Leon Fyle who strangled prostitute Destiny Lauren in flat is handed life sentence

Published: 30 September, 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

DETECTIVES said last night (Wednesday) they hope a life sentence for the man who murdered a Kentish Town woman in her flat would “ease the pain” for her relatives.

Leon Fyle, 22, was told he will serve at least 21 years in jail for the strangling Destiny Lauren, who worked as a prostitute from her home in Leighton Crescent.

The 29-year-old was a pre-operative transsexual who was born Justin Samuels, and was also a nephew of Guildford Four’s Paul Hill whose wrongful conviction  for a pub bombing was quashed after he served years in prison.

Ms Lauren met Fyle after he responded to a sex website. He denied murder but was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Jurors were told how unemployed Fyle had sex with his victim before strangling her with a pair of tights in November last year. He left the scene with her jewellery, a mobile phone and £350 cash, which he later spent during the same night in a King’s Cross brothel.

Ms Lauren was found by her brother Lyndon Samuels, who told the court he had warned her about the dangers of her work shortly before her death.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Liz Baker said Fyle had “not shown one shred of remorse” during the trial.

“The murder of Destiny Lauren was brutal and premeditated,” she said. “Destiny lived alone in her flat in Kentish Town. She had a troubled history and had suffered depression following the death of her mother but was trying to turn her life around.

She added: “Destiny was well known to many people in the Camden area and was regarded as a character by those who knew her. She was close to her father and two brothers, who she contacted regularly, and she had a love for the finer things in life and appreciated beautiful things. 

“Her life was ended abruptly when she met Leon Fyle. Fyle has not shown one shred of remorse for this callous act nor for the suffering he has inflicted on Destiny’s family and friends. I hope his conviction can go some way to ease their pain.” 

Friends said Ms Lauren was also a well-known face in London’s gay and transgender scene. Jason McNamara, who went on holiday to Texas with her, said: “There isn’t a lot of room in my heart for many people but there was for her. She was likeable, she wasn’t bitchy, she was just natural, just herself.”