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An “evil” predator who murdered a lone woman as she took the bus home from hospital has been jailed for life.
Vincent Lazar, 21, strangled 45-year-old Maria Rawlings and attacked her with a wooden stick embedded with nails after she had happened upon him on the EL3 bus in Romford.
The killer left the mother-of-two’s naked body in undergrowth, for it to be discovered the next day.
At the Old Bailey on Thursday, Lazar was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23-and-a-half years, as Ms Rawlings’ family branded him “evil”.
“This murder involved an intoxicated woman alone late at night and she was particularly vulnerable,” said Judge Mark Lucraft QC, the Recorder of London.
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“This was a savage and sustained attack and a high degree of pain and suffering was inflicted prior to death.”
In a victim impact statement, Ms Rawlings’ father Tony told Lazar: “Your 15 minutes of anger towards a defenceless grandmother has caused me and my family a lifetime of pain.”
CCTV revealed how Lazar came across the victim at around 11pm on May 3 last year, shortly after she had left King George Hospital in Chadwell Heath where she had been seeking treatment for a head injury.
She got off the bus with Lazar when it terminated, and was then guided towards a patch of shrubbery by Lazar. Thirty minutes later, he emerged from the undergrowth alone, with Ms Rawlings’ handbag over his shoulder.
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The body was found at 2.30pm the next day, with Lazar’s DNA on a baseball cap nearby. He was later identified as the killer following a police social media appeal.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones QC suggested a possible “sexual motive” to the murder because Ms Rawlings had bruises on her inner thighs and was found naked. He had inflicted more than 100 injuries and used the wooden stick with nails to strike her in the face.
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In statements by her two daughters and father, Ms Rawlings was described as a “fun-loving soul who would never cause any harm to anyone”.
Her daughter Charlee Rawlings said: “That evil man took a loving daughter, mum and nan.
“I hope that he gets everything he deserves and experiences the pain he has put us all through.”
Older daughter Katie Rawlings told how they used to work in a cafe together.
She said: “My mum was such a bubbly person. She loved everyone and wore her heart on her sleeve.”
She described being haunted by thoughts of her mother’s last moments and the unanswered question of why Lazar murdered her.
Father Tony Rawlings added that she had bipolar disorder, saying “sometimes life was a struggle for her”.
In mitigation, Jenni Dempster QC accepted it was a “cowardly and unprovoked” attack which she could not provide an explanation for.
She said Lazar, a labourer, would regret what he had done for the rest of his life
Lazar, from Barking, pleaded guilty to murder at a hearing last November.