Ricardo Godinho has been found guilty of the murder of his ex-partner at Guildford Crown Court today (Wednesday, July 17).

Mr Godinho (41) of Kingston Road, Epsom, was found guilty of the killing of Aliny (Mendes) Godinho following a two and a half week trial.

He will be sentenced later this week.

As the Comet reported in February, Mrs Godinho, who was 39, and her three-year-old daughter were on their way to pick up the family's other children from school when the incident took place.

During the trial, the court was told how Mr Godinho — who was positively identified by two eye witnesses — stabbed Mrs Godinho repeatedly at the Sparrow Farm Road junction of London Road in Stoneleigh on Friday, February 8.

She died at the roadside shortly after police were called with reports of the stabbing.

Mr Godinho admitted manslaughter but denied murder during the trial, claiming he had not planned to kill his ex-partner on February 8.

A forensic post-mortem examination showed that Mrs Godinho died after sustaining multiple stab wounds.

A knife found at the scene was shown to have caused the injuries Mrs Godinho sustained.

Forensic examinations linked Mr Godinho to the knife.

During the trial the court heard how the pair were married but had separated in late December 2018, and that throughout this time Mr Godinho's behaviour towards his former partner became increasingly intimidating.

The court also heard how on the day of her murder, Mrs Godinho had caught the bus with their three-year-old daughter to London Road.

Mr Godinho had been waiting in his vehicle for the bus to go past so he could follow it.

As she left the bus, Mr Godinho got out of his car before confronting her and stabbing her multiple times. He then dropped the weapon and fled the scene.

In a statement, Mrs Godinho's family said that the impacts felt by her relatives and children since she was killed were "almost impossible" to describe.

"Aliny was a beautiful, intelligent, happy, caring woman who was loved by so many people, both in the UK, and in her home country of Brazil.

"The events of Friday 8 February 2019 took away not only a sister, daughter, grandchild and friend, but more importantly, took a loving mother away from her four small children.

"The impact that Aliny’s death has left on her children is almost impossible to put into words. All four children are under the age of 12 years old and are now left with no mother which is so hard for them to process at such a young age...When the children are ill their mother will not there to soothe them, when they get good results at school, their mother will not be there to praise them, when they perform in a school play, their mother will not be there to applaud them...

"The family cannot express enough how our lives have changed and that it’s a daily struggle to not only come to terms with what has happened but to adapt to a new way of life.

"We are thankful for all the efforts by the criminal justice system but no sentence will ever replace or bring back our beautiful Aliny," the family's statement read.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Chapman, from the Specialist Crime Command, described the case as "tragic" and paid tribute to the witnesses who had contributed to the investigation.

"This deeply tragic incident has left Aliny’s family and friends devastated and our thoughts and sympathies are with them today...We will provide ongoing support to the family.

"The attack took place in broad daylight and continues to have a traumatic effect on those who witnessed it.

"I would like to thank those who witnessed what happened for their actions in the immediate aftermath, and the wider community for the way they pulled together at such an extremely difficult time.

"A number of those people have been in court giving evidence, and it is thanks to those brave individuals we have managed to get this verdict today," DCI Chapman said.

Claire Gallagher from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said:

"Ricardo Godinho intended to kill his wife, despite his claims that he had lost control following a row with her.

"That account of events was not supported by the evidence in the case, with eyewitnesses describing him as cold, calm and collected during the attack."