George Maben, 45, strangled Maureen Cosgrove, 65, in her home on 24 March this year. He had been living with Cosgrove's daughter Lucy Rees, who was pregnant with his child, at the house in Carshalton Beeches, south London. Police arrested Maben after bugging his car and overhearing his words: "God, forgive me for what I have done." He will serve at least 13 years in prison.
During the trial, the court heard that police had CCTV footage of Maben taking a bus from his mother's home to Cosgrove's residence, putting on gloves during the journey. He later met Rees, 34, and they returned to the house to find the body. Fibres from the dead woman's body were found on Maben's clothing, but police needed more evidence to charge him.
Officers placed a secret listening device in a Ford Focus used by the unemployed Maben, and on 9 April recorded his appeal for help. "Please God, help me ... for me and Lucy eliminated from all police inquiries and everything's all right, please God help me," an emotional, whispering Maben was heard to say.
"God forgive me for what I have done. I just could not take it any more. Every single day, she was breaking me down. Please God will you forgive me? Please God, sorry."
Maben denied murder but was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey. Judge Jeremy Roberts sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 13 years. He said he was reducing the term from that which may have been expected from a premeditated murder because it was out of character and because Maben had been under pressure.
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