A woman was battered to death with a mallet just days after taking in a homeless man, a court heard today.
Victoria Adams, 37, was found dead at her £1.3million flat in Hammersmith, west London, after police were called by concerned neighbours about a man attempting to break into the property late on a Sunday evening.
The Old Bailey heard that the victim had suffered a brutal attack, sustaining at least 10 separate injuries to the back and side of her head after being repeatedly struck with a mallet.
She was found on February 9 this year, face down in a bedroom with a black bin bag over her head, which was covered by a pillow.
Prosecutor Peter Ratliff said the victim had only met the alleged killer, Apapale Adoum, 39, three days earlier.
She is alleged to have first encountered the defendant on February 6 when Adoum was living in a homeless shelter.
The court heard that Ms Adams had invited him to stay with her, but later wrote a note to ask him to leave.
Adoum, 39, of no fixed address, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder following the discovery of the body.
Victoria Adams, 37, was found dead at her £1.3million flat in Hammersmith, west London, in February
The Old Bailey heard that the victim had suffered a brutal attack, sustaining at least 10 separate injuries to the back and side of her head after being repeatedly struck with a mallet (Pictured: forensic officers at the scene)
The attack took place at the victim’s home on Coulter Road, Hammersmith (pictured)
Further investigations led to the recovery of a mallet which allegedly had blood and the victim’s DNA on it, it was said.
Last week Adoum was charged with her murder and appeared at court today for the first time.
Adoum appeared at the Old Bailey by video-link from Wandsworth prison for a preliminary hearing.
He spoke only to confirm his identity. No plea was entered to the charges.
The defendant was remanded into custody by Judge Nigel Lickley KC ahead of a plea hearing on August 26.
The murder in the quiet terraced street horrified locals.
After her body was discovered, some residents claimed they had heard ‘piercing screams’ the middle of the night in the days before her body was found.
Neighbour Ellie Scot, 22, who has lived in the area for 20 years called the death ‘shocking’, saying the neighbourhood was ‘quite peaceful’, adding, ‘there’s never any trouble around here’.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: ‘On Sunday, 9 February at 22:13hrs, police were called to a residential property in Coulter Road, following reports that a man was attempting to force entry into one of the flats.
‘Officers arrived and having gained entry to the property found a woman, aged 36, who had sadly died.’
