A man on trial for the murder of a transgender woman claimed that he was date raped before he hacked her to death.

Jesse McDonald, 25, met Naomi Hersi on a swingers website where he asked for ‘edgy, risky sex’.

He told police that he took crystal meth continuously and claimed hearing someone mention scapolanine, an anti-sickness medication, before being ‘bent over and bum raped’ repeatedly.

Naomi Hersi was killed in a hotel room near Heathrow Airport (Picture: Central)

The following day it is alleged that he stabbed her to death with a knife and broken bottle in a hotel room near Heathrow Airport.


After the killing he contacted his girlfriend Natalia Darkowska, and they spent eight hours cleaning the room.

Care home resident, 104, says visiting restrictions make her feel like she's in 'prison'

He claimed self-defence because he had been spiked with GHB, but forensic toxicologist Vincent Cirimele said there was no evidence of the drug.



Other tests indicated that he had used testosterone, cocaine and cannabis.

Mr Cirimele concluded that McDonald’s use of amphetamines, including common chemsex drugs crystal meth and MDMA, was ‘high to medium when compared to other recreational users’ leading him to believe ‘he was a regular and repeated user’ of the drugs.

She was stabbed to death with a knife and a broken bottle, a court heard (Picture: Central)

Prosecutor Mark Heywood QC said McDonald had planned to dispose of the body, but the victim was found half-naked, partly covered by a rug on the small bathroom floor.

‘Each was thinking only of themselves and each other – without a care for the deceased, whom they believed was unlikely, because of her lifestyle, to be missed,’ he said.

Poppy Appeal at risk as vulnerable sellers unable to fundraise due to coronavirus

McDonald denies murder between March 14 and 18, while he and Darkowska both deny perverting the course of justice between March 15 and 18.

The court heard that Ms Hersi, whose legal name was Hersi Mohamed Hersi, was an openly transgender woman, although to her family, who are originally from Somalia, she remained a much-loved son.

McDonald, who grew up in West Sussex, did well in school, but turned to dealing drugs after dropping out of the London School of Economics (LSE), it was said.

Natalia Darkowska, 18, is on trial for assisting and offender after she allegedly arrived at the scene to help clean up (Picture: PA)

He met Ms Hersi, who lived in Mill Hill, north-west London, online before spending four days with her, jurors were told.

Mr Heywood said McDonald was ‘looking for a sexual encounter’ and knew early on that Ms Hersi was a transgender woman, who had not undergone surgery.

Backlash over 'Black Lives Don't Matter' caps sold on Amazon

‘He was looking for something edgy, a little bit risky and possibly prepared to use drugs in the course of the experience,’ he added.

‘They passed time together, took drugs and had sex at her address, to which she had invited him,’ said the prosecutor.

‘After three days of that, he took her back to her address. After a time, he drugged her, fought with her and eventually killed her, stabbing and cutting her multiple times with a broken bottle and knife and perhaps other things in order to achieve her death.

‘When it was done, when she was dead, he tried to clean it up and avoid detection.’

The court heard McDonald contacted Ms Hersi online just 45 minutes after arriving home to the Heathrow Palace Hotel in Hounslow, after returning from visiting his girlfriend on the night of March 12.

He drove his BMW to her home, where he arrived after midnight, and stayed voluntarily for three days, the prosecutor said.



On Thursday March 15 he and Ms Hersi went to his small hotel room.

Throughout the period, McDonald is said to have ignored his girlfriend’s increasingly frequent attempts to get in touch with him.

But on Friday March 16 he sent her a message which said: ‘Baby I been a f****** idiot.’

Another read: ‘I love u so much. Not cheated x. Got addicted to a nasty drug I had never met before.’

He then told her he had ‘got a big drug dealer’ lying across his floor, adding ‘won’t wake up… massive black guy’.

The trial continues.

Got a story for Metro.co.uk? If you have a story for our news team, email us at webnews@metro.co.uk. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.