Man, 21, jailed for brutal murder of Colindale woman

A 21-year-old man who repeatedly stabbed a woman in her home in Colindale leaving her so mutilated it was initially unclear how she died has been jailed for life.

Nicolae Patraucean, from Stamore, violently knifed 55-year-old Rivka Holden at her flat in Falcon Way, before stealing her Red Hyundai i20 car to flee the scene on March 16 this year.

The vehicle was later found abandoned in Kingsbury but detectives do not believed the motive for her killing was robbery.

Today, at the Old Bailey the Romanian national was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 25 years.

He admitted her murder at an earlier trial in June.

Detective Inspector Simon Ashwin, investigating officer, said: “I hope this sentence gives Ms Holden’s family some solace in knowing that her killer has been brought to justice and will spend many years in prison.”