Lorraine Cox murder trial: Remains left 'in alley'

Lorraine Cox, 32, was last seen on 1 September in Exeter city centre

A man murdered and dismembered a woman he met on a night out and left her body parts in an alley and woodland, a court heard.

Azam Mangori allegedly put some of Lorraine Cox's body parts in a bin bag which he left in an alley in Exeter.

The remaining parts were buried under a pile of wood near Newton St Cyres, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Mr Mangori, also known as Christopher Mayer, 24, denies murder.

Azam Mangori, also known as Christopher Mayer, denies murdering Lorraine Cox

Ms Cox, 32, was walking home alone after drinking with friends when Mr Mangori approached her in the High Street on 1 September, the court was told.

The pair had sex in an alleyway off Sidwell Street before he invited her to his flat above a kebab shop in Fore Street.

Simon Laws QC, prosecuting, said Mr Mangori killed Ms Cox in his room and cut up her body during the week between her death and his arrest on 8 September.

'Morbid interest in amputation'

The defendant's mobile phone revealed he had looked at images relating to amputation in the days before Miss Cox's death, as well as after.

Mr Laws said: "Given the dates he viewed this material you may think it is clear he was interested in the topic before he had any need for information."

Mangori looked at videos of people with amputations, as well as those with deformities to their legs and one of a woman's lower leg experiencing cramp, the court heard.

"You're going to hear that, surprising as it may sound, psychiatrists have recognised that there are people who have a morbid interest in amputation," Mr Laws said.

The police investigation on the corner of Mary Arches Street and Fore Street in Exeter.

Mr Mangori, who admits preventing an unlawful burial, had also bought sheeting to prevent blood stains at his flat, the court heard.

Mr Laws also said Mr Mangori used Ms Cox's phone to try to convince her father and friends that she had moved to Plymouth to start a new life and wanted no further contact.

But they suspected something was wrong and alerted police.

Officers arrested Mr Mangori after finding CCTV showing him walking back to his home with her.

Mr Mangori was born in a Kurdish area of Iraq and had been living in Exeter since July 2020.

He gave his name as Christopher Mayer but police discovered he was a failed asylum seeker who was liable to deportation.

The case continues.