A young mum-to-be staggered into the street covered in blood after being brutally stabbed by her boyfriend, a court has heard.
Alana Odysseos, 32, was attacked in her Walthamstow home last July by her partner of four months, 47-year-old Shaine March, after she refused to have an abortion. Neighbours rushed to help after hearing her desperate screams, reported the BBC.
She cried out, “Shaine stabbed me” as she collapsed outside her front door wearing just a nightie, but despite emergency services arriving quickly, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Old Bailey was told that in the hours leading up to the killing, March had accused her of cheating and claimed the unborn baby wasn’t his. Prosecutor Louise Oakley said Ms Odysseos had suffered “huge personal loss” in her life, having previously lost two partners who were the fathers of her children.
The court heard that after stabbing her, March laughed and openly admitted what he had done. He told police: “I did it, I killed her hahaha” before adding, “send me to jail where I belong. I regret nothing.” He later pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, citing psychiatric issues, but denied murder.
Neighbours told the court they saw March nearby after the attack, while Ms Odysseos pointed towards him as she clutched her wounds. He walked away as they tried desperately to save her.
Oakley said, “It was clear she required urgent medical assistance. Despite their very best efforts, Ms Odysseos could not be saved. She died on the ground outside her home address. This defendant had stabbed her to death.”
Jurors also heard harrowing details of Ms Odysseos’ short relationship with March. She had told friends she wasn’t allowed to talk to other people and that he demanded she answer video calls at all hours to prove where she was. He reportedly destroyed her daughter’s toys and forced her to delete male contacts from her phone.
In conversations with her sister, Ms Odysseos admitted she had become scared of him. There had been physical violence, including one incident where a glass was smashed in her face. Voice notes she shared revealed March threatening to have her little girl taken away, shouting abuse, and insisting she get an abortion because he didn’t believe the child was his.
Despite family urging her to leave, she told them she loved him and believed his promises that he would change.
The Old Bailey was told she had struggled with drugs and alcohol in the past in attempts to cope with the trauma of losing her partners, and her vulnerability had made her more dependent on March.
March appeared in the dock wearing a white skull cap and a blue face mask, assisted by an intermediary. The trial, overseen by Mr Justice Murray, is expected to last three weeks.
