A beloved teacher was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend in her own home and suffered 54 separate stab wounds, the Old Bailey has heard.
Gemma Devonish, 42, who was a teacher at Rosebery School, an all-girls secondary in Epsom, Surrey, was found dead at her home in Nutfield Close, Carshalton, at 10.30am on Thursday last week.
Her boyfriend of more than ten years, James Madden, 38, has now been charged with Ms Devonish’s murder.
At a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, it was revealed Ms Devonish was stabbed 54 times in a “dreadful and sustained” attack.
The court heard Madden was the “long-term partner” of Ms Devonish, in a relationship that had lasted for more than a decade.
Following Ms Devonish’s death, the head of Rosebery School, David Lach, paid tribute, calling her “the kindest and most gentle of people”, who was “devoted to her work and loved her students at Rosebery so very much”.
“She was a wonderful teacher who inspired a love of her subject among all her students and went above and beyond to offer her time, expertise and care to the students in her classes and in her year group,” Mr Lach said.
“Her loss to our school is incalculable, but she leaves the most incredible legacy in the hundreds of students that have been touched by her energy, passion and empathy.
“The hearts of the Rosebery community will be broken by this awful news, but the strength of our school has always been the way we have supported each other in times of adversity.”
Madden, of Railton Road, Brixton, is accused of murder. He has not yet entered a plea to the charge.
Remanding Madden in custody, Judge Mark Dennis KC said: “This was a dreadful and sustained attack upon the victim – 54 stab and incise wounds caused.”
He adjourned the case for a plea hearing on March 11 next year. A provisional trial date has been set for October 6 next year.
