The cousin of Maria Saceanu, who was murdered by Dexter-obsessed student Benjamin Day, has described the 24-year-old as “one in a million” and said she dreamed of becoming a mother.
Day, 20, pleaded guilty to murdering Miss Saceanu at an Airbnb in Tividale, West Midlands, after initially claiming she had attacked him. He will be sentenced in December.
Miss Saceanu was lured to the property on 20 December last year after Day contacted her through a website using a burner phone. She arrived at the £40-a-night accommodation about 50 minutes later and was probably killed shortly afterwards.
The court heard Day had covered the bedroom floor, walls and bed with plastic sheeting as part of what he described as a tribute to the US television drama Dexter, which follows forensic technician Dexter Morgan as he leads a double life as a vigilante serial killer.
Miss Saceanu was stabbed 78 times and was found lying beside the bed. A Home Office pathologist said she probably died from wounds to her neck, while injuries to her hands were consistent with attempts to protect herself.
Her cousin, who did not want to be named, said she last heard from Miss Saceanu at about 8pm on the night of the killing but did not answer because she was feeling sick during her pregnancy. Miss Saceanu “disappeared” at around 10pm and was never heard from again.
“I truly regret that I didn’t answer her last call. I wish she was here to meet my baby. I wish I could turn back time to save her life,” her cousin said.
She described Miss Saceanu, who was born in Alexandria in Teleorman, Romania, as being like a sister. The 24-year-old had lived in London before moving to Tividale.
Miss Saceanu was an only child and lost her mother in 2023. Her cousin said the pair had been extremely close and that she had “never fully recovered”, but still dreamed of having children and a family of her own.
“She wanted to live, to have a family, to become a mother, she was a one in a million girl,” she said.
She added: “She loved us all, and we all loved her too.”
Her cousin said she had not attended Miss Saceanu’s funeral and did not feel able to visit her grave. “I still refuse to believe this is all true,” she said.
Day, who was 19 at the time and living with his parents, had placed Miss Saceanu’s possessions in a black bin bag. He injured his hand while attempting to dismember her body and abandoned the effort.
He then left the property, disposed of the burner phone and flagged down a police car, telling officers he had been injured by a dog. At 1.05am, he texted the Airbnb landlord asking to extend his stay for a week, but another guest spotted a trail of blood and alerted the landlord.
Police found Miss Saceanu’s body at the property and arrested Day on suspicion of murder at 3.42am while he was in a hospital bed.
Day had claimed he was trying to film a tribute to Dexter for TikTok and that Miss Saceanu attacked him after seeing the room. He said he had stabbed her once or twice while attempting to defend himself, but the prosecution evidence led him to accept responsibility on the second day of his trial.
Jonathan Roe, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Day had tried to blame Miss Saceanu for her own death, but forensic and pathology evidence had exposed his account as false.
“Her life was cut short to feed Day’s warped fantasy, and nothing can undo that loss,” he said.
Miss Saceanu’s cousin said she wanted Day to live with remorse. “All I want is for that despicable person to live 102 years and for him to suffer every year of his life, may he be haunted by regret, may he end up begging her for forgiveness, driven mad by regret,” she said.
