Olubunmi Abodunde to be sentenced for Newmarket murder

Police officers who were waiting outside for permission to enter the house in Newmarket from their superiors heard a number of bangs inside the property which Olubunmi Abodunde had entered despite bail conditions imposed the previous day banning him from going there following another violent incident.

When they finally entered the property about 25 minutes later they found 41-year-old mum of three Taiwo Abodunde with her "skull smashed in".

Abodunde, 48, pleaded guilty to murder at Ipswich Crown Court last month after initially denying the charge and sentence was adjourned until Thursday.

Abodunde will be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court (Image: Suffolk police)

Stephen Spence KC, prosecuting, said the couple moved to the UK from Nigeria with their children in 2022 and Mrs Abodunde had got a job as health care assistant nurse at care home in Cambridge while her husband, who had trained as a civil engineer, was unable to find work in his profession.

He worked at Tesco and Wickes and there were arguments about bills, the court heard.

Mr Spence said the defendant became convinced his wife was having affairs and police were called to the house on a number of occasions for domestic violence.

However, this violence “was not of the most significant kind”,  said Mr Spence.

On November 27 last year, the day before the killing, police were called to the family home and Mrs Abodunde had an injury to her lip.

Abodunde was arrested and taken to Bury St Edmunds police station but was later released and given bail conditions ordering him not to return to the family home in Exning Road or contact his wife.

On the evening of the 27th Mrs Abodunde went to work in Cambridge and came back home the next morning to find her husband there.

There was an argument and just before police turned up at 9.20am to take a statement from Mrs Abodunde in relation to the incident the night before, she was beaten to death, the court heard.

Officers did not enter until 9.55am when they were given permission by superiors.

The court heard while the officers were outside they heard a number of bangs, which Mr Spence suggested were the defendant continuing to attack his wife when she was unconscious, if not dead.

When the police went in Mrs Abodunde was “obviously dead” with her “skull smashed in”, the court heard.

A post-mortem found injuries to Mrs Abodunde’s neck and Mr Spence suggested she was strangled until she was unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were broken and then beaten to the head with a skateboard so hard that the skateboard was damaged.

The court heard Abodunde was initially taken to hospital because he appeared to have had “some sort of mental episode”, said Mr Spence.

Nneka Akudolu KC, for Abodunde, said her client believed the medication he was taking at the time affected his behaviour in some way.

She described the level of violence used by him as completely out of character for him.