A man without a home who fatally attacked a kind-hearted woman offering him shelter in her £1.3million residence has been given a prison sentence. Apapale Adoum, aged 39, used a mallet to kill Victoria Adams, 37, in her apartment in Hammersmith, west London on February 9. Adoum admitted to the murder in August at the Old Bailey and was kept in custody.
Today, Adoum was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years at the Old Bailey by Judge Nigel Lickley KC. Judge Lickley reprimanded Adoum, stating, “Victoria Adams was murdered in her own home. She had taken you in and offered you shelter.”
The judge accused Adoum of betraying Victoria Adams’s kindness, arming himself with a hammer, and violently attacking her when she requested him to leave. Judge Lickley mentioned that Ms. Adams’ family was left shocked and struggling to comprehend the tragic event.
In a statement presented to the court, Ms. Adams’s aunt Cathy Adams described her niece as trusting, generous, caring, and fun-loving. She expressed sorrow that Vicky’s life was taken as she tried to reciprocate the kindness she had received. The family mourns the fact that her final moments were spent with her assailant.
Sophie Luff, Ms. Adams’s younger sister, shared her shock upon learning about her sister’s murder, emphasizing the tragedy of leaving four children behind. She mourned the loss of her sister’s promising future due to one man’s selfish actions.
Victoria Adams sustained multiple head injuries in the attack before being discovered with a bag over her head in her bedroom. The murder on Coulter Road left the community in disbelief, with residents reporting hearing distressing screams before the incident.
Neighbour Ellie Scot, a lifelong resident in the area, expressed shock over the tragic event, noting the neighborhood’s typically peaceful nature. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the incident, stating that officers responded to a call reporting an attempted break-in, only to find the deceased woman in the property.
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