Gogoa Tape, 29, of Marsworth House, Haggerston, appeared at Inner London Crown Court on Monday, September 1, where he was given a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act, with an additional restriction under Section 41.
This means he could be detained indefinitely.
He was sentenced in relation to the death of 25-year-old Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche, who was discovered in Talavera Place, near Whiston Road, on the morning of April 6, 2024.
Police forced entry to her car after she was found unresponsive, but despite efforts to resuscitate her she was pronounced dead shortly after 7.15am.
Detective Inspector Aytac Necati, from the Specialist Crime North team, said:
“This is a tragic incident and our thoughts remain with Kennedi’s family and friends as they continue to process what happened.
“This young woman’s life was cruelly cut short.”
Detectives established that Tape had travelled by public transport to meet Kennedi in Bruce Grove the night before, and CCTV showed him getting in and out of her car before lunging into it for several minutes.
The court heard that Kennedi was killed at around 11.25pm on April 5. Despite having access to phones, Tape did not call for help.
Instead, he later confessed to his brother that he had killed Kennedi. His brother discovered her body and called police at 6.42am the next morning.
Tape was arrested at the scene and a kitchen knife was found inside the car. He was charged with murder on April 7.
A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as compression of the neck.
Kennedi had also suffered blunt force injuries to her face.
Tape later admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and possession of a knife.
Psychiatric assessments concluded he was suffering from schizophrenia and experiencing paranoid delusions at the time of the killing.
