In a case that has shaken the London community and reignited debate about the criminal justice system, Shaine March, a convicted double murderer, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 42 years for the brutal killing of his pregnant girlfriend, Alana Odysseos, in Walthamstow, east London. The sentencing, delivered at the Old Bailey on October 31, 2025, follows a harrowing series of events that left Odysseos’s family devastated and the public questioning how such violence could happen again after March’s previous conviction.
March, now 47, stabbed and slashed Odysseos at least 23 times in the early hours of July 22, 2024, after a heated argument over her refusal to terminate her pregnancy. According to The Independent, Odysseos, 32, was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child when March attacked her in her home. Neighbors were awakened by the commotion, hearing Odysseos plead, “I don’t want to kill my baby,” as the argument escalated. Within hours, she was found bleeding outside her home, clutching her side and shouting, “Shaine stabbed me, he stabbed me. Help, help,” before succumbing to her injuries.
March’s history of violence is both alarming and tragic. At just 21, he fatally stabbed 17-year-old Andre Drummond in the neck at a McDonald’s restaurant in Denmark Hill, south London, in January 2000. He was sentenced to life in prison but was released on licence in early 2013. However, his freedom was short-lived; later that same year, he was recalled to prison after assaulting another pregnant girlfriend, stamping on her stomach. Despite this, March was released again in February 2018. His criminal record also includes convictions for assault and criminal damage dating back to 1995 (BBC News).
During the trial, it was revealed that Odysseos had confided in friends and family about March’s controlling and abusive behavior. He forbade her from talking to others, destroyed her daughter’s toys, and once smashed a glass in her face. She told her sister that March accused her of cheating, forced her to delete male contacts from her phone, and sent threatening voice notes demanding she get an abortion. Despite these red flags, Odysseos remained with March, hoping he would change. “She was afraid of you but she loved you still and she hoped you would change,” Mr Justice Murray noted during sentencing (Evening Standard).
The night before the murder, neighbors overheard a heated argument between the couple, with a male voice shouting “pregnant” and a female voice pleading for her baby’s life. The argument, which reportedly began over a pair of trainers, escalated rapidly. Prosecutor Louise Oakley told the court that March destroyed Odysseos’s mobile phone before police could seize it, erasing potential evidence of the altercation.
After the attack, March showed a chilling lack of remorse. He walked away from the scene as paramedics tried to save Odysseos, later recording a voice note stating, “Mum, I just killed a woman, and I’m going back to jail.” Upon arrest, he told police, “I did it. I killed her Alana Odysseos. I killed her hahahaha,” and asked to be put in jail “where I belong,” admitting he was “scum” and deserved it (The Independent).
March’s trial was marked by further displays of defiance. He initially refused to leave his cell for sentencing, telling prison guards, “It’s only sentencing.” The judge ultimately arranged for him to appear by videolink from HMP Belmarsh. During the hearing, he showed no reaction as Odysseos’s family read powerful victim impact statements.
Odysseos’s mother, Karen Cronin, described the loss of her daughter in heartbreaking terms: “Alana, my beautiful kind and loving daughter, left this earth in the most callous and brutal way imaginable. The person who has done this to my daughter – who I don’t think deserves the respect of using his name – is evil and a coward. Why did he have to resort to the level of violence he used? The anger I feel towards him doesn’t feel Christian so I can no longer go to Church. I will never have forgiveness in my heart. I want him to die in prison. He should never be let out.”
Her father, Alan Yates, reflected on the transformation he saw in his daughter after she met March: “She became a timid, vulnerable person who was not our Alana. I hope a sentence is given that means Shaine March will never cause another family the pain and loss we are suffering. It is unimaginable and we will never get over our loss. Every day I wonder why he didn’t walk away. Alana was pregnant with his child. This meant nothing to him.”
Her sisters, Lorraine Schofield and Jasmine Yates, expressed similar anguish. Schofield called March a “monster” and “evil, disgusting coward,” while Jasmine stated, “You took more than one life that night. You took Alana, you took the baby she was carrying, the child she was excited about. I fear if you are ever released you will kill again.”
The court also heard about the failures in the probation system. Although Odysseos knew about March’s prior murder conviction and safeguarding checks were made, no further action was taken after March claimed their relationship had ended amicably. Prosecutor Oakley argued for a whole life order, citing the “exceptionally high” level of offending, but the judge, while rejecting this, emphasized that it is unlikely March will ever be released given his age and the severity of his crimes.
March ultimately pleaded guilty to murder after an expert withdrew support for his claim of diminished responsibility, citing antisocial personality disorder and depression as mitigating factors. In the judge’s words, “You killed Alana knowing she was pregnant. Clearly you intended to kill her and her baby would, at that early stage of pregnancy, have no chance to survive the attack.”
The case has left lingering questions about the effectiveness of parole and probation systems, especially when dealing with offenders with histories of extreme violence. For the family of Alana Odysseos, however, the focus remains on mourning a daughter, sister, and mother whose life was cut short in the most brutal fashion, and on hoping that no other family will have to endure such pain.
