Lidl worker ‘befriended wealthy woman, 70, before killing her and stealing £300k
‘Parasitic’ ex-Lidl worker, 42, ‘befriended wealthy woman, 70, by making pass at her in leisure centre hot tub then killed and buried her’ after fleecing her of £300,000
- Norma Girolami, 70, from north London, was last seen alive in mid-August 2021
- Prosecutors say she was murdered by 42-year-old Lidl worker Serkan Kaygusuz
A ‘parasitic’ man befriended a wealthy older woman then killed her and buried the body to plunder her money, a court has heard.
Retiree Norma Girolami, 70, gave 42-year-old Serkan Kaygusuz large amounts of cash, totalling nearly £300,000, after they met at a swimming pool in 2017, the Old Bailey was told.
The jury heard how she had been ‘flattered’ after he made an ‘advance’ in the hot tub at the baths.
Over time their relationship became more of a friendship as Kaygusuz allegedly demanded ever-increasing sums of money – four and five-figures every few weeks.
By May 2021, the ‘money tap which had flowed so freely for so long was switched off’, prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward told jurors.
Retiree Norma Girolami (above), gave 42-year-old alleged killer Serkan Kaygusuz large amounts of cash, totalling nearly £300,000
The reasons were said to have been the death of Ms Girolami’s father, her dwindling funds, or that she had ‘simply had enough’ of jobless Kaygusuz’s demands.
Mr Ledward said: ‘By August, the defendant must have realised that his comfortable parasitic lifestyle was not going to continue: he was simply not going to get any more out of Ms Girolami. At least not whilst she was alive.’
On August 19, 2021, Ms Girolami travelled from her £900,000 home in Highgate, north London, for a day out at Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. She was never seen alive again.
The remains of the wealthy Italian were found more than a year later in a graveyard in north London.
Ms Ledward said: ‘The prosecution case is that Serkan Kaygusuz murdered her, concealed her body, ultimately by burying it, and then set about getting as much money out of her as he could.’
She suggested it was all part of former Lidl supermarket worker Kaygusuz’s ‘cold-blooded plan’.
Jurors were told the plan was carried out ‘systematically and with calm and deadly purpose’ and born of the ‘basest of motives’ – to get her money.
On the evening after Ms Girolami’s trip to the seaside, the defendant is alleged to have gone to her flat and killed her.
Ms Girolami travelled from her home in Highgate (above) on August 19, 2021, and was never seen alive again
He allegedly went on to pretend to her friends that she was alive and well while systematically taking what remained of the money in her bank accounts.
The court heard how Kaygusuz successfully hid Ms Girolami’s body for over a year by burying her in a graveyard in north London.
Police were directed to the site by a witness who thought the plot had been used to illegally bury someone’s ashes.
The court heard that between the time of Ms Girolami’s disappearance and his eventual arrest on October 1 2021, Kaygusuz received more than £55,000 from her bank accounts, including the two loans.
Ms Girolami’s friends contacted the police after Kaygusuz’s fake messages had spelling mistakes and no punctuation.
He was staying at his girlfriend’s house while she was out of the country.
When she returned, the house was ‘sparkly clean’ and he had bought her a new bed and dining table which he said was a present, and had set up a CCTV camera in the living room.
Ms Girolami’s remains were found at a churchyard in north London in November 2021 (pictured)
Prosecutors have accused ‘cold-blooded’ Kaygusuz of killing the 70-year-old (pictured) and concealing her body
On September 21, Kaygusuz began to make web searches about how to move to Canada, followed by searches about, mud, grass turf and weed membrane.
He then went to a Tool Station shop in Islington and bought a shovel, a 40-litre plastic trug, waterproof overalls and three plastic ground stabiliser sheets.
Later that evening at 9.45pm he conducted internet searches for ‘body found in cemetery London,’ ‘body found cemetery London today,’ ‘body found in Harringay 22 September’, and ‘missing person Norma Girolami’.
The next day he changed his name by deed poll to Sean Kaya.
On October 1 he was arrested for murder, and he was charged three days later.
Police found the Google searches, and began to suspect Ms Girolami had been buried in a graveyard.
The body was found in St James’s Churchyard in Friern Barnet in November 2022, more than a year after her death.
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said: ‘Preliminary examinations of the churchyard began to see whether a recent burial site could be identified – a task very much as hard as it sounds in a churchyard containing many dozens of graves.
‘By the end of the month, the forensic tents and police tape went up and preparations began for a forensic excavation.
‘And they would probably have started digging in the wrong place, if it wasn’t for what happened next.
‘Peter Murray, a longstanding member of the Church congregation told them he had noticed a patch of disturbed ground in August 2021 and suspected someone had buried a loved one’s ashes there without permission.
‘The decomposed body was found on that spot, wrapped in a bedsheet and several layers of plastic sheeting.’
Since Ms Girolami was found dead, the defendant had admitted dishonestly obtaining her money and property, and concealing and burying her body.
Divorcee Kaygusuz, of Croach End, north London, has denied murder and the Old Bailey trial continues.