Forensics student admits murder of Maria Saceanu in plastic-lined Airbnb room

Admission at trial

A 20-year-old forensic science undergraduate entered a guilty plea to murder on the second day of his trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. Benjamin William Day, who studied at the University of Worcester, admitted killing 24-year-old Maria Saceanu inside a rented residence in the West Midlands. Day had previously indicated he would rely on a self-defence claim, asserting that the plastic-lined setting had been arranged as a tribute to the US television series Dexter for publication on TikTok. Proceedings were delayed for one hour on Tuesday while Day conferred with his legal team in the holding cells. Wearing a dark suit and a maroon patterned tie, Day returned to the dock, where he nodded toward the court clerk and registered his confession.

Preparation of the rented property

Opening the prosecution case on Monday, prosecutor Rachel Brand KC told the jury that the defendant had engaged in extensive planning before the killing on 21 December of the previous year. Day, who was 19 at the time of the offence, travelled roughly 20 miles (32 kilometres) from his residence in Redditch, Worcestershire, to a three-bedroom Airbnb property located on Barncroft Road in Tividale. Day booked the room for £40 and established contact with Saceanu, a Romanian sex worker, through an online platform using a prepaid burner phone. Brand presented evidence that Day spent several hours hanging plastic sheeting to line the room and assembling materials to kill the victim and dispose of physical evidence without leaving traces.

We submit that the evidence shows he planned this crime in detail.

Attack and emergency call

Prosecutors stated that Day launched a knife attack on Saceanu while wearing a khaki top identical to the costume worn by the main character in the television drama. Day inflicted 78 knife wounds on the victim before attempting to dismember her body on the plastic sheets. He abandoned the attempt after sustaining a deep cut to his own hand during the process. Day left the Barncroft Road residence at around 12:30 am, walking through the area with his bleeding hand bound in duct tape. At 12:50 am, he placed a 999 emergency call to request medical assistance, prompting police and ambulance crews to respond to the scene.

Arrest and sentencing timeline

Officers met Day at the junction of Highview Street and Brewery Street in Dudley, where body-worn camera video showed him claiming he had been attacked by a wild dog or a fox. Jurors watched this bodycam footage approximately three hours before Day decided to alter his plea in court on Tuesday. Police arrested Day following his transfer to a local hospital for medical treatment on his severed hand. Following the guilty plea, defence barrister Gurdeep Garcha KC requested an adjournment to enable the preparation of psychiatric assessments and pre-sentence reports prior to final judgment.

He is well aware of the nature and inevitability of the sentence that must follow.

Defence counsel added that such reports would assist the court in evaluating the case given the defendant's young age and absence of prior criminal records. Trial judge Mr Justice Bryan remanded Day in custody until formal sentencing, which is scheduled for 4 December 2026 at Wolverhampton Crown Court.