London man jailed for suffocating girlfriend after argument

LONDON MAN JAILED FOR SUFFOCATING GIRLFRIEND AFTER ARGUMENT

A 29-year-old man from Portugal, Rui Borges, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, Maria Coelho.

The crime occurred after a severe argument, during which Borges suffocated her by forcing a shirt into her mouth.

He was ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years before being eligible for parole.

Although Borges initially admitted to manslaughter, he claimed that Ms.

Coelho had provoked him by mocking his difficult childhood.

The court was told that Borges waited approximately thirty minutes before contacting emergency services, later explaining to police, "We had a massive argument.

I lost the plot and I just attacked her." Ms.

Coelho, 37, was found in her bedroom in Stepney, east London, with blood on her face.

The autopsy revealed she had been physically assaulted, overpowered, and suffocated after a shirt was forced into her mouth.

Prosecutors argued that Borges deliberately restrained her and carried out a calculated, sustained attack.

Borges later stated that on the day of the murder, Ms.

Coelho referenced his troubled upbringing and abandonment by his mother, which distressed him.

The couple's relationship was described as volatile, with Borges having been convicted three times previously for assaulting her.

The judge characterized the murder as a deliberate, painful, and premeditated act, highlighting Borges’s delay in summoning emergency services after the incident.