Leon Fyle has been found guilty of the November 2009 murder of Destiny Lauren. Photos: Metropolitan Police

A Catford man has been convicted of the ‘brutal and pre-meditated’ murder of a prostitute at her home in Kentish Town in north London last autumn.

Leon Fyle, 22, of Laleham Road, SE6, was found guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court of the murder of 29-year-old Destiny Lauren.

Lauren, a pre-operative transsexual woman, was found strangled in her flat in Leighton Crescent, NW5, in the early hours of 5 November 2009. She had also been robbed of a number of her possessions.

The court heard that Fyle, who had used prostitutes before, had telephoned Lauren the previous evening, before travelling across London to meet her for a sexual encounter.

Having availed himself of her services, Fyle then turned on Lauren and strangled her, before leaving with her mobile phone, some jewellery and £350 in cash.

He then travelled by bus to Kings Cross, where he spent £250 of the money on two further prostitutes.

Lauren was discovered in a collapsed state by her brother, who called police to the scene at around 00:55.

She was taken to hospital by emergency services, but pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Detective Inspector Liz Baker of the Metropolitan Police Homicide and Serious Crime Command said: “The murder of Destiny Lauren was brutal and pre-meditated.”

“Destiny lived alone in her flat in Kentish Town. She had a troubled history and had suffered depression following the death of her mother but was trying to turn her life around.”

“Destiny was well known to many people in the Camden area and was regarded as a ‘character’ by those who knew her. She was close to her father and two brothers, who she contacted regularly, and she had a love for the finer things in life and appreciated beautiful things.”

“Her life was abruptly ended when she met Leon Fyle, a young man she had never met before, who murdered and robbed her in her own home. She was found dead by her brother.”

“Fyle has not shown one shred of remorse for this callous act nor for the suffering he has inflicted on Destiny’s family and friends.”

“I hope today’s verdict can go some way to ease their pain.”

The trial heard that the victim’s brother, Lyndon Samuels, had warned her of the dangers of selling her body, but she ignored him, advertising herself as a ”fully functional” pre-op transsexual. On the night she died she asked him to wait in the street while she entertained Fyle.

Fyle, who was traced through mobile phone calls to Ms Lauren, had made several other calls to pre-operative transsexual women. He refused to cooperate during police questioning and no motive for the murder was ever established.

Sentencing will take place on 17 September.