Mum ‘killed by ex who hid her body’
A MISSING mother-of-five was murdered by her ex-partner during a bitter custody battle, a court heard.
Sarah Wellgreen, 46, was last seen on October 9 last year at her home just days before her son’s 12th birthday. But her body has never been found.
Her former partner, cab driver Ben Lacomba, 39, is accused of her murder and hiding her body.
On the day of her apparent death, the beautician landed a job that would have given her enough money to get a mortgage and oust Lacomba from the converted loft at their home near Sevenoaks in Kent.
Alison Morgan, prosecuting, told Woolwich Crown Court: “The defendant murdered Sarah in a calculated manner, designed to avoid detection, to leave no trace and to remove Sarah, who was the mother of his three children, from his life forever.”
Concerns
But Ms Morgan said Lacomba left a compelling picture showing that he was responsible for Sarah’s murder and disappearance.
Lacomba turned off CCTV to the house and parked his car in an unusually dark place away from the cameras, she told the court.
“The defendant claims he asleep in bed. His own child otherwise,” Ms Morgan added.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told detectives that when they woke in the middle of the night they went to find their parents, but they were not there.
Neighbour Jay Ellis said in the summer was says of last year, Lacomba turned up at his house twice to look at what his cameras covered of the parking lot.
Police went to Lacomba’s address four days after the alleged murder.
Lacomba agreed to hand over his phone to officers but later threw it into the river, according to his mother.
Ms Morgan said: “He must have had great concerns about what it would tell the police about him, what he had been planning and where he had been.”
The court heard Lacomba’s car was clean on October 9, was splattered with mud the next morning and was professionally cleaned by midday.
He also told a colleague he had recently bought a large shovel but it was unsuitable for the garden, which had fake grass and paved stone. Lacomba and Ms Wellgreen had three children together. She had two adult children from a previous relationship.
The pair lived together but were locked in a custody battle, the court heard. She may have told Lacomba about her promotion – meaning she could move out with the kids, the court heard. He denies murder and the trial continues.