A man has admitted murdering a single mum he met on a dating website at the home she shared with her five-year-old son.
Miles Donnelly, 35, strangled 44-year-old Usha Patel and stabbed her 16 times in the stomach in a "drunken rage" after she had got undressed. The couple had arranged to have sex together on the evening of October 7 last year, having met online around seven months before.
They had both taken their clothes off when Donnelly attacked the mother-of-one, causing her injuries to her mouth as he tried to stop her from screaming while he strangled her, the court heard. Ms Patel was discovered the next day when the boy's grandfather arrived to pick him up and was told his mother was still sleeping.
Her battered body was found amid drink bottles and glasses inside the flat.
A manhunt for Donnelly was launched after police found his house keys inside Ms Patel's home and matched forensic samples on a wine glass. At about 3am, he had gone to the west London home of 43-year-old Rosie Ferrigno where he stayed for the next 36 hours.
Police said that at some point he made sexual advances towards her, and hit her on the back of the head with a stool when she refused. Donnelly was arrested on October 11 last year after he phoned police and told them where he was.
Donnelly, who had a lifestyle of drink and drugs and a long criminal history, had denied murder and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
But on the day of his trial, the defendant, of Hall Place, Paddington, west London, pleaded guilty to the charges. Sentencing was adjourned until Thursday, when the facts of the case will be outlined by prosecutor Simon Denison QC.
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