Sashana Roberts who was also known as ‘Shanna Pepper’ was stabbed at least 11 times by Ezekiel Foster

A former church deacon who knifed his lover to death and dumped her body in the bath has been jailed for life.

The Old Bailey heard Ezekiel Foster, 43, of Tywbridge Way, stabbed 24-year-old Sashana Roberts at least 11 times with a kitchen knife on September 11 last year.

Foster, a builder and former church deacon at Harlesden Pentecostal Church, attacked her in front of her terrified children before leaving her for dead in her home in Ivy Road, Cricklewood.

He then changed his clothes and left the scene, casually chatting with strangers in the street and topping up his Oyster card as he went.

The Old Bailey heard Jamaican-born Foster had repeatedly beaten and threatened to kill Miss Roberts throughout their five-year relationship and had a history of violence towards previous partners.

He admitted manslaughter, claiming he had been ordered to carry out the killing by a voice in his head called Joseph, but today (Friday) he was convicted of murder following a two-week trial.

Foster had been ‘aggressively controlling’ partner since he struck up a relationship with the mother-of-three, who performed on the dancehall reggae scene under the name Shanna Pepper, in 2006.

Miss Roberts had previously reported Foster - known to friends as ‘Glen’ - to the police on several occasions but retracted the complaints every time.

Foster was overheard threatening to kill her at a party just two weeks before she died.

Miss Roberts, who was also from Jamaica, was stabbed in the head, face, body, legs and arms, with wounds penetrating both lungs, her liver and spleen. Some were inflicted with such force that they cracked her ribs.

He was sentenced to life with a minimum tariff of 19 year.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Andy Manning, who headed the murder hunt, said: “Sashana Roberts died at the hands of a person she had been close to.

“ She had tried to end the relationship, but Foster used extreme violence and killed her, not appearing to give any thought to her young children who were in the house at the time.

“She will be missed by her family, especially her young children who are now going to grow up without the presence of their mother.

“He will now spend many years in prison.”