Benjamin Day, a forensic science student from Redditch, changed his plea to guilty on the second day of his trial, in which Rachel Brand KC and Daniel White were prosecuting.
The trial, estimated to last two weeks, was held at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Day, who was 19 at the time of the murder, had a fascination with the TV show ‘Dexter’ in which the main character, a forensic scientist, is a serial killer. On the 20th of December 2025, he rented a room through Airbnb and set it up to copy the show, lining the walls and floors with plastic sheeting. He then contacted sex worker Maria Saceanu, inviting her to the property in the Tividale area, before inflicting multiple stab wounds upon her.
After accidentally cutting himself, Day abandoned the scene and walked some distance before calling 999 for medical help. He was taken to Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley where he was arrested on suspicion of murder in the early hours of the 21st of December, following a call to police from the Airbnb property’s landlord.
Opening the case on Monday, Rachel Brand told the courtroom;
“We say that the evidence shows he planned this murder in some detail. He lured Maria Saceanu to a room that he had rented via Airbnb.”
“He had prepared himself to kill her. He had planned to dispose of her body without leaving signs of what had happened and he planned to get away with it.”
“But it all went wrong and he was caught.”
Day is due to be sentenced on the 4th of December at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Rachel Brand KC and Daniel White were instructed by CPS West Midlands.
The case has attracted national and international news coverage: