Mario Celaire the first man to be tried for the same killing twice has been jailed for life (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Mario Celaire the first man to be tried for the same killing twice has been jailed for life

4:18pm Friday 3rd July 2009 in

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A MAN has been jailed for life for the brutal killing of a girlfriend and attempted murder of another.

Mario Celaire, 31, admitted punching Cassandra McDermott unconscious following an argument and leaving her to choke on her own vomit.

He also please guilty to the attempted murder of former girlfriend Kara Hoyte, from Walthamstow, who he also subjected to a vicious attack.

He became the first person in the UK to be tried for the same serious crime twice following a change in the double jeopardy law.

Miss Hoyte, who was 19 at the time, was found unconscious at a flat in Green Pond Close, Walthamstow, in February 2007, after being repeatedly smashed in the head with a hammer by Celaire.

The victim recovered from her severe brain injuries and operations and was able to tell officers that her former boyfriend and family friend Celaire had attacked her, and also what Celaire had previously told her about Miss McDermott.

Celaire pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Cassandra McDermott in May after originally being cleared in February 2002 of her murder.

Miss McDermott, 19, was killed by Celaire in Norbury in October 2001 after an argument over her damaging a car he lent her.

She choked on her own vomit as she lay unconscious after he punched her in the face.

Celaire, of of Sydenham Road, Sydenham, was sentenced to a minimum of eight years for Cassandra's death and a minimum of 23 years for the attempted murder of Kara, now 21, to run concurrently.