Amputation-obsessed failed Iraqi asylum seeker is jailed for 20 years 


Pictured: Azam Mangori, who was today jailed for life over the murder of Lorraine Cox

Pictured: Azam Mangori, who was today jailed for life over the murder of Lorraine Cox

A failed Iraqi asylum seeker who had sex with a woman before killing her and chopping her body into seven pieces has today been jailed.  

Azam Mangori targeted Lorraine Cox, 32, as she walked home from a night out and took her back to his flat in Exeter, Devon.

Mangori killed Ms Cox, and attempted to cover up his crimes and dispose of her body by cutting her body into seven pieces and dumping them in woodland.  

He was today jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 20 years before he will be considered for parole.

The victim’s partner Elsie Farrow told the court how she and Ms Cox were planning on having a child together ahead of the tragedy. 

She told Exeter Crown Court: ‘I am not the person I was seven months ago. That person died. I suffer nightmares at the moment.

‘The only stage I have not experienced yet is acceptance. I do not envisage that day will come any time soon.’

Ms Farrow, 28, added: ‘The murder of Lorraine is something I will never recover from. The thought of her as a missing person for seven days only prolonged the agony.

‘While we thought she was missing but still alive we had hope. On September 9 all hope was lost.

‘I have had to see images I can never erase and hear audio that will always be in my mind. Everything has changed for our small family.

Mangori targeted Lorraine Cox (above), 32, as she walked home from a night out and took her back to his flat in Exeter, Devon

Mangori targeted Lorraine Cox (above), 32, as she walked home from a night out and took her back to his flat in Exeter, Devon

The victim's partner Elsie Farrow told the court how she and Ms Cox were planning on having a child together ahead of the tragedy. Pictured: Mangori and Ms Cox in Exeter

The victim’s partner Elsie Farrow told the court how she and Ms Cox were planning on having a child together ahead of the tragedy. Pictured: Mangori and Ms Cox in Exeter

‘Every day I think about things that will never happen again. We will never be able to hold hands and go exploring in our local country park.

‘We planned to have children together with Lorraine carrying our child.

‘I will never see her smile or hear her infectious laugh.’

Ms Farrow told the court she wanted to remember the ‘happy, smiling, beautiful woman that she fell in love with.’

But she added: ‘Nothing will ever bring me back from the brink of despair that I feel every day.

‘My heart is broken, never to be repaired. Although I am still breathing, I am not living. Everything seems dark and nothing can stop the pain I feel each day.’

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Garnham said Mangori had suffocated Miss Cox with a T-shirt she had been wearing, which was later found in her mouth.

The court heard the defendant attempted to cover up his crimes by putting the victim’s sim card in his phone and posting on social media to convince loved ones she was alive.  

‘Rather than reporting her death to anyone, you kept her decomposing body in your bedroom for the next eight days,’ the judge said.

‘You purchased the necessary equipment from nearby shops and then set about cutting up her body with a view to disposing of it.

CCTV footage of Azam Mangori, who has been convicted of the murder of Lorraine Cox

CCTV footage of Azam Mangori, who has been convicted of the murder of Lorraine Cox

Mangori today jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 20 years

Mangori today jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 20 years

‘You disarticulated her arms at the shoulder, her upper legs from her pelvis, and her lower legs from the knees.

‘With the exception of her left lower leg and her kneecaps, you wrapped all her limbs in black plastic bin liners and dumped them unceremoniously in the waste bins behind the restaurant in anticipation of them being removed by council refuse collectors.

‘Her lower left leg and kneecaps have never been recovered.

‘Then on September 8, you placed her torso and head in a large plastic holdall and took it by taxi to Tinpit Hill on the outskirts of the city where you buried it beneath bracken and branches.’

He added: ‘Exactly what happened will never be known but something happened in your bedroom which caused you to decide to kill Lorraine Cox.’ 

The judge said parts of her body were dumped ‘unceremoniously’ in black bin liners in waste binds while other parts put in a large holdall and taken to the ‘outskirts of the city where they were buried beneath branches.’ 

The court heard Lorraine was last seen in September last year while walking home from a night out

The court heard Lorraine was last seen in September last year while walking home from a night out

‘You ended the life of a bright, vivacious and intelligent young woman who had her whole life ahead of her,’ the judge said.

‘Your cowardice in failing to report her death only served to compound the loss and hurt.’

The court heard Lorraine was last seen in September last year while walking home from a night out.

Her family did not know her whereabouts for about a week before he was arrested by detectives.

The trial heard Mangori had a ‘morbid interest in amputation’ and days before and after the murder had looked at images relating to the subject.

He also looked at videos of people with amputations, deformities, and a woman’s leg with cramp. After the murder he bought items to dispose of her body, including a trowel, after viewing a website entitled: ‘How to dig a grave by hand.’

He left her body in his room for several days before wrapping her in clingfilm, bin liners and tape, claiming that she died suddenly after sex in his bedroom after drinking and taking drugs.

Mangori was convicted of murder and had previously admitted a separate charge of preventing Ms Cox’s lawful burial.

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