Man jailed for life for murdering Lorraine Cox on her way home from night out
A man from Staffordshire has been jailed for life for murdering a woman who was on her way home from a night out with friends in Exeter.
Lorraine Cox, 32, went missing after spending the August bank holiday with friends in Exeter last year.
Her disappearance remained a mystery for more than a week, until police found parts of her body cut into pieces and dumped in bin bags in an alleyway in the centre of Exeter and in woodland a few miles outside of the city.
Azam Mangori, from Stoke-on-Trent, was found guilty of her murder last week, having already admitted preventing her lawful burial.
He appeared at Exeter Crown Court today (Wednesday 7 April) where he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years.
During the sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Garnham cited the anguish of Miss Cox’s family and her partner Elise Fallow, who said in a victim personal statement: “I am breathing but not living. All the colour has drained out of my life.”
The Judge said Mangori, who had been living in Exeter since July 2020 using the name Christopher Mayer, ended the life of "a bright, vivacious, intelligent young woman with her whole life ahead of her".
He said exactly what happened "will not be known" unless Mangori chooses to tell it, adding: "Something happened which caused you to decide to kill her by suffocating her."
What happened the night Lorraine Cox went missing?
Watch Bob Cruwys' report on her final movements.
Miss Cox had moved away to Scotland with her partner but was back in Exeter to visit friends.
She spent the afternoon on The Quay and the evening at a pub in Fore Street.
She left at 1.30am to begin walking to her father's home, where she was staying.
By 2am she was making her way up the high street, stopping occasionally to check her phone.
At 2.15am, CCTV shows she met Mangori, who was walking alone through the city centre.
At 2.45am, Miss Cox entered a building with Mangori. She was not seen alive again.
In the days after Miss Cox disappeared, he left his flat multiple times for shopping trips to buy bin bags, tape, polythene sheeting. He cut her body before dumping them in bins and woodland.
After Miss Cox's death, Mangori used her SIM card in his mobile phone to pretend she was alive and well to family and friends.
In a statement, Miss Cox's loved-ones described her as "the heartbeat" of their family saying she was the "most kind-hearted, loving, generous girl".
Watch the full family statement read outside court