Every third day, in our #EveryThreeDays campaign, I write about a woman killed by a man. Previously in this campaign, which started on 2nd May 2021, I have remembered 81 women, the last being Daria Pionko, 21, from Leeds.
Today we remember Katie Locke, who was murdered on Christmas Eve 2015.
Katie, 23 was a school teacher and met Carl Langdell via the “Plenty of Fish” dating app. He told her that he owned a Law firm, but in reality, he was being treated with a mental disorder.
After plying her with drinks, Katie agreed to go to the Theobalds Park Hotel, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. She was then strangled to death by Langdell, who then had sex with her and took photos of her dead body before dumping her into a skip.
He confessed to his mother the day after, saying he was a “monster”. He was subsequently charged with murder to which he pleaded guilty.
At his trial, the court heard Langdell had previously told a psychiatric nurse about his violent sexual fantasies – he was sentenced to life in prison.
In a family statement, Katie was described as not having “a bad bone in her body – she worked hard and loved her job as a teacher. In what little spare time she had, she enjoyed sports. We now feel like our future has been stolen from us.”
Langdell was found dying in his cell at Wakefield Prison in February of 2021 after cutting his own throat. Despite attempts to keep him alive, he died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Katie Locke
#EveryThreeDays
