A man prosecutors said “had become obsessed” with a former colleague has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her in a premeditated knife attack at her home in Nottinghamshire.
Adedapo Adegbola, a Nigerian national living in the UK, was convicted of killing 23-year-old Stephanie Irons on 21 October at her home in Mapperley.
Nottingham Crown Court was told the fatal attack came after the collapse of what the judge described as a brief but “controlling relationship” between the pair, culminating in a planned assault that ended in Ms Irons’ death.
On Thursday, the court ordered Adegbola to serve a minimum of 25 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to murder last month.
Passing sentence, Judge Nirmal Shant KC told him: “You had been in a brief relationship with Stephanie Irons after you met as work colleagues.
Your controlling behavior led her to end the relationship. What is plain is that you were not prepared to accept that.”
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The court was told Adegbola began preparing for the killing days in advance, purchasing two knives on 15 October.
On 21 October, he travelled to Irons’s address and stabbed her multiple times, with a fatal wound delivered to her neck.
Prosecutor Peter Joyce KC said that after the attack Adegbola used Irons’s phone to send screenshots of sexually explicit messages to her colleagues, “probably after he had killed [her].”
Despite remaining at the scene while Irons lay dying, Adegbola later fled, taking her phone and keys.
He subsequently disposed of the weapon and his clothing before handing himself in to police in Hull on 22 October.
He formally admitted the murder in January.
Stephanie Irons’s mother addressed the court during the sentencing hearing, saying: “I have no words to say how broken I am to have lost her in such a horrific way.”
She described her daughter as “compassionate and caring,” adding, “She lit up the room and could make even the saddest person smile. That’s because she wanted to make a happy and kinder world,” as quoted by BBC.
Detective Inspector Stuart Barson said the family had shown “incredible strength and bravery” and read a statement on their behalf: “We have lost our beautiful daughter and shining light. No-one will ever take away the pain that’s been caused by this senseless act. She was the kindest, sweetest person anyone could meet and our lives will never be the same.”
In a related development, Nottinghamshire Police confirmed earlier this week that 40-year-old Mary Onolunosen has been charged with assisting an offender. She is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 6 March.
