She had been living at Friars Wood in Croydon at the time of her death and knew both Sansom and Watts, who was also from Croydon, Mr Little said.

Messages between the killers indicated that Ms Mayhew introduced them to each other in the summer of 2023.

By the time of the murder, Sansom and Watts had been in a sexual relationship for seven months.

“Messages indicate that from the early stages their relationship was characterised by sado-masochistic violence,” said Mr Little.

“Such was the intensity of the defendant’s relationship at this early stage that they referred to dying together if they were ever caught.”

He added “given the messages sent between the defendants” it was not possible to conclude Ms Mayhew was killed immediately.

After the murder, Sansom said: “We’re not evil, we’re not evil. We done the world a service.”

The court heard Sansom had murdered before – having served nearly 20 years in prison for stabbing to death a minicab driver on Christmas Eve in 1998 and stealing his wallet. He was released on licence in 2019.

Charlotte Newell KC said in mitigation that Watts had a history of mental health crises and had been “manipulated” by Sansom.

Both defendants were handed concurrent sentences of five years for perverting the course of justice.

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