A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for strangling his pregnant partners’ mother in her Carshalton kitchen.

An Old Bailey judge sentenced jobless George Maben, 45, to serve a minimum of 12-and-a-half years for the murder of Maureen Cosgrove, 65, on March 24.

During his trial the jury heard Mr Maben, who denied murder, was heard begging God for mercy over the murder of Mrs Cosgrove after detectives bugged his girlfriend Lucy Rees’ Ford Focus.

He was heard to say he “couldn’t take it any more” and “every day she was breaking me down”, before asking the Almighty to “forgive me for what I have done”.

The court also heard Mr Maben was jealous and possessive of her then seven-month pregnant daughter and had argued with his victim.

Speaking after the trial, Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane, who lead the investigation, said Mr Maben was a "cool, manipulative character" and had wanted Mrs Cosgrove out of the way so that he could "take control of Lucy's life".

He said: "He liked to control but Maureen Cosgrove would not be controlled.

"Their relationship had seriously deteriorated and he was resentful of her positive influence on her daughter.

"During the trial, he has sought to avoid responsibility for his actions and tried to blame everyone but himself.

"He committed an unforgivable crime against a family that took him in and supported him."

DCI McFarlane said the family's bravery in the face of the loss of a loving mother was "commendable".

He said: "They should have been looking forward to many more years of happy family life and George Maben has robbed them of that future."

During the trial, the court heard Mrs Rees, who has received treatment for alcohol problems, and Mr Maben had been together for two years before the murder.

They had been living at Mrs Cosgrove’s four-bedroom house in South Way, Carshalton Beeches with two children from Ms Rees’ previous marriage.

Mr Maben had gone back to live with his own mother in St Helier Avenue, Morden after relations with Mrs Cosgrove broke down.

When interviewed as a witness Mr Maben said he had been nowhere near the house before the body was discovered, but CCTV footage showed him donning a pair of gloves as he took a bus to Mrs Cosgrove’s home.

The court heard Maben's coat had fibres from the red top that Mrs Cosgrove was wearing when she was killed.

Police arrested Mr Maben on April 9.

Giving evidence during the trial, Mrs Rees, admitted she continued to send Mr Maben, the father of her youngest child, love letters until August while he was in custody.

Mrs Rees said: “I still love him. I wish, I hope, he hasn't done it.”

The court had also heard Mrs Rees had asked a northern Irish man, who she met while at the upmarket private clinic the Priory, to kill Mr Maben's 19-year-old daughter several weeks after her mother's death.

But Mrs Rees told the court she had not made the phone call and was not capable of arranging for someone to carry out a killing.

She said: “It was drunken ramblings, I didn't actually do it.”

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