A man has been found guilty of murdering a woman in her home after he and his partner subjecting her to weeks of violence.
Xyaire Howard, 23, of Press Road, Neasden, was found guilty of the murder of 71-year old Susan Hawkey, after facing trial in the Old Bailey.
Chelsea Grant, 28, also of Press Road, pleaded guilty to robbing Susan on multiple occasions before the trial. She was found not guilty of murder.
The jury heard how Susan was subjected to weeks of violence by Grant and Howard, who lived a few streets away from her and were a couple at the time, identifying her as an ideal victim and preying on her.
Susan led a lonely and routine existence, the court heard. She was elderly, of very small stature and lived alone in Aylesbury Street, with little contact with friends and family.
She rarely left her home but when she did, she often took the same route to the shops and the post office with her ATM card.
Grant and Howard first mugged Susan on July 27 and were frustrated when she quickly cancelled her bank card, Scotland Yard said.
In a further mugging on Verney Road on August 22, they obtained her bank card and her house keys.
The following day they went to her house and again robbed her, but Susan fought back.
Susan did not notify the police about these incidents but did contact her bank to cancel her card and her Housing Association to change the locks on her doors, the Met added.
She also told her neighbours about what happened.
Susan was last seen alive on September 6.
Police forced their way into her home shortly before midday some three weeks later on September 26 after a neighbour raised concerns.
Her badly decomposed body was found under a duvet where she was lying in the foetal position, with her knees drawn up to her chest.
Her hands were tied behind her back with a black shoe lace and brown parcel tape.
Grant and Howard had been seen walking to and from Susan’s home on the afternoon of September 6.
They had obtained her PIN number, which they used to begin an extravagant shopping spree, spending thousands of pounds on her bank card, which only ended when they were arrested on September 28 outside McDonald's in Wembley.
Detectives found photos of Susan’s ATM cards and search terms relating to transaction limits for ATM cards and the smell of dead bodies on their mobile phones.
Det Chief Inspector Neil Rawlinson said: “This was a brutal murder that followed a sustained campaign of abuse and violence.
"The victim was a vulnerable adult who was ruthlessly pursued and subjected to unthinkable violence. Grant and Howard are both dangerous individuals, who have thankfully been brought to justice."
Chief Supt Dan Knowles, part of local policing command in north-west London, added: “This is a heartbreaking case whereby a vulnerable lady was preyed upon in the most cruel and premeditated of circumstances.
“I am grateful to the Specialist Crime investigators who have worked tirelessly to bring all evidence in to consideration."
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