'Violent, self-obsessed' serial abuser jailed after stabbing girlfriend in neck at a London hotel

A serial abuser of women who fatally stabbed his girlfriend in the neck has been jailed for at least 23 years.

“Self-obsessed” Taye Francis had convictions for rape and violence when he killed 23-year-old Khloemae Loy in a hotel room last July.

Francis, 40, of no fixed address, had admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and was found guilty of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey.

On Monday, Francis was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years.

Judge Mark Lucraft QC said Ms Loy was particularly vulnerable and Francis’s long history of violence against women was a “hugely significant” factor.

Previously, the court had heard how steroid addict Francis attacked Ms Loy in a Premier Inn room in Greenwich, south London.

Afterwards, he sent a picture of Ms Loy lying dead on a bed to his lawyer saying “I’ve killed my girlfriend” as he called 999.

Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon QC had said: “Mr Francis was a violent, self-obsessed man who took steroids.

“Apart from building muscle mass, steroids have various side effects. These include aggression and paranoia.

“Our case is that he killed her in anger. It was murder.”

The court heard the Francis had a severe personality disorder and suffered from the effects of steroids.

Francis, formerly known as Ashley Wyatt, had a string of convictions for violence against women.

In 2002 he was jailed for six years and placed on the sex offenders’ register for two rapes, kidnap and having a blade.

In 2013 he was handed a non-molestation order and jailed for assaulting another woman who he threatened to kill and stab in the neck.

Two years later, he was convicted of criminal damage during a domestic incident.

In 2016, he was given a conditional discharge for attacking an ex-girlfriend.

Ms Loy had met the defendant while working at a pub near Croydon College, where she was a student.

She told her parents, Maxine and Dany Loy, that he was 26 when he was in fact much older, and also, wrongly, that he was a fellow student.

In 2017 Francis assaulted Ms Loy and threw her in a wheelie bin, jurors were told.

He was convicted and given a 20-week sentence with a restraining order.

Ms Lumsdon told jurors: “Her parents encouraged Khloemae to leave Mr Francis.

“Khloemae said she could not leave him or he would attack Mr and Mrs Loy.

“The records paint a picture, you may think, of an aggressive, controlling man and a troubled, frightened woman who is struggling with her mental health.”

The day before the murder, Ms Loy cancelled a shopping trip with her mother, saying she was going to the coast to meet her boyfriend’s parents.

Francis was hanging from a ledge outside, having thrown a small rucksack and a suitcase out of the window.

The defendant, who had cuts to his body and had recently taken steroids, was eventually dealt with by the emergency services, put into an induced coma and taken to hospital.

When uniformed police knocked on the door of the victim’s parents, Mr Loy answered and said: “He’s killed her, hasn’t he?”

In a victim impact statement, Ms Loy’s parents said: “We all miss her bubbly personality, she was always the life and soul of the party and she always tried to see the best in everyone. She was like our little china doll.

“At the age of 23, Khloemae had already endured five years of suffering at the hands of Taye Francis when all she did was seek love and commitment from him.

“Taye tricked her into his world. He lied to her from the very beginning. He lied about his age, his job and the fact he was a student at a local college. He tried to manipulate and control Khloemae from the outset. He took her away from her family and friends and physically and emotionally abused her.

“Taye has taken Khloemae’s life but in doing so he has also ruined ours.”

She said Francis was a “danger to society” and expressed the hope that locking him up would prevent anyone else falling victim to him.

Detective Sergeant Quinn Cutler said: “Taye Francis is a violent, controlling man who subjected Khloemae to constant aggression and abuse as a result of his own paranoia.

“Domestic abuse should never be tolerated and across the Met we are working hard to protect women and girls across the capital.”