Kasim Lewis has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years at the Old Bailey
A sadistic predator who murdered a barmaid in a park as she made her way home at Christmas has been jailed for 29 years.
‘Wicked’ Kasim Lewis, 31, today pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to murdering 22-year-old Iuliana Tudos in Finsbury Park, north London.
Ms Tudos, known as Julie, was accosted in the park as she walked home last Christmas Eve.
Her naked body was found in a derelict hut in the park near her home three days later.
The victim, of Russian and Greek origin, had been slashed with a broken bottle in the neck, abdomen and wrists and police found a wound in her chest that they said resembled the Batman logo.
Officers also found clips on the killer’s phone of a woman being tied, the Old Bailey heard today.
Ms Tudos’ body was found naked and slashed after she was assaulted with a broken bottle on her way home from work
Lewis (right) murdered Ms Tudos (left) as she walked home at Christmas and dumped her naked body in a derelict hut
Members of Ms Tudos’ family attended the hearing in front of Judge Richard Marks QC.
Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said it was a sustained and brutal attack.
Ms Tudos (pictured) was attacked by the convicted sex offender and her body dumped in a hut
He said: ‘Iuliana was struck over the head most likely with a bottle, she was also stabbed with a broken bottle in the neck, on her abdomen and on her wrists with a broken bottle.
‘Although there is no evidence that Iuliana was actually sexually assaulted, the prosecution allege that this was a sexually motivated and sadistic attack.’
During the attack, Lewis extracted her PIN number and later withdrew cash from her account.
The barmaid’s family today described her murder as ‘repelling and inhuman’.
Her stepfather Costa Vasiliou, who travelled from his home in Cyrpus, paid emotional tribute to the 22-year-old at the Old Bailey.
He said: ‘She was murdered in the most repelling and inhuman way, a disgrace to the human race.
‘As parents we have lost our beloved daughter. This youngster was full of energy. She was loved and treasured by all her family and relatives.
‘She studied hard and worked hard. She was a shining example to many other young people.
‘As parents our dream was for Iuliana to come back to Cyprus. She was murdered. All her dreams have been lost. This gives us great sadness.’
Lewis attacked Iuliana in Finsbury Park and left her naked body in a burnt-out shed next to a cricket pavilion. CCTV footage was retrieved of Kasim Lewis using Iulianaís bank card and her PIN later that day at a cash machine
Lewis, who was born in Monserrat and lived in north London, had previously been jailed for an earlier sex attack.
In September 2005, he was handed two years for sexual assault and exposure on a bus and placed on the sex offenders register.
In 2011, he received a further eight months in jail for failing to comply with the sex offender notification requirements and a community order.
The court heard Lewis was bisexual and had been in an ‘on-off’ relationship with a man who told police Lewis used to go to Finsbury Park for “casual sexual encounters with other men’.
They had a row on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and Lewis stormed out of his home, leaving his wallet in a pair of trousers.
Meanwhile, Ms Tudos worked a 10am to 5pm shift at the World’s End pub, before visiting a nearby drinking hole with friends.
A forensics tent is pictured in Finsbury Park, North London, where the bar worker’s body was found naked and slashed
She left after two hours, where she had a pint and a half of Guinness, and popped home to pick up her things before going to her friends’ house where she would spend Christmas Day.
Ms Tudor caught a bus from Camden to Manor House, and was seen heading towards the park at about 8.30pm.
Mr Aylett said: ‘Iuliana was never to make it out of the park.’
The court heard Ms Tudos was born in Moldova and worked in the World’s End pub in Camden High Street.
After she failed to arrive at the home of her friends that evening, Judit Laszlo and her partner Pepa Shumareva, they started searching on Boxing Day.
On December 27 a group of her friends searched the park, and inside a burnt-out shed found her naked body.
Tributes were left at the scene in North London after the popular barmaid, who worked in Camden, was murdered
She was on her back with a jacket laid on top of her, with cuts to both wrists deep enough to have exposed the bone.
There were incisions and puncture wounds to the chest deep enough to reveal the chest cavity, and denim material wrapped around her neck which had a ‘horrific injury’.
Mr Aylett said: ‘After the paramedics had confirmed that Iuliana was dead, a police officer went back inside the shed.
‘He has described the incised injury to the centre of Iuliana’s chest as looking like either the logo for the character “Batman” or else the letter “M”.
‘A number of white cable ties, some of which appeared to have been connected before being cut, were also found alongside Iuliana’s body.’
After Lewis was arrested on New Year’s Day, police seized his mobile phone.
Forensics workers are pictured at the time of the investigation, after the victim’s body was found bound with cable ties
It had been used to access a pornographic film called ‘Step Sisters Caught’ on October 19 last year.
Among the trailers for other films was one called ‘Bad Teens Punished’, featuring a young woman chased into an alleyway by a man shouting ‘she ain’t getting away again’.
The woman pleaded ‘please don’t hurt me, I’ll do anything’, to which the man replied ‘they all say that’, and tying white cable ties around her wrist, the court heard.
The phone also had an image of a woman with her throat cut, the prosecutor said.
Lewis has a number of previous convictions stretching back to the age of 15.
Mr Aylett said the victim was ‘well-known and much liked’ and was described as a selfless and helpful person.
She had finished her shift at the pub and was planning to spend Christmas with friends after going home to collect her things.
She was picked up on CCTV at 8.33pm heading towards the entrance of Finsbury Park.
When she failed to turn up, her friends posted messages on social media, contacted the pub, hospitals and distributed fliers.
The victim (pictured) was stabbed and slashed with a broken bottle as she made her way home from work
A group of friends searched Finsbury Park and found the body in a burnt out shed, the court heard.
Paramedics described a wound to her chest as looking like the logo for Batman or the letter M. She had been bound with cable ties, the court heard.
Jeremy Dein QC, defending, said Lewis had instructed his legal team to ‘express remorse’ on his behalf.
He added: ‘His mind was bedevilled by a concoction of drink and drugs. He was in a low mood. He was several prone to depression and vulnerable to committing acts of robbery in order to finance a drugs habit.’
His thought processes were ‘devastated’ by the consumption of drugs, he added.
At the time of her death, Ms Tudos’ friends paid tribute to her. One said: ‘She was working and studying and never got herself in trouble.
‘When she went missing I asked her friends if that ever happened to her before and they told me that she had never disappeared before and would never turn off her phone.
Ms Tudos (pictured) was described as a selfless person
‘From what I hear, she was just following her usual route from her workplace back home. She took that route many times.’
Floral tributes were left at the site where her body was found in North London.
Her family, who are from Moldova and Cyprus, flew to London, following her murder.
Her mother, Elina Vasiliu, said she ‘didn’t have any enemies’.
She said: ‘She was very friendly and didn’t have any enemies. I’ve never heard that she got into an argument with anyone, or made any enemies.
‘I didn’t hear that someone was threatening here either. She was a very nice and likeable person.’
Today in a victim impact statement, Ms Tudos’ friend Agnieszka Jackman said: ‘She was a friend to so many and a part of so many people’s lives. She had an eternal love for music.
‘We knew something was wrong. She would never cancel plans without letting someone know, especially on Christmas Eve.
‘Here, we are the only family in the UK she had. A piece of our lives died with Julie that night. Every single one of our lives has changed for the worst.
‘I worry about being out on my own at night. The pain I feel makes me feel self-destructive, I want to know why. Why did he do this to my beautiful friend?
‘It’s unimaginable what she went through that night. The fear and the idea that she was scared and felt pain, it haunts us all.
‘We just hope she didn’t suffer. He has taken one life and destroyed many others.
‘I wish I could turn back the clock. Dear Julie, we love you very much and we will never forget who you were.’