UK teenage girl guilty of murdering pensioner

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) A millionaire's teenage daughter who hatched a blueprint for murder in prison was found guilty at London's Old Bailey today of killing a pensioner.

Kemi Adeyoola was 17 when she stabbed her former neighbour, 85-year-old Anne Mendel, 14 times at her London home.

The court heard how Adeyoola had written down plans for the murder while serving a sentence for shoplifting.

Unemployed Adeyoola, 18, later told police the document was the plot for a thriller she intended to write.

Adeyoola, whose father is a millionaire property consultant, and a 16-year-old girl who cannot be named for legal reasons, were also found guilty of one charge of conspiracy to pervert justice with a false alibi.

''This was a premeditated murder which shows an unusual level of violence in a girl so young,'' said Detective Inspector Steve Morris of the Metropolitan Police.

''Not only did Adeyoola plan and carry out the murder of a defenceless old lady but went to extraordinary lengths to try to conceal her crime with the full compliance of a 16-year-old girl.'' Mendel, described by police as a well-liked member of her community, was found covered in coats in the hallway of her home in Golders Green, north London, in March last year by her husband, Leonard.

''Mrs Mendel was a person whose whole life was taken up with kindness and giving up of herself for others,'' her husband said in a statement. ''The unjust end she met, having so much taken away in such an undeserving manner, left us in total shock.'' Sentencing will take place at a date yet to be announced.

Reuters SHB RN1722