Rapist, 21, who attempted to murder his victim is jailed for life

A 21-year-old man, found hiding up a fire escape after he snatched a woman and carried her off in full view of a CCTV camera, was starting a life sentence after admitting raping her twice and trying to kill her.

Aaron Murphy admitted two counts of rape and one charge of attempted murder when he appeared before a judge and was immediately sent to jail.

His victim 49-year-old victim, believed to be a total stranger, had been approached by Murphy who tried to touch her and then grabbed her and carried her out of the porchway to a lock of flats and out of sight of the camera.

Aaron Murphy, 21, pictured, approached a woman outside a block of flats in Harrow, north west London, before dragging her away and raping her

Murphy raped the woman twice and attempted to murder her during the attack in May

At the time of the attack, Murphy, who was privately educated in Jamaica, was on bail for the sexual assault of a 51-year-old woman. 

He also sexually assaulted a school girl when he was aged 14.  

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said today’A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he raped and attempted to murder a woman in Harrow.

‘Aaron Murphy, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday afternoon.

‘He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one count of attempted murder at the Central Criminal Court following the attack in May.

‘Police were called at 02:54hrs to Havelock Place, Harrow on Thursday, May 21 to a report of a disturbance. Officers responded within six minutes and found a woman visibly distressed and suffering serious injuries. She reported that she had just been raped and beaten by a stranger in the road. A London Ambulance Service crew also attended and the victim was taken to hospital.

‘During crime scene inquiries the next day, members of the public alerted officers at the scene to a man acting suspiciously. Officers conducted immediate searches for the suspect and found Murphy hiding up a fire escape on a nearby block of flats. He was arrested on suspicion of rape and taken into police custody.

Aaron Murphy, pictured, was jailed for life after he admitted raping a woman twice and attempting to murder her during an attack in Harrow, north west London in May

‘During his police interview, Murphy admitted that he intended to kill the victim after he had raped her twice, violently beating her up. It was only the sound of the police sirens that made him stop and run away.

‘CCTV nearby showed Murphy running up behind the victim and approaching her.. He then grabbed and dragged her away into a service road to an underground car park. The victim sustained a fractured cheek bone, two swollen and bruised eyes, purple bruising all over face and neck and scraped knees.

‘He was charged with attempted murder and two counts of rape on May 22. He was deemed to be a dangerous offender and was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of nine years. He will also be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.’

Detective Sergeant Michael Daly, the officer in the case, said: ‘Murphy is clearly a very dangerous individual and prison is the only place for him. When describing to officers his sick behaviour, he was callous and uncaring, unbothered by the devastation and ordeal he has just caused.

‘The judge recognised the dangerousness of Murphy by sentencing him to life imprisonment and commented that no other sentence would adequately protect the public.

‘I commend the members of the public who helped us quickly identify and locate the suspect and the investigation team for their excellent work, which has also been recognised by the judge.

‘Although the victim is still recovering from her physical injuries, she will have to live the rest of her life with the trauma of what happened that night. Despite this, she has been extremely brave throughout the investigation and I hope that knowing he is behind bars will give her some comfort.’ 

Judge Sarah Munro QC, sentencing, said Murphy had ‘clearly enjoyed reliving’ what he had done through viewing CCTV footage of the attack in court.

The judge said: ‘You made it clear to me you did not want any representation. I strongly advised you that you should have representation. Today I repeated that advice.

‘I offered you one last chance and you were adamant that you did not want it. I should add that your father and aunt wanted to attend to support you. Ms Campbell has addressed me about some background in this case.

‘Ms Smullen has sought to present this case as fairly to you. I also gave you the opportunity to address me but you declined to do so.

‘[The victim] tried to fob you off. You then kissed her and grabbed her from behind in a bear hug as she tried to get into a block of flats.

‘She said her husband was waiting for her. She gave you a cigarette. She was completely at your mercy.

‘You then sent upon her hitting her savagely around her head, face and neck and grabbing her round the neck in an attempt to choke her.’