The CCTV footage is chilling. It shows Shaine March, walking through the streets after a horrific act – the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Alana Odysseos. But the video is only a fraction of the story, a glimpse into a tragedy that unfolded with brutal speed and devastating consequences.
Alana’s father, Alan Yates, struggles to find words adequate to describe the man who stole his daughter’s life. He calls him “evil and a coward,” haunted by the senseless violence inflicted upon Alana. The anger, he admits, has shattered his faith, leaving no room for forgiveness in his heart. He desperately asks, “Why did he have to resort to the level of violence he used?”
The court heard heartbreaking testimony from Alana’s sisters. Lorraine Schofield branded March a “monster,” a “disgusting coward.” Jasmine Yates, her voice trembling with grief, told March he hadn’t taken just one life that night, but two – Alana’s and the unborn child she cherished. Her fear is stark: that if ever released, he would kill again.
March initially pleaded not guilty, attempting to claim diminished responsibility. But the defense crumbled when expert testimony no longer supported his claims. He ultimately confessed on the seventh day of the trial, a belated admission to a crime that had already ripped a family apart.
The details of the attack are harrowing. Arguments over the pregnancy escalated in the hours before the murder. Alana, clutching her side, cried out for help as she lay bleeding from multiple stab wounds, identifying March as her attacker. He simply walked away, leaving her to die.
Even before the fatal attack, Alana knew of March’s past – a previous murder conviction. Safeguarding checks had been made, yet they failed to prevent the unthinkable. In a chilling voice note recorded before discarding his phone, March confessed to his mother: “I just killed a woman, and I’m going back to jail.”
The initial sentencing sparked outrage. The judge, while acknowledging the “prolonged and excessive violence,” did not impose a life sentence without parole. He cited a traumatic brain injury March suffered as a teenager and the seemingly spontaneous nature of the crime as mitigating factors.
But the Solicitor General challenged that decision, arguing that the case demanded the most severe punishment. He pointed to the constellation of aggravating factors – the brutality of the attack, the death of the unborn child, and the fact that a child witnessed the violence. He argued the initial sentencing was a grave error.
The Court of Appeal agreed. Lord Justice Edis ruled that the judge had indeed fallen into error, underestimating the weight of the aggravating factors. The death of the unborn child and the trauma inflicted upon a witness were deemed particularly significant. The brain injury, the court determined, was not a major driver of the horrific act.
The ruling came as a measure of justice, though it offers little solace to a family consumed by grief. Shaine March now faces a whole-life order, ensuring he will remain behind bars for the rest of his days. Solicitor General Ellie Reeves affirmed that there is “no room for violence against women and girls,” and that this dangerous offender has been removed from the streets.
Alana Odysseos’s story is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of violence and the enduring pain it inflicts on those left behind. It is a tragedy that echoes the stories of too many women, lost to senseless acts of brutality.
