A 40-year-old Nigerian, Adedapo Adegbola, has admitted murdering Stephanie Irons, 23, after their brief romance came to an end.
Nottinghamshire Police said Adegbola fatally stabbed Stephanie Irons at her home on the evening of 21 October in Westdale Lane West, Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, and made attempts to cover his tracks.
Adegbola, who the force said was “motivated” after their relationship ended, admitted murder at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday and will be sentenced on 5 February.
The alarm was raised by co-workers after a series of concerning messages were sent to them on the evening of the attack.
Emergency services were then called to Westdale Lane West, Mapperley, at 10.07pm where they discovered Miss Irons wounded in her living room.
Despite the best efforts of paramedics, she was pronounced dead at the scene a short while later.
By this point, Adegbola had fled to a property in Mansfield, leaving a trail of discarded evidence including blood-stained trainers and a jumper on the streets of Mapperley and Carlton.
He then travelled to Mansfield, Worksop, Sheffield and finally to Hull.
The next morning (22 October) he returned to Nottingham and handed himself in at Oxclose Police Station, where he was arrested on suspicion of murder.
He went on to provide no comment to questions posed by detectives in subsequent police interviews.
Despite this, investigators gathered crucial evidence to charge Adegbola with the murder of Steph Irons that Friday (24 October).
Using CCTV footage, digital evidence, and witness accounts, they tracked the movements of the defendant in the moments before, during and after the incident.
Police said Irons, described as “a caring and compassionate young woman”, had been taken from her friends and family “in horrific circumstances”.
Judge Nirmal Shant KC told the Nigerian he faced a mandatory life sentence and it was just a question of “setting the minimum term”.
Members of Irons’s family were in court, and the prosecution confirmed victim impact statements were being prepared.
Det Insp Stuart Barson said: “This is a tragic case in which a caring and compassionate young woman was taken away in horrific circumstances.
“Following the attack on Miss Irons, Adegbola made no attempt to call for an ambulance, and was concerned only with getting away from the scene and attempting to dispose of vital evidence.
“I want to thank Miss Irons’s family for the incredible strength that they have shown through this process.
“I hope that this outcome assists Steph’s family in coming to terms with such a dreadful loss.”
