Romford polygraph used in murder case

A Romford polygraph test could have helped police in preventing a murder case.

The case

A predator strangled a vulnerable woman to death in Romford when their paths crossed on a bus.

Valentin Lazar, 21, attacked 45-year-old Maria Rawlings with a wooden stick embedded with nails and a knife before leaving her naked in undergrowth in Romford, east London, in May last year.

The labourer, who admitted the murder, has been told he is “evil” by Rawlings’s family as he was put in jail at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

The hearing

Addressing Lazar in court, her father, Tony Rawlings, said: “Your 15 minutes of anger towards a defenceless grandmother has caused me and my family a lifetime of pain.”

Judge Mark Lucraft QC jailed Lazar for life with a minimum term of 23 years and six months.

He said: “This murder involved an intoxicated woman alone late at night and she was particularly vulnerable”.

Leaving the victim naked added to her “humiliation and degradation”, he added.

Further evidence

Earlier, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones QC told the court: “It was an assault of exceptional violence, savage and sustained.”

Outlining the facts, he told how Rawlings had visited King George hospital in Chadwell Heath complaining of a headache after suffering a head injury on the evening of 3 May last year.

Rawlings left hospital without anyone seeing he. She then got on a bus just after 11pm and she came across Lazar.

The mother-of-two, who had been staying with her daughter in Witham, Essex, got off the bus when it terminated, along with her killer.

They appeared on CCTV to engage in a brief conversation before Lazar guided his victim by the arm towards some shrubbery where they disappeared from view.

Violent act

After 31 minutes, he emerged from the undergrowth alone, with Rawlings’s white handbag slung over his shoulder. He rifled through the bag then discarded it on the pavement, the court heard. After the attack, Lazar boarded another bus, eventually arriving home after 1am.

Rawlings’s body turned up in the undergrowth and a dog walker told police at about 2.30pm the next day in the Little Heath area. A baseball cap with the defendant’s DNA on it was left near to the body.

A postmortem examination found Rawlings died from neck compression and a blunt force head injury. The court heard there were more than 100 sites of blunt force trauma, 15 rib fractures, injuries from multiple blows to the head and defensive wounds.

Murder weapon

The court were told a piece of wood with nails poking out of it was at the scene. Other injuries were made by a single-edged blade, pathologist Dr Matt Cieka said.

Jones suggested a possible “sexual motive” to the murder because Rawlings had bruises on her inner thighs and was found naked.

After an appeal, Lazar, a Romanian national living in rented accommodation in East Ham, was identified on social media.

In statements by her two daughters and father, Rawlings  as a “fun-loving soul that wouldn’t cause any harm to anyone”.

Her older daughter, Katie Rawlings, told how they used to work in a cafe together. Katie said: “My mum was such a bubbly person. She loved everyone and wore her heart on her sleeve.”

She told the court that thoughts of her mother’s last moments were on repeat in her mind.

The outcome

In mitigation, Jennifer Dempster QC accepted it was a “cowardly and unprovoked” attack which she could not provide an explanation for. She said Lazar had said: “When I left Ms Rawlings she was alive. I did not intend to kill her.”

Dempster said Lazar would regret what he had done for the rest of his life.

Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Tony Rawlings said: “My family and I have endured the most horrific eight months imaginable at the hands of a predator who took my vulnerable, beautiful daughter’s life.”

He thanked the Metropolitan police and legal team for helping to bring Lazar to justice, but added he had expected him to receive more years in prison for the “horrific, savage attack”.

Police’s response

DI Adam Callaghan, of Scotland Yard, told police “Within an hour of meeting Lazar, Maria was left fto die in the bushes”.

“Today’s sentence brings the legal proceedings to a close and I hope that Maria’s family can find a measure of closure in knowing that the man who took her from them has been removed from society where he can no longer pose a threat to women. Our thoughts are with them today”.

Polygraph testing to protect lives

With the Romford community left in pure disbelief to the violent crime, they are now pushing police to carry out regular polygraph testing. They feel reassured that with suspects taking polygraph testing upon arrests, they can be sure who is guilty or not. Police and the community are hoping to offer protection by finding guilty suspects earlier than detected. They also say the testing will help to deter future crimes by would-be repeat offenders.

If you suspect someone you love is a victim of abuse then book a test online with us today. You can also contact us on our free helpline to discuss any concerns you have or to book directly with us.