A convicted murderer who is already serving a life sentence for killing a mother-of-two has pleaded guilty to raping her. 

Manuel labourer Valentin Lazar killed 45-year-old Maria Rawlings then left her naked in undergrowth in Little Heath, Romford, after their paths crossed on the EL3 bus. 

Her body was found by a dog walker, with a baseball cap containing the defendant’s DNA discovered nearby. 

Lazar, 23, of Hockley Avenue in East Ham, admitted the murder and was branded evil by Maria’s devastated family when he was sentenced at the Old Bailey in February 2022. 

On Monday (March 11), Lazar appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from HMP Frankland to plead guilty to raping Maria on the same evening as her killing. 

This Is Local London: Maria Rawlings with her father Tony RawlingsMaria Rawlings with her father Tony Rawlings (Image: PA)

At his sentencing in 2022, the court heard how Maria had visited King George Hospital in Goodmayes complaining of a headache after suffering a head injury on the evening of May 3, 2021. 

Having left hospital without being seen, Maria got on a bus just after 11pm, where her path crossed with Lazar’s. 

The mother-of-two, who had been staying with her daughter in Witham, Essex, got off the bus when it terminated, along with her killer. 

They appeared on CCTV to engage in a brief conversation before Lazar guided his victim by the arm towards some shrubbery where they disappeared from view. 

After 31 minutes, he emerged from the undergrowth alone, with Maria’s white handbag slung over his shoulder. 

He rifled through the bag then discarded it on the pavement, the court heard. 

After the attack, Lazar boarded another bus, eventually arriving home after 1am. 

A post-mortem examination found Maria died from neck compression and a blunt force head injury. 

The court heard there were more than 100 sites of blunt force trauma, 15 rib fractures, injuries from multiple blows to the head, defensive wounds to the hands and footprints consistent with being stood on. 

At the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC suggested a possible “sexual motive” to the murder because Maria had bruises on her inner thighs and was found naked. 

Lazar will be sentenced at the Old Bailey for rape on March 28. 

The Recorder of London, judge Mark Lucraft KC, directed that the defendant should be brought to court for sentencing.