Jessop Court killing: Arben Rexha jailed for stabbing fiancée Elidona Demiraj to death

A police officer was today stationed outside the flat on the top floor of Jessop Court, off Graham Street in Islington (Image: Archant)

Arben Rexha, 33, waited with his arms outstretched ready to be handcuffed after stabbing Elidona Demiraj to death in his Jessop Court flat in January 2016.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter by means of diminished responsibility at the Old Bailey in September. His sentencing was delayed for a psychiatric assessment and took place on Friday.

Police, who were called to the Graham Street block at 11.50pm, found Elidona with multiple stab wounds to the throat and tried to save her life but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

She had only been in the UK for three months before she was killed, coming from Albania to live with Rexha in Islington. The court heard how neighbours and friends had heard arguments between the pair escalate in the weeks prior to the attack.

Floral tributes at Jessop Court in Graham Street. (Image: Archant)

Next-door-neighbour Tracy Baxter told the Gazette the day after the stabbing: “She was locked out of the flat only on Saturday afternoon. We invited her in to ours for a coffee.

“Last night, at about 10.30pm, we could hear her screaming, a few things being thrown and the next minute - silence.

“I’m just shocked.”

Rexha admitted killing Elidona when questioned and repeatedly banged his head on the table at the end of the interview. He accepted that he did not act in self-defence but claimed to have been suffering from mental health issues in the days leading up to the fatal attack.

Det Insp Paul Considine who led the investigation said: “This was a senseless death of a defenceless young woman who had her whole life in front of her; she had only recently arrived in the UK seeking a better life.

“Our thoughts are with her family and friends who have had to deal with this terrible loss.”