Woman who stabbed man to death jailed for life

A woman who stabbed a man to death in his home in Strood has been jailed.

Nina Mercer, 43, murdered 61-year-old Alan Tomkins last July in a flat which they shared after he let her stay with him and "funded her lifestyle".

Police found Mr Tomkins' dead in the hallway of the property with a knife protruding from his back two days after he was killed.

Mercer was found guilty of his murder last week following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court and has since been jailed for a minimum of 17 years.

After she killed Mr Tomkins, Mercer fled the the property in Gun Lane and met a man she knew, Lee Robinson.

The pair returned and Robinson stole Mr Tomkins' wallet and bank card.

Mercer then travelled to Cuxton Leisure Park in the victim's car where it is thought she disposed of her bloodstained clothing, Kent Police said.

Police were contacted two days after the stabbing when an acquaintance of Mr Tomkins raised concerns that he had not been seen at work or at a planned meeting the previous day.

Officers found Mr Tomkins' body at the flat with six stab wounds.

While officers were at the scene, Mercer walked up to the property and she was arrested.

Police recovered CCTV footage which showed Mercer's suspicious movements near the victim's home.

Further evidence was recovered when the knife was forensically tested and found to have traces of her DNA.

She was charged with murder on 29 July but pleaded not guilty.

Det Ch Insp Emma Lawry said: "The victim allowed Mercer to stay at his flat and is thought to have funded her lifestyle.

"She repaid him in a brutal assault with a knife that ended his life.

"Mercer did not seek medical assistance, but sought to cover her tracks."

Robinson, 45, of Frindsbury Road, Strood, denied assisting an offender but admitted theft and fraud.

He was found not guilty of assisting an offender, but was convicted of theft and fraud.

He was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.

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