Carole Waugh death: Men 'killed woman to steal assets'
Carole Waugh, 50, disappeared from her
home in Marylebone, central London, in
May last year and her remains were
found three months later.
The Old Bailey heard that Rakesh
Bhayani, 41, and Nicholas Kutner, 48,
had killed Miss Waugh in order to feed
their gambling habit.
The pair deny murdering Miss Waugh.
Patrick Gibbs QC, prosecuting, told the
jury that the men "had a taste for grand
and expensive things and were gripped
by the same compulsion to gamble".
Miss Waugh's body was found in the
boot of a car in a garage in New Malden
in August 2012.
Tests showed she had been stabbed in
the neck.
'Identity theft'
Mr Gibbs told the court that "the Crown
cannot say whose hand was on the
weapon".
"But whoever struck the fatal blow, we
say that Mr Bhayani and Mr Kutner
planned it, and were responsible for it,
and having taken her life, they then
systematically took all her worldly goods
as well."
The prosecution claim that the men had
a history of tricking and defrauding
people.
The court heard that once Miss Waugh
was dead, Mr Bhayani got a number of
women to impersonate the oil executive.
He then "rehearsed" the women so they
could strip Miss Waugh of her assets in
shops and banks by using her credit
cards.
After her death, Miss Waugh's identity
was also used to buy gold bullion and
Krugerrands, the jury was told.
