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A UK court has sentenced a Nigerian man living in Britain to life in prison for the murder of a young woman he worked with, after she ended what prosecutors described as a brief but controlling relationship.
Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday ordered Adedapo Adegbola to serve a minimum of 25 years for the killing of 23-year-old Stephanie Irons, who was fatally stabbed at her home in Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, in October. Adegbola pleaded guilty to murder last month.
The court heard that Adegbola had become obsessed with Irons after their short relationship ended and was unwilling to accept her decision to move on. Prosecutors said the attack was premeditated.
Judge Nirmal Shant KC, delivering the sentence, told the court that Adegbola’s controlling behavior led Irons to end the relationship and that he responded with violence.
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“You had been in a brief relationship with Stephanie Irons after you met as work colleagues,” the judge said. “Your controlling behavior led her to end the relationship. What is plain is that you were not prepared to accept that.”
Evidence showed Adegbola bought two knives on October 15, days before traveling to Irons’s home on October 21, where he stabbed her multiple times, delivering a fatal wound to her neck.
Prosecutor Peter Joyce KC told the court that after the attack, Adegbola remained in the house as Irons lay dying before fleeing with her keys and mobile phone. He later disposed of his clothing and the murder weapon.
Joyce said Adegbola also sent screenshots of sexually explicit messages from Irons’s phone to their colleagues, likely after she had already been killed.
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Adegbola handed himself in to police in Hull on October 22, a day after the attack. He formally admitted to murder in January.
In a statement read in court, Irons’s mother described the devastating impact of her daughter’s death on the family.
“I have no words to say how broken I am to have lost her in such a horrific way,” she said, according to the BBC. She remembered Stephanie as “compassionate and caring,” adding, “She lit up the room and could make even the saddest person smile. That’s because she wanted to make a happy and kinder world.”
Detective Inspector Stuart Barson of Nottinghamshire Police said the family had shown “incredible strength and bravery” throughout the proceedings. Speaking on their behalf, he said, “We have lost our beautiful daughter and shining light. No-one will ever take away the pain that’s been caused by this senseless act.”
Meanwhile, police said 40-year-old Mary Onolunosen has been charged with assisting an offender in connection with the case. She is due to appear before Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on March 6.
