Former nurse jailed for murdering gay pensioner
A man was jailed for 23 years today for murdering a gay retired English teacher who had treated him as a lover.
The former psychiatric nurse was imprisoned after being found guilty of killing 65 year old Roger Hendra at his flat in Hampstead, London, last June.
Mark Pacelli Papazian, 50, was sentenced at the Old Bailey after pleading guilty. He admitted hitting his victim over the head with a claw hammer and slitting his throat with a hunting knife. It was also revealed that he planned another murder, which he described in his diary.
The court was told how Papazian recorded details of the murder in his journal, where he called himself a “genius” for covering up the killing.
Mr Hendra’s diary noted that “Mark (was) coming over later with a bottle of wine” on June 3rd 2005, it was the last entry in the journal.
The killer’s diary revealed a note which said he wanted to “strangle” Mr Hendra, another entry stated plans to steal Mr Hendra’s CD collection and had intended to “cause some mischief.”
Detective Chief Inspector Michael Broster, called the murder a “premeditated and senseless attack on an elderly gentleman.”
“Papazian clearly thought he had covered his tracks and wrote in his diary that he ‘had thought of everything’ to do with the forensic examination of Mr Hendra’s flat, he even wrote, ‘I am a genius’ implying that he had indeed thought of everything.”
“However following a detailed and thorough investigation by the specialist crime directorate sufficient evidence was found that has led to Papazian entering a guilty plea and being sentenced today.”
