A teenager allegedly stabbed a woman to death within hours of arriving in the UK and renting a room from her via Airbnb.
Enzo Bettamio, 18, was charged with the murder of 27-year-old Kamonnan Thiamphanit, also known as Angela, after being extradited from the United Arab Emirates last week.
On Tuesday, the dual Brazilian and Italian national appeared at the Old Bailey by video-link from Wandsworth Jail.
Prosecutor Nadeem Holland told how the defendant had allegedly killed Ms Thiamphanit during a period of just 24 hours in the UK in 2024.
Bettamio, then aged 16, had arrived in the UK on a flight from Los Angeles on April 5 2024.
He had allegedly used the Airbnb application to book a room for a month at the victim’s property in Stanhope Place, near Marble Arch in central London.
Ms Thiamphanit spent that evening playing board games with friends, leaving in the early hours of April 6, citing an emergency at the Stanhope Place address, the court was told.
An Uber minicab dropped her off at 4.24am, which was the last time she was physically seen alive, Mr Holland said.
Some 13 hours later, the defendant allegedly flagged down a black cab on nearby Bayswater Road to take him to the airport where he bought a ticket to Dubai.
Ms Thiamphanit’s friends became concerned and alerted police, who found her body inside her home on April 8.
Mr Holland said: “She had sustained multiple stab wounds all over her body. A large silver knife was protruding from the side of her neck.”
A post-mortem examination found she had died from multiple sharp force injuries.
On April 24 this year, the defendant was extradited back to the UK from the United Arab Emirates.
On arrival, he was arrested and taken to Charing Cross police station where he was charged with murder.
Bettamio, of no fixed address, spoke only to confirm his identity during the court hearing before Judge Simon Mayo KC.
The judge set a plea hearing for July 14 and a provisional trial from February 1 next year.
The defendant was remanded into custody.
