Court of Appeal Imposes Whole-Life Order on Double Murderer
A man who murdered his pregnant girlfriend after being released from prison on licence must now spend the rest of his life behind bars, following a ruling by the Court of Appeal that his original 42-year sentence was "too lenient." Shaine March, 48, fatally stabbed Alana Odysseos, 32, who was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child, at her home in Walthamstow, east London, in July last year. She died at the scene from 23 slash and stab wounds.
Previous Murder Conviction and Release on Licence
March had been released from prison on a life licence in 2013 after being convicted of murdering 17-year-old Andre Drummond in January 2000. Drummond was fatally stabbed in the neck at a McDonald's restaurant in south London. Last October, March was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years for the murder of Odysseos, but the Solicitor General referred this sentence to the Court of Appeal, arguing it was insufficient.
Appeal Hearing and Ruling
During a hearing on Thursday, barristers for the Solicitor General contended that March should have received a whole-life order, which is reserved for the most serious murder cases. In response, March's legal team appealed the 42-year sentence, claiming it was "manifestly excessive." However, in a decisive ruling, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Cavanagh and Judge Alice Robinson, stated: "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."
Details of the Murder and Trial
Jurors in last year's Old Bailey trial were not informed of March's prior murder conviction. Tom Little KC, representing the Solicitor General, revealed in written submissions that March and Odysseos had argued about her pregnancy. In the hours leading up to the murder, she was heard saying, "I don't want to kill my baby." Later, she was seen outside her property, clutching her right side and bleeding from multiple stab wounds. She pointed at March, who was standing nearby, and shouted, "Shaine stabbed me, he stabbed me. Help, help."
Sentencing Factors and Aggravating Features
When sentencing March last year, Mr Justice Murray noted that the murder involved "prolonged and excessive violence" but did not deem it a clear case for lifelong imprisonment. He cited four factors, including March's traumatic brain injury as a teenager, which affected his emotional regulation, and the "apparently spontaneous" nature of both murders. However, Little argued in the Court of Appeal that a whole-life order was "just punishment" due to a "constellation of aggravating features" in the case. He asserted, "Properly analysed, this case should never have left the categorisation as a whole-life order case."
Victim's Legacy and Family Impact
Alana Odysseos was among the women included in the Guardian's killed women count, a project highlighting femicide in the UK. Described as a "brilliant mother" who "completely doted" on her daughters, her death has left a profound impact on her family. From a video link to HMP Belmarsh, March apologised to members of Odysseos' family, saying, "I just want to say that I am sorry." Her mother, Karen Cronin, spoke to the media outside the Old Bailey after the original sentencing, underscoring the tragedy of her loss.
