A man who murdered his pregnant girlfriend after being released from prison on licence has been jailed for 42 years. Alana Odysseos, 32, was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child when she was killed by Shaine March at her home in Walthamstow, east London, on 22 July 2024. She died at the scene from stab wounds.
March, 47, of Surrey Quays, south-east London, admitted her murder on the seventh day of his trial after an expert no longer supported his claim of diminished responsibility. The court heard that March had been convicted of murder before: in January 2000, aged 21, he fatally stabbed 17-year-old Andre Drummond in the neck at a McDonald's restaurant in Denmark Hill, south London. He was released on a life licence in early 2013 but recalled later that year after stamping on the stomach of another pregnant girlfriend. He was released again in February 2018.
Hours before killing Odysseos, March had argued with her about whether to abort their unborn child, with the victim heard to say: 'I don't want to kill my baby.' Prosecutor Louise Oakley argued for a whole-life order given the 'exceptionally high' level of offending, but Mr Justice Murray jailed March for life with a minimum term of 42 years, noting that given his age, March may never be released.
Odysseos's mother, Karen Cronin, said: 'Alana, my beautiful kind and loving daughter, left this earth in the most callous and brutal way imaginable. The person who has done this to my daughter – who I don't think deserves the respect of using his name – is evil and a coward.' Her sister Jasmine Yates added: '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 if you are ever released you will kill again.'
Detective Inspector Aytac Necati, who led the investigation, said March had been unhappy with the news that Odysseos was pregnant, leading to an escalation in the controlling and coercive behaviour she endured during their short relationship. The court heard that Odysseos had known about March's murder conviction, and safeguarding checks had been made by probation services, but when March said their relationship had ended amicably, no further checks were made.
