Woman stabbed 30 times on "first date"

By Andrew Hough

LONDON (Reuters) - A London fitness instructor went on a first date armed with a carving knife and murdered a Surrey businesswoman by stabbing her more than 30 times, a court heard on Monday.

Kate Beagley, 32, of Walton-on-Thames, was stabbed in the face and neck during her date with Karl Taylor, 27, the Old Bailey was told.

The British Gas sales manager's naked body was found in stinging nettles near Watford, Hertfordshire, almost a week after she was reported missing by her father.

Taylor had told police he had only meant to steal the woman's car after they had argued during their date.

Beagley's corpse was so badly decomposed, because of the hot summer weather, she could only be identified by DNA testing.

Opening the trial on Monday, prosecutor Peter Clarke told the court Taylor, who also works as a football coach, met his alleged victim in the CC Club at the Trocadero in Piccadilly, central London, on May 20 last year.

After dancing they arranged another meeting, with their first date 10 days later in Chiswick, West London.

"Astonishingly we say, Taylor went on that date armed with a carving knife he had taken from a friend's flat," Clarke told the court. "He also had a pair of scissors.