The “evil” man who killed Muswell Hill mum-of-one Cathy Burke a month before murdering Stroud Green woman Iuliana Tudos in Finsbury Park has been handed his second life sentence.

%image(15015559, type="article-full", alt="Cathy Burke. Picture: Met Police")

Kasim Lewis, 32, was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in jail at the Old Bailey today. He is already serving a minimum of 29 years for the murder of Camden barmaid Iuliana Tudos on Christmas Eve 2017.

During the sentencing hearing today Crispin Aylett, prosecuting, said Ms Burke's body had been found in her home in Hill Road buried under clothes, with four stab wounds, after she was killed on November 16.

In a witness statement, her 22-year-old son Niall Galbally described Lewis as an "evil being".

At the time of his mother's death, Mr Galbally was studying at Sussex University in Brighton.

Staring bravely at an expressionless Lewis, Mr Galbally said: "When someone reminisces about a day in their life, the narrative usually follows a positive route.For me it is the polar opposite.

"November 16 was the day my life was completely uprooted There is no amount of words that can describe the sheer devastation for me and my family. My life hasn't been the same since. It will never be the same again. A wicked and senseless act has caused an untold amount of pain.

%image(15015560, type="article-full", alt="Lewis's second victim: Iuliana Tudos. Picture: Metropolitan Police")

"It took my mum some time to accept that I was becoming a man and our relationship was blossoming. We had so much left to do together. The actions of this evil being have robbed that from us. That is something I will never get back.

"I take great comfort that the man responsible for such brutality has been caught."

The court heard Ms Burke was found the day after she was killed, and had her hands and ankles tied. She also had a scarf tied around her mouth, and had been stripped naked.

%image(15015561, type="article-full", alt="Niall Galbally (centre), the son of Catherine Burke who was murdered by Kasim Lewis, speaking outside the Old Bailey in London, with his father (left) and half brother (right, names not given). PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday July 18, 2019. An "evil" and "extremely dangerous" killer, who stabbed a retired civil servant weeks before attacking a second woman, has been jailed for at least 40 years. Kasim Lewis, 32, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years last May for the murder of 22-year-old Iuliana Tudos on Christmas Eve 2017. Lewis's DNA was later linked to the death of retired civil servant Catherine Burke, who was stabbed to death at home in Muswell Hill, north London, six weeks before. See PA story COURTS Lewis. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire")

Lewis had also stolen Ms Burke's two mobile phones, and an Amazon tablet from her son's room.

On the day she was killed, she had walked her dog with a friend at Muswell Hill Playing Fields and also spoken to other friends by phone, one of whom promised to call her the following day.

According to Mr Aylett, after 6.30pm, Lewis entered her home through a back door that was either open or unlocked. He said a lack of defensive wounds meant Ms Burke was likely "too frightened" to try and fight him off.

%image(15015562, type="article-full", alt="Niall Galbally, the son of Catherine Burke who was murdered by Kasim Lewis, reading a statement outside the Old Bailey in London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday July 18, 2019. An "evil" and "extremely dangerous" killer, who stabbed a retired civil servant weeks before attacking a second woman, has been jailed for at least 40 years. Kasim Lewis, 32, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years last May for the murder of 22-year-old Iuliana Tudos on Christmas Eve 2017. Lewis's DNA was later linked to the death of retired civil servant Catherine Burke, who was stabbed to death at home in Muswell Hill, north London, six weeks before. See PA story COURTS Lewis. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire")

By 7.50pm, Lewis was then picked up by the GPS of one of his victim's phones, walking back towards his home in Friern Barnet.

The following day, after she hadn't responded to phone calls or messages, neighbours rang police and paramedics. They found her dead in a back bedroom, under a pile of clothes, and was only wearing a pair of socks.

While Mr Aylett said the crime was "sexually motivated," he told the court that there was no evidence of sexual activity with her.

Lewis then went to visit a friend in Dalston, at whose address he was later arrested for the murder of 22-year-old Ms Tudos. He gave the friend Ms Burke's Nokia Lumia phone and the tablet.

The day after he was arrested for Ms Tudos' murder on December 24, he was arrested and questioned over the murder of Ms Burke due to the similarities between the two cases. He answered "no comment" to all questions by police.

Police then re-arrested him earlier this year at Wakefield Prison, where he is serving his current life sentence.

The court heard Lewis moved to Britain after the Monserrat volcano eruption in 1995. He had previously been convicted for burglary and sexual assault, and was already signing the sex offender's register at the time of the murders.

Mr Dean said Lewis had "no education," and had a troubled upbringing, which saw him go into care in Britain. He had since developed a drug addiction, which he financed through burglary.

Sentencing, His Honour Judge Marks said the crime was as "grave an offence of murder as one can imagine".

He described Lewis as an "extremely dangerous individual," and added that his guilty plea at the "11th hour and 59th minute makes your assertions of remorse ring extremely hollow."