Couple admit to killing and dismembering Sarah Mayhew

A woman has admitted murdering a woman whose body parts were found at various locations in south and south-west London.

Sarah Mayhew, 38, was last seen in Sutton on the evening of March 8. Some of her remains were found at Rodown Field in Croydon in April and others were discovered in the River Wandle, Mitcham, in May.

Gemma Watts, 49, from Croydon, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to murder and perverting the course of justice.

Her partner Stephen Sansom, 45, from Sutton, south west London, previously admitted the same offences.

The couple will be sentenced in January at the Old Bailey, although the date is yet to be confirmed.

Judge Mark Lucraft K.S. stated that the only sentence that could be imposed on each defendant was life imprisonment.

Details of the charges included that Watts murdered Sarah Mayhew sometime between March 7 and April 3, 2024, and that during that same period she perverted the course of justice by dismembering her body, dumping it in various locations, and then cleaning up the crime scene .

“Further consideration of the offense”

At the hearing, Watts denied three more counts of making indecent images of children, which will be kept on file.

Sansom was previously convicted in 1999, when he was a teenager, of murdering a taxi driver.

Convicted murderers spend the rest of their lives on license if they are released from prison and must comply with certain conditions, including being supervised by probation officers.

An investigation is usually carried out if another serious offense has been committed while on license or probation.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that further investigation into the serious offense is currently underway.

It has not yet been confirmed whether any disciplinary action has been taken against any of the probation officers.

At an earlier hearing, Sansom also denied three counts of making indecent images of children and the prosecution said those charges would remain on file.

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• HM Courts and Tribunals Service