Student who killed woman in 'Dexter' tribute room guilty of murder
Benjamin Day will be sentenced in December after admitting to the killing of Maria Saceanu, who was lured to an Airbnb set up as a 'kill room'.
A forensic science student who lured a woman to an Airbnb and stabbed her to death in a room prepared as a tribute to the TV show Dexter has pleaded guilty to murder. Benjamin Day, 20, changed his plea to guilty on the second day of his trial.
Maria Saceanu, 24, was killed by Day in an Airbnb in Tividale, West Midlands, on December 20 last year. The court heard Day had prepared the bedroom with plastic sheeting on the floor, walls, and bed, as a homage to the crime drama. Day contacted Ms. Saceanu, who was working as an escort, via a website using a burner phone. She arrived at the property around 50 minutes later.
There was no evidence of sexual contact between the pair, and it is believed she was killed shortly after her arrival. Ms. Saceanu died from stab wounds to the neck, and had defensive wounds on her hands. Day was arrested after he injured his hand attempting to dismember her body. He then abandoned the task, disposed of his phone, and flagged down a police car, claiming he had been attacked by a dog.
Later that morning, a guest in another room of the Airbnb noticed a trail of blood, leading the landlord to call the police. Officers discovered Ms. Saceanu in the bedroom. Day was arrested in a hospital bed.
Day initially claimed self-defence, stating that Ms. Saceanu attacked him when she discovered the room, and that he stabbed her while trying to disarm her. However, forensic evidence and pathology reports countered his claims.
Jonathan Roe from the Crown Prosecution Service stated that the evidence presented exposed Day's claims as lies, forcing him to accept responsibility for the murder. He added that forensic evidence and pathology were central to the case and that the prosecution team was determined to secure justice for Ms. Saceanu. The guilty verdict spared her family the trauma of a prolonged trial.
Ms. Saceanu's cousin described her as "one in a million" and someone who dreamed of becoming a mother and having a family. She noted that Ms. Saceanu had lost her own mother in 2023 and had not fully recovered from the grief. "She wanted to live, to have a family, to become a mother, she was a one in a million girl," her cousin said. The cousin expressed a wish for Day to "suffer every year of his life" and be "haunted by regret."
Benjamin Day is scheduled to be sentenced in December.