Victim: Gemma Devonish
James Madden appeared in court yesterday and was charged with the murder of Gemma Devonish, the school teacher who was found with fatal stab wounds at a flat in Nutfield Close, Carshalton, on December 19 last year.
The local MP described the killing as “shocking and distressing”.
Madden, 38, of Railton Road, Brixton, was the long-term boyfriend of Devonish. He made his court appearance via videolink from HMP Belmarsh.
During a brief hearing at Croydon Crown Court, Judge Peter Gower KC set a trial date in October, with the trial expected to last around two weeks.
The plea hearing date has been set for next month.
Devonish was 42 when she was killed. She was found by emergency services who had been called to an address off Wrythe Lane, where Devonish was pronounced dead at the scene.
She worked at Roseberry School, an all-girls school in Epsom. Her headteacher, David Lach, told the BBC: “She was a wonderful teacher… Her loss to our school is incalculable, but she leaves the most incredible legacy in the hundreds of students that have been touched by her energy, passion and empathy.”
At the time of the murder, Helen Maguire, the MP for Epsom, said, “This is a shocking and distressing incident, and I know that the communities, both here in Epsom and in Carshalton, where this horrible crime took place, are reeling from the news…
“Let us come together, support one another, and keep Gemma’s loved ones in our thoughts as they navigate this incredibly difficult time.”
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