Teenager knifed nurse 70 times in hospital murder

A teenage trainee accountant who lived in a "virtual world" and fantasised about serial killers and knives was convicted yesterday of murdering a nurse as she took a cigarette break outside a hospital. An Old Bailey jury rejected his claims that he suffered from a mental abnormality.

Stuart Harling, 19, from Rainham, Essex, was convicted of the murder of Cheryl Moss, 33, from Dagenham, who was stabbed and slashed more than 70 times near St George's hospital, in Hornchurch, Essex, in April last year.

Harling, described in court as a "cold-blooded killer", admitted the killing but claimed he was guilty only of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. During the trial he insulted the judge, absented himself from proceedings and threw papers out of the dock. He refused to come up from the Old Bailey cells to hear the jury convict him by a 10 to one majority. He will sentenced today.

The jury heard that Harling, who had 10 GCSEs and lived with his parents, existed "in a virtual world, playing computer games and surfing insalubrious websites, finding interest in such topics as serial killers, murder, racism and pornography".

He attacked Mrs Moss, who worked as an auxiliary nurse, with a combat knife as she took a brief break for a smoke in the hospital grounds. The attack was so swift and violent that Mrs Moss, who was only 5ft 1in (1.55 metres) tall, probably did not have time to scream, the jury heard.

"He was just a cold-blooded killer who acted out his fantasy," prosecuting counsel Brian Altman told the court. "She turned out to be the tragic, unfortunate person who the defendant came across that day. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The computer at Harling's house showed that he had an obsessive interest in serial killers and weapons. He researched on the internet such notorious murderers as Dennis Nilson, Jeffrey Dahmer and Colin Ireland and also investigated "Nazi knives" and "hand-to-hand combat".

His other internet searches included "strangling", "choking" and "game of death", the court heard. On the morning after the killing Harling explored various news websites for details of the killing which he had just carried out. He also claimed he had been researching the possibility of carrying out a military coup in Equatorial Guinea with 150 other people.

Harling, a former scout leader, whose parents were away at the time of the murder, initially claimed the injuries he suffered during the attack resulted from a fall.

Later he claimed he had been suffering from a form of mental abnormality and suggested he possibly had Asperger's syndrome with a schizoid personality disorder or was suffering from a psychotic illness.

The prosecution alleged that he had never sought help for his supposed condition before the murder and that he had been acting out a violent fantasy in a premeditated attack. In the weeks before the killing he had been applying for jobs in accountancy.

The court heard that Harling had carried out what appeared to be a dry run for his attack. He had already ordered a hunting knife on eBay and had it sent to his home. He also bid for a hand-to-hand combat CD which was used for US marines' training. It gave advice on what parts of the body to attack with a knife and how to carry out slashing techniques.

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