Double murderer who stabbed pregnant girlfriend 23 times is jailed for life
An “evil” double murderer who stabbed and slashed his pregnant girlfriend 23 times after being released from prison on licence, has been sentenced to at least 42 years in prison.
Alana Odysseos, 32, was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child when she was murdered by “lifer” Shaine March at her home in Walthamstow, east London, on early July 22, 2024.
On March 47, the woman from Surrey Quays, south-east London, confessed to her murder on the seventh day of her trial after an expert witness no longer supported her claim of diminished responsibility.
Jurors at his trial were not told that March had previously been convicted of murder.
March was 21 when he fatally stabbed 17-year-old Andre Drummond in the neck at a McDonald’s restaurant in Denmark Hill, south London, in January 2000.
After being released on a life license in early 2013, he was recalled to prison the same year and released again in February 2018 after another pregnant girlfriend was branded on her abdomen in July.
March also had a 1995 conviction for assault and criminal damage.
The court was told Ms Odysseos knew about the murder conviction in March and security checks were carried out by the probation service.
However, when the defendant said that their relationship ended amicably, no further checks were made.
Hours before killing Ms. Odysseos, March debated whether to abort her unborn child when he heard the victim say: “I don’t want to kill my baby.”
On Friday, Mr Justice Murray sentenced March to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 42 years.
The senior judge rejected prosecution calls from Ms Odysseos’ family for a life sentence, but noted March may never be released given her age.
March had appeared in court via video link from Belmarsh prison after initially refusing to appear at the Old Bailey.
Members of Ms. Odysseos’ family showed no reaction as they described the devastating impact of the murder.
Mother Karen Cronin said: “My beautiful, kind and loving daughter, Alana, left this world in the most callous and cruel way imaginable.
“The person who did this to my daughter, who I think does not deserve the respect of using her name, is malicious and cowardly. Why did he have to resort to the violence he did?”
“The anger I feel towards him doesn’t feel Christian, so I can’t go to church anymore. There will never be forgiveness in my heart.”
“I want him to die in prison. He should never be let out.”
Dad Alan Yates said his daughter was a “happy”, much-loved, “kind and thoughtful” mother and would stand up for what she believed in.
He said that after meeting March, something changed and she became “a shy, vulnerable person who was not our Alana.”
“I hope a sentence is given that means Shaine March will never again inflict the pain and loss we have felt on another family. This is unimaginable and we will never get over our loss.”
“Every day I wonder why he didn’t just walk away. Alana was pregnant with his child. It meant nothing to him.”
The court heard evidence from March’s three sisters, including Lorraine Schofield, who said he was a “monster” and an “evil, disgusting coward”.
He told the court: “All Alana wanted was to be loved. That night the baby she desperately wanted to protect was taken from her.”
Sister Jasmine Yates told March: “You took more than one life that night. You took Alana, you took the baby she was carrying, the child she was excited about.”
“I fear that if you are released you will kill again.”
Prosecutor Louise Oakley argued for a life sentence, which would mean Marsh would never be released, given the “extraordinarily high” level of offending.
The court previously heard how police were alerted by members of the public who found Miss Odysseos outside her home in Lynmouth Road, wearing a nightgown and dressing gown and holding her right side.
The woman, covered in blood from multiple stab wounds on her body, pointed at the defendant standing nearby and shouted: “Shaine stabbed me, he stabbed me too. Help, help.”
Jurors heard March died on the ground outside Ms Odysseos’ address despite the best efforts of police and paramedics.
He had stab wounds on his chest, abdomen, pelvis, shoulders, hip, right arm, thighs and lower legs.
Before throwing his cellphone into the drain, March recorded a voice note saying: “Mom, I just killed a woman and I’m going back to prison.”
At 4.41am, staff at Creams Cafe in Walthamstow called 999 to report finding a bloodied man who said he had killed his wife and child.
After his arrest, March told police: “I did it. I killed him Odysseos. I killed him hahahaha.”
While he was being put into the police van, he was told that he was “scum” and that he deserved it, and was asked to be taken to prison “where I belong”.
The defendant later told a prison officer he was “seeing red” and stabbed his girlfriend with a knife he had taken from the kitchen after an argument about his trainers.
The court heard that while he was handcuffed and escorted by two police officers, he kicked a fellow prisoner in the head, knocking out three of his teeth.
