A UK court has sentenced a 40-year-old man, Adedapo Adegbola, to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years for the murder of his former girlfriend, 23-year-old university student Steph Irons, in Nottingham, England.

Adegbola was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to the killing, which occurred on October 21, 2025, at Irons’ residence in the Mapperley area of the city, according to reports by The Irish Sun.

The court heard that Adegbola and Irons met as co-workers and were briefly in a relationship before separating shortly before the incident. Prosecutors said Adegbola became obsessed following the breakup and deliberately planned the attack.

Evidence presented showed that he purchased two knives online and travelled by taxi to Irons’ home on the day of the incident. The court was told that he confronted her as she stepped outside her house and then forced his way inside, where the fatal attack took place.

Concerns were raised after Irons’ colleagues received a series of disturbing messages sent from her phone. Police later discovered her body in the living room, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Following the killing, Adegbola fled, discarding blood-stained clothing and other items across several locations in Mapperley and Carlton, Nottinghamshire Police said. He later travelled through Mansfield, Worksop, Sheffield and Hull before eventually handing himself over to the authorities.

Although he declined to answer questions during police interviews, detectives said they were able to reconstruct his movements before and after the crime through forensic and digital evidence.

Delivering judgment, the court imposed a life sentence with a minimum custodial term of 25 years.

Reacting to the verdict, the lead investigator, Detective Inspector Stuart Barson, described Irons as a “caring and compassionate young woman” whose life was taken in “horrific circumstances.”

“Following the attack, Adegbola made no attempt to call for an ambulance and was concerned only with getting away from the scene and disposing of vital evidence,” Barson said.

He also praised Irons’ family for their resilience throughout the trial, expressing hope that the conviction would help them begin to come to terms with their loss.

In a victim impact statement, Irons’ mother described her daughter’s death as devastating, saying she was left broken by the loss. The family said Steph had planned to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology after completing her degree and master’s programme.