Overview
- Benjamin Day, 20, changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday during his trial and is remanded in custody ahead of a sentencing hearing set for December 4, 2026.
- Prosecutors say Day lured 24-year-old Maria Sacaenu to an Airbnb in Tividale on December 21, 2025, killed her in a plastic-lined ‘kill room’ and inflicted 78 stab wounds.
- A shopping list dated November 18 found on Day’s phone named knives, plastic sheeting, duct tape and cleaning materials, and investigators recovered matching items at the scene.
- Police body-worn video and officers’ testimony that showed Day giving a false account to police were shown to jurors and were pivotal in the prosecution’s case.
- The University of Worcester expressed shock at the verdict and the case has renewed questions about sex-worker safety and the risks posed by short-term rental arrangements.