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Metropolitan Police/PA Wire
Image caption
Michelle Samaraweera was raped and murdered in Walthamstow after she went out to buy some snacks early in the morning of 30 May 2009
A serial rapist dubbed the "night stalker" has been jailed for life for the murder of one of his victims more than a decade after her death.
Aman Vyas was extradited from India to face trial for the 2009 murder of Michelle Samaraweera, 35, in Walthamstow, east London.
The 35-year-old was also found guilty of five counts of rape and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
He was sentenced to a minimum jail term of 37 years at Croydon Crown Court.
The court heard Vyas preyed on lone women at night, turning a small area near his home into a "hunting ground" for violent rapes against at least four women.
Prosecutor Tom Little QC called him "the E17 night stalker".
Image copyright Met Police Image caption Aman Vyas, who was living in Walthamstow and working at a dry cleaners at the time of the offences, fled the UK after committing his crimesVyas was 24 years old when he attacked his his first victim on 24 March 2009, following the woman into her block of flats before raping and beating her in her own home.
About a month later, he violently raped his second victim in an alleyway.
Vyas followed his third victim from a shop before attacking her and raping her in a churchyard in the early hours of 29 April.
His final attack ended in the murder of Ms Samaraweera, who lived alone in Hainault but had a boyfriend in Walthamstow.
Image copyright Google Image caption Ms Samaraweera was attacked as she walked home from a Texaco petrol station on 30 May 2009Vyas attacked her as she walked home from a late-night supermarket on 30 May.
She was raped and left in a children's play area with all her shopping before a passer-by discovered her body in the morning.
Post-mortem examinations found Ms Samaraweera had died as a result of pressure to her neck.
