‘I want that scumbag to suffer every year of his life’: Cousin of woman murdered by Dexter-obsessed student says she was ‘one in a million’ who dreamed of becoming a mother – and hopes her killer is ‘haunted by regret’
Maria Saceanu, a 24-year-old woman from Romania, was murdered by Benjamin Day, a 20-year-old forensic science student obsessed with the TV series Dexter. Day contacted her through an escort website and she arrived at a three-bedroom Airbnb in the West Midlands on 20 December 2025, where he killed her in a room he had prepared with plastic sheeting as a "tribute" to the drama series. Day pleaded guilty to murder this week and will be sentenced in December, with her cousin describing her as "one in a million" who dreamed of becoming a mother.
A pathologist determined Saceanu died from wounds to her neck, with injuries to her hands consistent with efforts to protect herself, and there was no evidence of sexual contact, suggesting she was killed within minutes of arrival. Day injured himself whilst attempting to dismember her body and was subsequently arrested. Saceanu had lost her mother in 2023 and was remembered as someone who "used to put herself second for the good of others," with her cousin expressing hope that Day would experience lifelong regret for the crime.
- Dexter-obsessed student pleaded guilty to murdering woman he met via escort website.
- Victim dreamed of motherhood after losing her mother in 2023.
- Her family hopes the killer experiences lifelong regret in prison.
New here? Start with this
Maria Saceanu was a 24-year-old woman from Romania who was killed in the West Midlands on 20 December 2025. She had made contact with someone through an escort website and travelled to an Airbnb, where she died from wounds to her neck.
Benjamin Day, a 20-year-old forensic science student, killed Saceanu in a room he had prepared with plastic sheeting as a deliberate recreation of scenes from the American television series Dexter, which follows a fictional serial killer. The killing was premeditated, with injuries suggesting she attempted to defend herself before she died.
The case has drawn attention because of how the crime was executed: a real-world killing directly modelled on scenes from a television drama. Saceanu was described by her family as a caring person who had hoped to become a mother.