A man who murdered his pregnant girlfriend after being released from prison on licence has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 42 years. Shaine March, 47, killed Alana Odysseos, 32, at her home in Walthamstow, east London, on 22 July 2024. She was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child and died at the scene from stab wounds.
March admitted 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 a previous murder conviction: in January 2000, aged 21, he fatally stabbed 17-year-old Andre Drummond at a McDonald's in Denmark Hill, south London. He was released on 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.
On the day of the murder, March had argued with Odysseos about whether to abort their unborn child. She was heard saying, 'I don't want to kill my baby.' Hours later, she was found outside her home in a nightie and dressing gown, bleeding from multiple stab wounds, shouting, 'Shaine stabbed me, he stabbed me.'
Mr Justice Murray jailed March for life with a minimum term of 42 years, rejecting calls for a whole-life order but noting that, given his age, March may never be released. The judge said the case involved 'exceptionally high' offending.
Odysseos's mother, Karen Cronin, described March as 'evil and a coward'. Her sister Jasmine Yates said, 'You took more than one life that night. You took Alana, you took the baby she was carrying.' Detective Inspector Aytac Necati said March was unhappy with the pregnancy, leading to escalating controlling and coercive behaviour.
