A 20-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of mother-of-two Maria Rawlings.

Maria's body was found in bushes in Little Heath, Chadwell Heath, on May 4.

Valentin Lazar, of Barking, who is charged with committing murder on May 3, appeared in custody at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (May 11).

He spoke only to confirm his personal details through a Romanian interpreter as he stood in the dock.

Lazar was ordered to next appear in custody at the Old Bailey on May 13, which will be his birthday.


A post-mortem examination gave a preliminary cause of death for Maria, 45, as neck compression and possible blunt force head trauma.