Double murderer given whole life order after appeal

A man who killed his pregnant girlfriend while on licence for a previous murder conviction has been given a whole life order after Court of Appeal judges ruled his sentence was "unduly lenient".

Alana Odysseos, 32, who grew up in Suffolk, died outside her flat in Walthamstow, east London, after being stabbed 19 times with a kitchen knife on 22 July 2024.

Shaine March, 47, of Surrey Quays, south-east London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years in October.

Solicitor General Ellie Reeves had referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

In the ruling, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Cavanagh and Judge Robinson, said: "The sentence was unduly lenient.

"We quash it, and we quash the minimum term order that the judge made, and substitute in its place a whole life order, which means that the offender will never be released."

March had been released from prison on a life licence in 2013 after fatally stabbing Andre Drummond, 17, in January 2000.

He initially admitted Odysseos's manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and denied murder, but pleaded guilty partway through the trial.

The trial heard she had been in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child at the time of her death.

Tom Little KC, for the solicitor general, told the Court of Appeal in written submissions the couple had been in a relationship for about four months, during which time March attacked her and stopped her from talking to family and friends.

They also argued about her pregnancy, including in the hours before the murder on 22 July 2024, with Odysseos heard to say: "I don't want to kill my baby."

She was later seen outside the property, bleeding from multiple stab wounds and March walked away as she died on the ground, despite the efforts of police and paramedics, the court heard.

Sandip Patel KC, for March, told the Court of Appeal the sentence was reached in a "fair and balanced manner".

He also said March's sentence should be reduced on the grounds of his traumatic brain injury, saying the trial judge Mr Justice Murray "did not give it the fullest regard".

In the Court of Appeal ruling, Lord Justice Edis said the death of the unborn child, and the fact the attack on Odysseos was witnessed by one of her other children, were both a "serious aggravating factor".

He also said that March's brain injury was not a "major cause" of his offending, and the lack of premeditation had to be "highly qualified".

After being told he would die behind bars, March, who watched the proceedings via a video link from HMP Belmarsh in London, addressed members of Odysseos' family in court and said: "I just want to say that I am sorry."

The solicitor general welcomed the ruling and said: "Alana Odysseos was a loving mother whose life was tragically cut short in an act of appalling violence by a man with a long history of serious violence.

"Alana's daughters have lost their mother, and her family have lost someone they loved deeply."

March had been released from prison on a life licence in 2013 after fatally stabbing Andre Drummond, 17, in the neck at a McDonald's in Denmark Hill, south London, in January 2000.

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