Roehampton Student Guilty of Murder After Hunting Down Partner
Blaze Wallace stabbed Samuel Mayo near Mortlake station
Samuel Mayo with Blaze Wallace. Picture: Facebook
June 22, 2023
A 28-year-old woman has been found guilty of murdering her partner after a drug-fuelled row.
Blaze Wallace lived with 34-year-old Samuel Mayo in Mullins Path in Mortlake. She was studying for a post-graduate degree in Human Rights and Legal Practice at the University of Roehampton after having obtained a law degree from St Mary’s University in Twickenham in 2017.
On Monday 18 July last year, the couple, who had become engaged a month earlier, were seen arguing near Mortlake Station at around 6pm.
They returned to their one-bedroom flat which is a short walk from the station and a neighbour reported hearing Wallace telling her fiancé to pack his bag and leave which he duly did at 9.30pm.
As he departed, Wallace picked up a kitchen knife and began to follow him through the streets. CCTV shows Samuel walking, unaware that Wallace was following his route minutes behind. She was wearing a long cardigan, despite it being one of the hottest nights of the year, to conceal the knife in her right pocket.
As he walked along Lower Mortlake Road, Wallace caught up with him at around 9.45pm and their argument restarted. Within seconds she had stabbed Samuel once in the chest, fatally injuring him and leaving him collapsed in the street while she calmly walked off back towards her flat. Passers-by, who had been alerted by Samuel’s cries for help, rushed to assist him. He had run across the road near Mortlake Green Park shouting for an ambulance and then collapsed against a wall. Members of the public used towels to try and stem the bleeding but despite their efforts and those of paramedics who arrived later, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
When the police went to Wallace’s flat to inform her of what had happened, she was acting erratically and was arrested on suspicion of his murder.
Blaze Wallace after her arrest. Picture: Met Police
Officers found the cardigan during a search of the flat and forensic analysis revealed Samuel’s blood on the sleeve. They also found several kitchen knives, with only one having been recently cleaned. The forensic pathologist who examined the knife confirmed it was consistent with the type used to stab Samuel.
She was found guilty of murder at the conclusion of a trial at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday, 22 June.
Detective Inspector Nicola Collins from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said, “Blaze Wallace set out that evening armed with a knife and clearly with the intention of causing Samuel Mayo serious injury. Shortly after she caught up with Samuel she stabbed and killed him before turning and walking away.
“This is a tragic incident that has left Samuel’s family devastated. Wallace has been convicted of his murder, but that will offer little comfort to them as they continue to deal with the loss of their loved one.”
Wallace will be sentenced at the same court on 4 August.
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