Desmond Sylva given life term for stabbing girlfriend Simonne Kerr in fit of anger

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

An Iraq war veteran has been jailed for life for murdering a Britain’s Got Talent finalist by stabbing her more than 70 times in a violent rage.

Desmond Sylva, 41, killed his on-off girlfriend Simonne Kerr, 31, at his flat in Clapham, south London, on 15 August last year.

The former soldier, who served in Iraq and Kosovo, had admitted manslaughter but denied murder, citing depression. He was found guilty of murder on 19 June.

Sentencing Sylva to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, with a minimum term of 21 years, Judge Wendy Joseph QC said: “You will never be released unless and until the Parole Board permits it. The board will not permit it until you are no longer a danger to the public.”

Joseph told Sylva: “What you have done and the grief it has caused, and will continue to cause far into the future, is immeasurable. Simonne was simply a lovely person much loved by her family.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Simonne Kerr with her son, who died in 2015 of sickle cell disease. Photograph: NHS Press Office/PA

The judge added: “Simonne was in your home undressed and in your bed and was about as vulnerable as a person can be … You killed Simonne Kerr because you are a man of violent disposition prone to outbursts of violent temper.”

During the trial, prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC told jurors it was an all too familiar case of “sexual desire, appalling violence and desperate lies”.

He said: “He wanted to restart a sexual relationship with Simonne Kerr. When he did not get what he wanted, he could not control his anger and he exploded.”

The judge said on Wednesday that messages Sylva sent to Kerr were “sexually charged”. Kerr, whose six-year-old son Kavele died of sickle cell disease in 2015, shot to fame in the NHS choir B Positive on the ITV show Britain’s Got Talent.

She met Sylva through the dating app Tinder and arranged to visit his flat after finishing her shift at Guy’s and St Thomas’s hospital on the morning of 15 August.

Sylva attacked her in bed with a 20cm kitchen knife, slashing her throat and repeatedly stabbing her face and neck. Afterwards, he called 999 and said: “I’ve just committed a murder. I’m ex-army and I’ve got lots of mental health issues.”

The veteran had a history of depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder – but also had problems controlling his temper, jurors heard.

Before he joined the army, Jamaican-born Sylva had cut his neck while working in a bakery. The divorced father-of-one served 10 years in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers before being discharged on medical grounds.

In 2010, Sylva tried to strangle his mother, Patricia King, telling her repeatedly: “You’re dead,” jurors heard. King reported the assault to police but later withdrew the complaint.

On 9 August last year, Sylva was admitted to hospital after taking an overdose.

The day before the killing, the security guard told his brother Damian he feared he would kill himself or someone else.

A statement from Kerr’s mother, Amoy Johnson, was read out before the judge passed sentence.

She described her daughter as a “beautiful butterfly” who was a “great mother to her son” and “loved people”. She also said Kerr was “a kind-hearted, loving child who was full of life and laughter. A shining light.”

Kerr worked hard and was successful in her studies, Johnson said. “Her sisters were her biggest cheerleaders. They are crushed, traumatised and forever left with the pain.”

Johnson said: “It is not easy for me to see such a shining light, a soul with so much treasure viciously snuffed out for no reason.

“My daughter’s death has left us with unbearable sadness and unimaginable grief. She was callously murdered by a vindictive and manipulative man.”