A man has been found guilty in Britain of knifing to death a Dublin-born dance student and then hiding her body in a cupboard where it remained undiscovered for a month.
Michael Little (23) showed no emotion as the jury of six men and six women at Hull Crown Court returned a guilty verdict for the murder of 21-year-old Rachel Moran.
Little lured Ms Moran into his council flat in Hull in the early hours of New Year's Day and stabbed her at least 20 times before cramming her body into a store cupboard.
The month-long police hunt for the 21-year-old ended on January 28th when her body was found crammed into a tiny cupboard. She had been brutally attacked and stabbed at least 20 times to the head, back, neck and chest.
Ms Moran, who was born in Ireland, had a passion for tap, ballet and Irish dancing, and was studying at Hull College on a cabaret and entertainment course when she died.
During the two-week trial the jury was told Ms Moran was "lured" into Little's flat and then savagely set upon with a carving knife. At some point Little had sex with his victim - but it was not possible to say if it was before or after the attack took place.
When her decomposing body was eventually discovered by police officers, Little confessed to the stabbing, telling one officer at the scene: "I can't be normal, I must be evil. A normal person would not do that."
In court Little changed his story and tried to blame the killing on his best friend. The jury of six men and six women rejected Little's version of events and convicted him of the brutal murder.
PA