Evil caretaker who dumped young woman in bin where she was 'incinerated' jailed

04 December 2023 , 13:08

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Mark Moodie was captured on CCTV moving rubbish (Image: PA)

An evil caretaker who murdered a young woman and dumped her body in a bin before she was "incinerated" has been jailed.

Mark Moodie, 54, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years for the murder of Maureen Gitau. She was reported missing by her family on December 10, having last been seen five days earlier as she left her home in London.

The 24-year-old told her loved ones she was going to meet him. But the killer lured her to a block of flats where he worked and she was not seen leaving the building. The pair had grown closer after Maureen started working at the Oval cricket ground. It is feared her body was covered in rubbish and incinerated at a plant.

Maureen was last seen leaving her home in London (Met Police / SWNS)

Mark Moodie has been jailed for life (PA)

Maureen's mum labelled the caretaker a "coward and a cold-hearted murderer" in a heart-wrenching victim statement. Moodie, of Nightingale Place, Woolwich, denied murder and two counts of perverting the course of justice.

Moodie was caught on CCTV moving a huge communal waste bin in the basement of Richmond House in Deptford. It was reported that the rubbish was picked-up a few days later and taken to a processing plant. Met Police launched a massive search and examined 500 hours of footage captured from doorbells, shops and buses.

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As part of search efforts, officers also looked through 2,750 tonnes of waste that was moved to a site in Essex by 125 trucks. In total, the search time was listed as 20,000 hours. However, Maureen's body has never been found.

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn, paid tribute to Maureen and said: "My thoughts today are with Maureen's family, who have been cruelly prevented from putting a much loved daughter, sister, niece and cousin to rest. I am glad we have, been able to bring to justice the man responsible for her death.

Mark Moodie was pictured speaking to Maureen Gitau at Richmond House (PA)

"Mark Moodie murdered Maureen and then disposed of her body. He has never admitted any responsibility and told lie after lie after lie. He is a contemptible individual and I am glad the jury has seen through his deceit and found him guilty or Maureen's murder."

The Inspector added: "My team spent many months investigating Maureen’s murder, their professionalism and dedication is just one example of the Met's determination to bring killers to justice. Once we realised how Moodie had disposed of Maureen's body, we carried out one of the largest searches of waste the Met has ever seen. We were desperate to find her, for the sake of her family, and it will always be a regret that she was gone by the time we understood what Moodie had done with her body."

Monica Charsley