A FOREST Hill woman has been jailed for at least 17 years after she smothered her boyfriend to death and kept his body in a wheelie bin in her bedroom.

Karen Otmani, aged 42, was sentenced to life today at the Old Bailey for murdering Shaun Corey.

After doping the 42-year-old’s beer, Otmani tied him to her bed before smothering him at her home in Stanstead Road, Forest Hill, on June 4 last year.

She then hid his body in a green bin for 11 days before a police search uncovered the body - hidden in a box in the bin which was covered with clothing and blankets.

Otmani - who stormed out of the witness box during trial - had been talking about getting rid of her on-off lover and had even asked another boyfriend to experiment with some blue liquid to see if it would knock him out.

Mr Corey was heard arguing with Otmani in her bedroom before they were joined by Bernard Beddoe, 60, who she called uncle.

New boyfriend Keith Jones rang police after visiting the flat. He claimed Otmani pointed at a box and said "he's in there".

Bobbie Cheema, prosecuting, told the jury: "She said she'd measured her freezer but it was too small and she needed to get another freezer."

The court heard Otmani told officers: "I killed him. He freaked me out and I killed him."

Speaking after the sentencing, Mr Corey’s family said: "We as a family know the guilty verdicts returned by the jury after a three week trial at the Old Bailey are the right ones and that justice has been achieved; however this will not return Shaun to us.

"Outrageous claims and accusations have been levelled at Shaun during this trial, all of which have been proved to be lies.

"Shaun will be dearly missed and was loved by all his family and friends.

"Shaun was an all-round good guy whose only mistake in life was befriending and trying to help the wrong person."

Beddoe, of Revelon Road, Brockley, was found guilty of assisting an offender and will be sentenced on December 7.