The first picture of a sex worker murdered by a killer obsessed with the TV show Dexter has been released. Maria Saceanu, 24, was lured to a 'kill room' crafted by Benjamin Day, 19, before he stabbed and dismembered her.
Murder at Oldbury Airbnb
Ms Saceanu, originally from Romania, was contacted on a burner phone by Day, who asked her to meet him in the room he had rented in Barncroft Road, Oldbury, last December. Within 'a very short time of her arrival', forensic student Day had stabbed her to death and started to dismember her body.
Day, of Yeadon Close, Redditch, Worcestershire, pleaded not guilty to the murder. But he changed his plea to guilty on the second day of his trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday, October 6. The killer, who lived with his parents at the time, now faces life behind bars and will be sentenced in December.
Details of the attack
A post-mortem examination indicated that Ms Saceanu had been stabbed 78 times by University of Worcester student Day. A court heard his murder had the hallmarks of the American show, which follows character Dexter Morgan, a forensic scientist working in a police department who doubles as a serial killer. Day even 'changed into his Dexter clothing', a khaki T-shirt with buttons halfway down, before Ms Saceanu arrived at the property, it is alleged.
West Midlands Police said: "The bedroom floor and walls and the bed itself had been lined with plastic sheeting which had been stapled to the wall to secure them. A canvas knife roll containing multiple knives was discovered as well as a staple gun and duct tape." Day had also amassed items including an apron, a plastic visor and cleaning materials.
Arrest and investigation
He left the property and flagged down one of our police cars after he had sustained an injury to his hand during the attack, but told he had been attacked by a fox. Day was arrested at Russells Hall Hospital, where he had been taken by paramedics after he dialled 999, at 3.42am on Saturday, December 21. He was initially 'cagey' and 'lied', claiming he had been bitten by a fox or wild dog before later accepting in hospital that his wound was caused by a knife.
Detective Inspector Matt Marston, from West Midlands Police's major crime team, led the investigation. He said: "Day had an obsessive personality and had become obsessed with the character Dexter. He planned this murder in meticulous detail. It was a pre-planned brutal attack on a defenceless woman lured to the room he had rented. Day had flagged down officers where he offered them a fabricated story about the reason why he had received an injury to his hand. Officers were suspicious and he was quickly detained. The details of this case shocked experienced officers and our thoughts continue to go out to the heartbroken family of Maria at this time."
