Mark Morris. Pic. MET

A man has been jailed for life after stabbing the mother of his daughter to death over disagreements about childcare payments.

Mark Morris, aged 39, from Thornton Heath was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum sentence of 21 years, by the Old Bailey.

He also received 30 months in prison to run concurrently for possession of an offensive weapon.

He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the murder of mother-of-two Emma Day, aged 33, whom he attacked in West Norwood in May.

The court heard that Morris and Day were in a relationship between 2008 and 2016 and have a daughter together. Just before her murder, Day asked Morris for Child Support Agency payments for their daughter.

Earlier in the day, Day asked a friend to walk her home because Morris had visited and made her feel nervous.

On their walk home, Morris approached them from an alleyway while under the influence of alcohol and begged Day not to ask he pay child support due to his debt.

Day refused to back down and when Morris became aggressive, Day and her friend tried to leave. When they did, Morris ran at Day with a knife and stabbed her.

Day’s friend tried to fight off Morris as he continued to stab her, until he finally fled the scene. Day was pronounced dead at the scene.

Victim Emma Day. Pic.Murder 45

London Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC said: “He must know the children are nearby. And having seen the children, he must know that he is leaving them without a mother.”

A bag belonging to Morris was found in the area, containing correspondence from the Child Maintenance Service. The knife was also found nearby.

Morris’s mother attended the crime scene, telling officers her son had phoned her saying he “had done what he said he was going to do”.

When arrested he admitted to being at the scene but that he had a “memory blank” around the stabbing itself.