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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Man guilty of 'first date' murder | Man guilty of 'first date' murder |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A fitness instructor who said a woman stabbed herself 31 times while on a first date with him has been found guilty of her murder. | A fitness instructor who said a woman stabbed herself 31 times while on a first date with him has been found guilty of her murder. |
| Karl Taylor, 27, of Covent Garden, London, was jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years at the Old Bailey for killing Kate Beagley. | Karl Taylor, 27, of Covent Garden, London, was jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years at the Old Bailey for killing Kate Beagley. |
| Miss Beagley, a 32-year-old manager from Surrey, was found with head and neck wounds in a wood in Hertfordshire. | Miss Beagley, a 32-year-old manager from Surrey, was found with head and neck wounds in a wood in Hertfordshire. |
| Taylor told the court she committed suicide using a knife he dropped. | Taylor told the court she committed suicide using a knife he dropped. |
| Miss Beagley's naked body was found four days later dumped in Oxhey Wood. | Miss Beagley's naked body was found four days later dumped in Oxhey Wood. |
| She had been driven there by Taylor in the boot of her grey VW Golf car, which he told police he had intended to steal when he met Miss Beagley. | She had been driven there by Taylor in the boot of her grey VW Golf car, which he told police he had intended to steal when he met Miss Beagley. |
| The prosecution told the court he went intending to murder her, with the knife placed up his sleeve as the two of them sat in the Roebuck pub in Richmond Hill. | The prosecution told the court he went intending to murder her, with the knife placed up his sleeve as the two of them sat in the Roebuck pub in Richmond Hill. |
| Taylor told police he just wanted Miss Beagley's car | Taylor told police he just wanted Miss Beagley's car |
| The couple had met a few days earlier at a nightclub in London and exchanged telephone numbers. | |
| However, during the date at the pub, a woman who shared a table with them told police Miss Beagley had made no effort to join in the conversation with Taylor and had appeared to be ignoring him. | |
| Taylor stabbed Miss Beagley to death as they sat on a park bench at a beauty spot overlooking the River Thames at Richmond. | Taylor stabbed Miss Beagley to death as they sat on a park bench at a beauty spot overlooking the River Thames at Richmond. |
| Peter Clarke QC, prosecuting, said Taylor told police he stabbed her during an argument after telling her: "All I want is your car." | Peter Clarke QC, prosecuting, said Taylor told police he stabbed her during an argument after telling her: "All I want is your car." |
| Kate was a loving, thoughtful daughter, sister and friend, as devoted to us all as we were to her Alan Beagley | |
| He said: "She pushed me away. She was grabbing me and I stabbed her in the throat. | |
| "I constantly and consistently cut her in the neck because she was going for my face." | "I constantly and consistently cut her in the neck because she was going for my face." |
| Taylor stripped her body and washed it with mineral water before dumping it. | Taylor stripped her body and washed it with mineral water before dumping it. |
| Mr Clarke said Taylor later threw the murder weapon, her clothing and unwanted belongings on the roadside by the M1. | Mr Clarke said Taylor later threw the murder weapon, her clothing and unwanted belongings on the roadside by the M1. |
| He later showed off his "new car" to friends and family and sold Miss Beagley's mobile phone to a friend. | He later showed off his "new car" to friends and family and sold Miss Beagley's mobile phone to a friend. |
| But giving evidence in court, Taylor told the Old Bailey Miss Beagley had stabbed herself more than 30 times. | |
| 'Tragic loss' | |
| "I saw her prodding herself and she was moving her head and her neck towards the knife like you would do if you were hysterical." | |
| He said that after she finished, he realised she had died. | |
| Speaking outside court, Miss Beagley's father, Alan, said his family's lives had been turned upside down by her death. | |
| "Kate was a loving, thoughtful daughter, sister and friend, as devoted to us all as we were to her," he said. | |
| "She was great fun to be with and is missed tremendously by everyone who knew her. She had a gung-ho approach to life and lived it to the full. | |
| "We cherish and are grateful for all the memories of the wonderful times we spent together." | |
| Det Ch Insp Mark Preston-Heard added: "This was a tragic and senseless loss of life. | |
| "Kate was a totally innocent young woman who had her life cut short when she had so much to live for." |