This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

An 89-year-old woman was raped and murdered in her bed by a 23-year-old man looking for money, a court has heard.

Reece Dempster attacked Dorothy Woolmer overnight on 3 and 4 August last year, inflicting severe injuries to her head and groin area after breaking into her home in Tottenham, north London, his trial at the Old Bailey was told.

Dempster spent about seven hours in the property after entering through a back door at night and arming himself with a truncheon he found in her downstairs cupboard while looking for cash, jurors heard.

He fled the scene the following morning, just before 6am, and went to his father’s house nearby. He then left the property with his father nine minutes later, wearing a change of clothes, the court heard.

Woolmer, whose husband, Ken, died in 2017, was 4ft 11in tall and weighed less than eight stone, jurors were told.

The court heard how Dempster made several journeys on foot in the area in the hours after the alleged murder, including coming metres away from the crime scene.

Woolmer’s body was discovered later that morning, semi-naked, in her bed by her sister and a close friend who were concerned when she failed to answer the door or telephone.

Anthony Orchard QC, prosecuting, said: “It is the prosecution case that Reece Dempster went to Dorothy Woolmer’s address looking for money. You will hear he had been there once before to do some gardening.

“He had ‘cased the premises’. He knew a vulnerable elderly lady lived there. CCTV evidence that evening indicates he may have been drinking, but he clearly knew what he was doing.”

Orchard said Dempster probably broke in through the back door some time after 10.47pm. “He was a trespasser,” he said.

“He looked for money downstairs. He moved upstairs and found Dorothy Woolmer alone in her bed. He attacked her, battering her about the head numerous times, probably because he wanted to know where the money was kept, before sexually assaulting her.”

The court heard Dempster was seen on CCTV to vomit at least three times upon leaving the property.

Dempster, of Tottenham, admits manslaughter but denies murder, one count of rape and two counts of assault by penetration.

The trial judge, Mr Justice Edis, told jurors the case would involve “some very sad and some very disturbing evidence”.

He said: “You will have a strong emotional reaction to what happened in this case – that is just inevitable. You will have to make an effort sometimes just to stand back from the horror.”

The trial is expected to last for up to three weeks.