Obsessive flatmate who battered teacher to death with hammer after six-hour porn binge is jailed for life

Victim: Florina Pastina
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An obsessive flatmate who battered a primary school teacher to death with a hammer after a six-hour porn binge has been jailed for life.

Lucian Stinci, 34, bludgeoned flatmate Florina Pastina repeatedly over the head at the home they shared in Croydon last July, leaving her to die on the kitchen floor.

The hotel worker was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.

The court heard that Stinci had become infatuated with Ms Pastina, 36, professing his love for her and buying her presents, although the two were never in a relationship and she did not reciprocate his advances.

Facing life in jail: hotel worker Lucian Stinci murdered teacher Florina Pastina

His obsession spiralled to the point that he set up a hidden spy camera to film her in the shower.

Stinci was also fixated on sado-masochistic extreme pornography, and had spent six hours looking at a large number of videos of women being tortured, raped and killed the night before he murdered Ms Pastina.

Computer analysis showed he logged on to a website just before midnight and finally stopped viewing videos at 6.07am on July 19.

He attacked Ms Pastina less than an hour later, shortly after 7am.

Stinci is also believed to have been high on cocaine and had recently taken a drug for erectile dysfunction when he carried out the horrific attack.

Ms Pastina was described as a "kind, caring teacher" with "such a promising future"

A neighbour reported hearing a man’s enraged voice and the sound of a woman whimpering at 7.22pm, the court heard.

A 25-year-old man also living at the address in Alpha Road was woken up and found Stinci walking from the kitchen, short of breath and sweating.

Stinci told him: “There’s something wrong with Flo, you may want to check it out.”

As the man went to the kitchen, he was approached from behind by Stinci and assaulted with the hammer.

The Old Bailey heard another resident, a 25-year-old woman, then came downstairs and tried to intervene but Stinci pushed the end of the hammer into her stomach.

She hit him with a wine bottle and took the hammer before fleeing into the street where she screamed for neighbours to call police.

Stinci went outside and picked up the hammer before disposing of it in the back garden. Police soon arrived and arrested him before he could leave.

Ms Pastina was attacked by Stinci in the kitchen of the flat they shared

Ms Pastina suffered severe head injuries in the attack and was rushed to a south London hospital where she died in the early hours in July 21.

Children and colleagues from her school in Thornton Heath said after the sentencing: “We were all extremely saddened to lose Florina in such a sudden and violent way last summer.

“At a time when we were all, including Florina, looking forward to the holidays, instead we received news of her death.

“This has had a significant impact on the children, families and staff at the school. I hope that now we can begin to remember her for the kind, caring teacher and person that she was.”

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, who led the investigation, added: “Through this investigation we’ve got to know two people, Lucian Stinci an evil, wicked man.

“He was obsessed with Florina, but she had no interest in him. Having taken drugs and watched a significant amount of sado-masochistic videos and then subjected defenceless Florina to a sustained, savage attack. His actions have taken away shining star within the community.

“Florina will always be remembered by those who knew her as a truly amazing young woman, who had such a promising future.”

Stinci pleaded guilty to murder, actual bodily harm, unlawful wounding and possession of a controlled drug on March 2 at the Old Bailey.

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