Stockwell tenant guilty of murdering couple during lockdown

A man who stabbed his landlords to death during the first national lockdown has been convicted of murder.

Daniel Briceno Garcia, 46, unleashed a "brutal and frenzied attack" on Sonia Butron Calvi, 66, and 60-year-old Edgar Aguilera Daza.

It happened on 1 April 2020, shortly after the lockdown was announced.

The couple were found lying in a "bloodbath" at their home in Stockwell, south London, the Old Bailey jury was told. Sentencing has been adjourned.

Ms Calvi and Mr Daza were subletting rooms at the Dorset Road house to six Spanish-speaking tenants, including Garcia.

Prosecutor Tom Little QC told the jury Garcia became worried about the risks of Covid as well as paying his rent during the pandemic.

He said: "That in itself you may think is understandable. It is quite another thing to react to the risks which Covid posed with the use of a knife."

On the day she died, Ms Calvi had told one of the other tenants that the defendant was "constantly in a bad mood", jurors heard.

Later that afternoon, another tenant heard shouting and opened her bedroom door to see Mr Daza being repeatedly stabbed in the stomach.

The defendant was holding him around the neck, the court heard, as Ms Calvi screamed "Daniel, no, Daniel. Daniel, I'm going to call the police".

When the witness tried to leave her room after the attack, Garcia, who was wearing white cleaning gloves, told her to lock herself inside.

Six 999 calls were made on Garcia's phone before police arrived, the court heard, and his hands were bleeding when he opened the door.

Mr Little said: "What was found at the property can only be properly described as a bloodbath."

Mr Daza was found in a pool of blood in the hallway and Ms Calvi was lying face down in the kitchen with a knife clenched in her hand.

The murder weapon was found in Garcia's bedroom, as well as a whiteboard with writing in French and Spanish referring to the Covid crisis in red.

Garcia admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming he was hearing voices at the time of the killings.

Jurors deliberated for just 45 minutes to find him guilty of two counts of murder. Judge Mark Lucraft QC adjourned sentencing to a date to be fixed.

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]