Man convicted for killing his daughter's mum over childcare payments

A man who killed the mother of his daughter over a disagreement about childcare payments has been convicted of murder.

Mark Morris, 39 (09.01.78), of Cranbrook Road, Thornton Heath, pleaded guilty to murder at the Old Bailey. He had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter but it was not accepted by the court.

He will be sentenced at the same court on a date to be confirmed.

Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 19:07hrs on Thursday, 25 May to reports of a woman who had been stabbed in the street in Eylewood Road, close to Aubyn Hill, SE27.

Officers and London's Air Ambulance attended. The woman, later identified as mother-of-two Emma Day, 33, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Morris was in a relationship with Emma from 2008 to 2016 and they have a daughter together. Emma also has an older son from a previous relationship.

Following their separation, both children went to live with Emma.

Shortly before her murder, Emma had sought Child Support Agency payments from Morris for their daughter. Morris was not happy with this request and it led to a confrontation between the pair on 25 May, resulting in Emma being fatally stabbed.

At about 18:25hrs on 25 May, Emma called a lifelong friend and asked her if she could accompany her home. She explained that Morris had been around and that he had made her feel nervous because he was so unpredictable.

The friend agreed and met Emma and her two children five minutes later in Gipsy Road, West Norwood.

The four started to walk home and a short while later Morris emerged from an alleyway and approached them.

Morris begged Emma not to make him pay child support, saying he was in a lot of debt and if he had to pay it, he would be left homeless. However, Emma was adamant that he would pay it. This resulted in Morris, who was under the influence of alcohol, calling Emma names.

It was at this point that Emma’s friend decided to send the children away because Morris was being aggressive and agitated and she was worried he was going to hit Emma. The children then left the scene, leaving Morris, Emma and her friend.

Morris continued to be aggressive to Emma, who eventually said that nothing was being resolved between them and she needed to leave to give the children dinner.

Emma and her friend left and started walking up the hill. Morris then dropped his bag to the floor, and ran towards Emma with a knife in his hand before stabbing her.

Emma’s friend rushed to her defence and tried to fight Morris off, but he continued to stab Emma.

The friend eventually managed to get Morris off, and he ran off down the hill. She then called 999.

Officers attended and searched the area, finding a bag with a number of items inside belonging to Morris - including correspondence from the Child Maintenance Service. The murder weapon was also recovered nearby.

Morris’ mother attended the crime scene and told officers her son had called and told her he ‘had done what he said he was going to do’ - killed Emma.

Officers phoned Morris on his mobile phone and left a voicemail for him to call back, which he did in the early hours of 26 May when he admitted stabbing Emma and said he would hand himself in to the nearest police station.

Morris did not hand himself in as discussed and he was subsequently arrested at an address in Thornton Heath at about 19:00hrs on 26 May.

Morris admitted being at the scene at the time of the incident, but said he had a ‘memory blank’ in relation to the stabbing itself.

Officers carried out a number of enquiries including reviewing CCTV, speaking to witnesses and analysing Morris’ mobile phone.

Morris was charged on 27 May.

Detective Inspector John Massey, the senior investigating officer from the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "This was a pre-meditated, brutal attack where Morris laid in wait for Emma so he could confront her. When the conversation did not go his way, he has followed Emma, produced a large knife and stabbed her to death before fleeing the scene.

"This horrific attack on a defenceless young woman was witnessed by Emma’s lifelong friend who desperately tried to protect her from Morris. Thankfully, Emma’s children did not witness the attack but they have still had their loving mother taken away from them.

"I hope today’s conviction will give Emma’s family and friends a measure of comfort and closure."