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 died from stab wounds at the scene.
The Old Bailey heard that March had admitted the murder on the seventh day of his trial after an expert withdrew support for his claim of diminished responsibility. He had previously been convicted of murder in 2000, when he fatally stabbed 17-year-old Andre Drummond at a McDonald's restaurant in Denmark Hill. He was released on licence in 2013 but recalled later that year for stamping on the stomach of another pregnant girlfriend, before being released again in 2018.
Odysseos was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child. Hours before the killing, March had argued with her about whether to abort the unborn child, with the victim heard to say: “I don’t want to kill my baby.” The court was told that probation services had carried out safeguarding checks, but no further action was taken after March said the relationship had ended amicably.
Sentencing on Friday, Mr Justice Murray rejected calls for a whole-life order but noted that, given his age, March may never be released. The judge heard statements from Odysseos's family, including her mother, Karen Cronin, who said: “Alana, my beautiful kind and loving daughter, left this earth in the most callous and brutal way imaginable.” Her sister Jasmine Yates said: “You took more than one life that night.”
Detective Inspector Aytac Necati, who led the investigation, said March had been unhappy about the pregnancy, leading to an escalation in controlling and coercive behaviour. Prosecutors had argued for a whole-life order given the “exceptionally high” level of offending, but the judge imposed a 42-year minimum term. Police were called after members of the public found Odysseos outside her home, bleeding, shouting: “Shaine stabbed me, he stabbed me.”
