Debt collector stabbed to death by man after calling at home for loan repayment

Mother-of-three stabbed 30 times in neck and chest

Geoffrey Hutton denied murdering the 49-year-old (Essex Police)

A man has been convicted of murdering a debt collector who called at his home in Essex by stabbing her 30 times.

A jury found Geoffrey Hutton, 38, from Basildon, guilty of murder at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday.

Hutton denied murdering 49-year-old Tina Cantello, who died of wounds to her left chest and neck.

Ms Cantello, who worked for Provident Financial Group, left home at 5pm on 8 June and had been due to return at 7.30pm.

Tina Cantello was found stabbed to death after going to work (PA)

But the mother-of-three never arrived and her family reported her missing to the police.

The court heard Ms Cantello had arranged with Hutton to collect payment for a loan from him, and after 5.30pm arrived at his home in Derby Close.

Her “largely naked” body was discovered in a bedroom at the property by police on 9 June.

Police Constable Benjamin Freeman, who attended the incident, said Hutton was wearing bloodstained clothes that also smelt of urine and he had a number of cuts on his arms.

He said Hutton’s feet were “covered in dirt”, along with blood and grass.

During the trial, Hutton claimed an unidentified intruder had killed the 49-year-old, but the court heard his DNA was found on the body and murder weapon.

Jurors were also told Hutton went online to search for porn soon after the debt collector was killed.

Blood and urine samples later showed he had taken “a significant amount of cocaine”.

Hutton, who is deaf and was assisted in the trial with a tablet showing a live transcript of proceedings, will be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Press Association