made.”

The family have initiated a GoFundMe ‘to support causes that reflect the values Tianne lived by and cared so deeply about’.