‘Parasitic’ ex-Lidl worker, 42, ‘befriended wealthy woman, 70, by making pass at her in leisure centre hot tub then killed and buried her’ after fleecing her of £300,000
- Norma Girolami, 70, from north London, was last seen alive in mid-August 2021
- Prosecutors say she was murdered by 42-year-old Lidl worker Serkan Kaygusuz
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A ‘parasitic’ man befriended a wealthy older woman then killed her and buried the body to plunder her money, a court has heard.
Retiree Norma Girolami, 70, gave 42-year-old Serkan Kaygusuz large amounts of cash, totalling nearly £300,000, after they met at a swimming pool in 2017, the Old Bailey was told.
The jury heard how she had been ‘flattered’ after he made an ‘advance’ in the hot tub at the baths.
Over time their relationship became more of a friendship as Kaygusuz allegedly demanded ever-increasing sums of money – four and five-figure sums every few weeks.
By May 2021, the ‘money tap which had flowed so freely for so long was switched off’, prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward told jurors.
Retiree Norma Girolami (above), gave 42-year-old alleged killer Serkan Kaygusuz large amounts of cash, totalling nearly £300,000
Ms Girolami travelled from her home in Highgate (above) on August 19, 2021, and was never seen alive again
The reasons were said to have been the death of Ms Girolami’s father, her dwindling funds, or that she had ‘simply had enough’ of jobless Kaygusuz’s demands.
Mr Ledward said: ‘By August, the defendant must have realised that his comfortable parasitic lifestyle was not going to continue: he was simply not going to get any more out of Ms Girolami. At least not whilst she was alive.’
On August 19, 2021, Ms Girolami travelled from her £900,000 home in Highgate, north London, for a day out at Leigh-on-Sea, in Essex. She was never seen alive again.
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The remains of the wealthy Italian were found more than a year later in a graveyard in north London.
Ms Ledward said: ‘The prosecution case is that Serkan Kaygusuz murdered her, concealed her body, ultimately by burying it, and then set about getting as much money out of her as he could.’
She suggested it was all part of former Lidl supermarket worker Kaygusuz’s ‘cold-blooded plan’.
Jurors were told the plan was carried out ‘systematically and with calm and deadly purpose’ and born of the ‘basest of motives’ – to get her money.
Prosecutors have accused ‘cold-blooded’ Kaygusuz of killing the 70-year-old (pictured) and concealing her body
Ms Girolami’s remains were found at a churchyard in north London in November 2021 (pictured)
On the evening after Ms Girolami’s trip to the seaside, the defendant is alleged to have gone to her flat and killed her.
He allegedly went on to pretend to her friends that she was alive and well while systematically taking what remained of the money in her bank accounts.
But Ms Ledward suggested the defendant had underestimated how much Ms Girolami’s friends and cousins knew and cared for her.
Since Ms Girolami was found dead, the defendant had admitted dishonestly obtaining her money and property, and concealing and burying her body.
Divorcee Kaygusuz, of Croach End, north London, has denied murder and the Old Bailey trial continues.
