A murderer who killed two women in what are believed to be sexually motivated attacks has been jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 40 years.

Kasim Lewis, 32, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday (July 15) to stabbing Catherine Burke after gaining entry to her home in Hill Road, Muswell Hill on the night of November 15, 2017. Ms Burke was 55 at the time she died.

Lewis is currently serving a 29 year minimum tariff for the murder of another woman, Iuliana Tudos - a bar worker who was 22.

He killed Ms Tudos six weeks after killing Ms Burke.

He pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Tudos and was sentenced in May last year. Both sentences will run concurrently.

Lewis will not be eligible for parole until he is 72 years old.

November 2017

Police were called to Ms Burke's home at 7.03pm on November 16, 2017 after friends and neighbours raised concerns for her welfare.

She lived alone, but had many friends in the area. She walked her dog every day with one of her friends in a nearby park.

On the afternoon of November 16, friends and neighbours calling her by phone and then banged on her door, but received no response. Ms Burke's dog had also been heard crying by another neighbour.

Enfield Independent:

Catherine Burke died at the age of 55. Photo: SWNS

After one of her friends climbed a ladder to look through the front window and ascertained Ms Burke's bed did not appear to have been slept in, they called police.

Ms Burke's naked body was found with several stab wounds inside the property in a back bedroom. Lewis had attempted to conceal his actions by piling clothes on top of her.

A post-mortem examination held on November 18, gave cause of death as stab injuries.

Less than six weeks later, on Christmas Eve, Lewis murdered Ms Tudos in north London after forcing the barmaid into a disused shed in a park in Haringey when she was on her way home.

She was also stabbed several times and had been left naked with clothing placed on top of her.

Enfield Independent:

Iuliana Tudos was also killed by Kasim Lewis. Photo: SWNS

Sexually motivated attacks

Lewis was arrested on January 1, 2018 on suspicion of Ms Burke's murder, having been arrested earlier that same day on suspicion of killing Ms Tudos. The next day, he was charged with the murder of Ms Tudos.

In May 2018, officers searched a property belonging to a former friend of Lewis, where Lewis had originally been arrested back in January.

They found a mobile phone belonging to Ms Burke and a Kindle belonging to her university student son.

A pair of trousers also recovered from Lewis' home also confirmed forensic link to Ms Burke.

Although there was never a proven sexual assault, detectives believe both crimes were sexually motivated due to the nature of the injuries and aspects of the crime scenes.

'My life was completely uprooted,' son says

A victim impact statement from Niall Galbally, 22, son of Catherine Burke read: "When someone reminisces to a poignant day in their life, the narrative usually follows a positive route. For me, Niall Galbally, my story is one of polar opposite.

"The 16th November 2017, was the day my life was completely uprooted, my world came crashing down before me.

"In the midst of my second year at university, I received a phone call from a then neighbour to say that police and ambulance services have been outside your house for some time.

"I will never forget the chilling words that followed, 'Niall, I don’t know how to tell you this, but they believe your mum has been found dead.' Being 70 odd miles away in Brighton, feelings of intense despair and misery consumed me.

"Feelings that would increase in an unquantifiable amount the next morning when the police informed me and my family, that my mother's death is now being treated as a murder investigation.

Enfield Independent:

Cathy Burke was well-loved. Photo: SWNS

“Growing up in London, I had unfortunately become accustomed to hearing about murders on a far too regular basis. Never, ever, did I expect that a murder would land at my own front door. Nothing, and I mean nothing, prepares you for that.

"There are simply no amount of words that can describe the sheer devastation this has caused me and my family. My life hasn’t been the same since, and my life will never be the same again.

"A wicked and senseless act, that has caused an untold amount of pain. It took my mum some time to accept the fact that I was becoming a man, but she finally had. Our relationship as mother and son was blossoming. We had so much left to do together.

“The actions of this man, robbed that from me, from us, and it’s something that I will never get back. A massive hole resides in my heart for the loss of my mother, no amount of justice will mend that, but I take great comfort in the fact that the man responsible for such brutality has been caught. This is the closing of a horrible chapter in my life, but the opening of a new one, when I can leave this nightmare behind me."