03 April 2023 , 13:04
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A man has admitted to stabbing his pregnant girlfriend to death with a pair of scissors.
Ailish Walsh, 28, was 22 weeks pregnant when she was stabbed 40 times by Liam Taylor.
She was pronounced dead after police were called to her flat in East London on December 15 last year.
At the time of Ailish's death, family friend Teresa Cannon launched a fundraiser in her honour.
She said: "Ailish Walsh was a beautiful, amazing young woman of 28 with four young children and a little girl on the way."
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At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Jane Osborne KC had said: "The attack was exceptionally brutal and carried out knowing Ms Walsh was carrying the defendant’s child.
Police officers and forensic teams attend the scene in December (Tom Bowles)"There was a 12-week scan picture and at 22 weeks it would have been fairly evident.”
She told the Old Bailey there was a “strong evidential link” between the defendant and the crime scene.
The victim’s father arrived afterwards to find her covered in blood and unconscious in her bedroom.
She was covered with a high-visibility jacket with the defendant’s bank card in her pocket.
A pair of bloodied scissors were found nearby as well as two dumbbells.
CCTV footage captured Taylor, 37, entering through the communal entrance to the building earlier that evening at 8.36pm and leaving at 9.14pm.
Five minutes before he left, a female friend had phoned the victim and heard sounds of screaming and fighting in the background.
She had got in contact after Ailish sent her messages to say she was trying to get Taylor out of the flat because he was taking drugs, the court heard.
Taylor, who had cocaine, cannabis and alcohol in his system, was arrested at his home early the next morning.
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As he was taken into custody, he told police: "It’s crazy how one moment of madness can change your whole life.”
The court heard Taylor had previous convictions for attacking female members of his family.
He was jailed for 12 months for assaulting his mother with a metal pole and cautioned for headbutting his sister when she was 16.
On Monday, Taylor, of East London, pleaded guilty to Ailish's murder during a hearing at the Old Bailey.
Judge Alexia Durran remanded him into custody and adjourned sentencing for the preparation of reports.
She told him: “You have pleaded guilty to the most serious offence. There can only be one sentence. The only question will be how long it will be before the parole board considers your release.”
The case will return to the Old Bailey on May 10 to set a date for sentencing.