Mother stabbed to death in north London is 14th female victim since Sarah Everard
The mother-of-four was pronounced dead in the early hours of Sunday morning
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A mother-of-four was stabbed to death in north London in the early hours of Sunday morning. She is the 14th woman to be killed in London since Sarah Everard was brutally murdered in March.
Shortly before 1.00am on Sunday, police were called to a disturbance at Broxwood Way, Primrose Hill, and discovered a woman in her 30s with severe stab injuries.
Officers administered first aid at the scene, prior to the arrival of paramedics, but sadly, the woman – who neighbours described as a “perfect” mother of four – succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
The woman’s family have been informed of the death, and a post-mortem examination and formal identification will take place in due course of the investigation, the Metropolitan Police said.
Following a public appeal and manhunt, police arrested Jason Bell, 40, on suspicion of murder.
The woman’s loved ones took to Facebook to grieve their loss. One neighbour said: “She has three girls and a boy. They are a really nice family and she was a perfect mother”.
Tributes of flowers, cards and stuffed toys were also placed outside the block where she died.
The woman’s death follows the September murder of 28-year-old Sabina Nessa in Kidbrooke, and those of at least 12 other women in London, since Sarah Everard was murdered by Pc Wayne Couzens on 3 March this year. Last week, Couzens received a whole life sentence for her kidnap, rape and murder.
The other murdered women include Phyllis Nelson, 76; Constanta Bunea, 50; Loretta Herman, 85; Agnes Akom, 20; Svetlana Mihalachi, 53; unnamed woman, 32; Peninah Kabeba, 42; Marlene Coleman, 53; Beatrice Stoica, 36; Louise Kam, 71; Bella Nicandro, 76, and Sharron Pickles, 45.
Their deaths have created an uncomfortable relationship between women in London and the police and have led to calls for women’s safety to be taken more seriously.
Home secretary Priti Patel recently backed plans to create a new emergency phone number that would allow women who feel unsafe walking home alone to have their journeys tracked and trigger an alert if they do not reach their destination within a reasonable timeframe.
But critics have said that the plan amounts to “putting a plaster” on the issue of male violence.
Samatha Billingham, from the Survivors of Domestic Abuse support group, said on Twitter: “Women could use the app to summon Police if they felt threatened. After the murder of Sarah Everard?
“Stop putting a plaster over things @pritipatel that need a bandaged wrapped around to work and keep in place. Tackle the issue in hand!”
The home secretary continues to liaise with BT, who proposed the service, to further develop the scheme.