A MONSTER who battered a gran to death using a bat embedded with nails today admitted raping her.
Valentin Lazar, 23, snatched 45-year-old Maria Rawlings off the street after following her from a bus.
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Maria Rawlings was raped then murdered after being followed from a bus Credit: PA 3
Valentin Lazar today admitted he raped the gran Credit: PA
The killer then battered and strangled the gran to death before leaving her naked body in undergrowth for a dogwalker to find.
Lazar was jailed for life with a minimum of 23 years and six months in 2022 after he admitted murder.
The fiend today pleaded guilty to raping mum-of-two Maria during a hearing at the Old Bailey.
Lazar, who came to the UK from Romania in 2018, was captured on CCTV following Maria as they got off a bus in Romford, East London.
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He then grabbed hold of her arm and dragged Maria into bushes during the May 2021 horror.
Lazar emerged around 31 minutes later - before returning into the undergrowth once more to steal the grandmother's handbag.
Her naked body was found the following day with her bank cards, shoes and purse strewn nearby.
A post mortem showed Maria was strangled to death and had also suffered injuries to her mouth, chest and knee.
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She also had 15 fractured ribs following the "assault of exceptional violence" and there were footprints to her stomach where she was stomped on.
At the time, prosecutors suggested there had been a possible "sexual motive" to the murder because Maria had bruises on her inner thighs and was found naked.
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Lazar, who was found after a manhunt, was later charged with rape following his murder conviction.
He will be sentenced on March 20 at the Old Bailey.
In a previous tribute, Maria's daughter Charlee said: "I do not think I actually know where to start to explain the impact my mum's murder has had on me.
"My mum was my best friend. I am 17 years old and lived with my mum.
"We were best friends, we talked about everything, we shared everything in our lives."
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Maria, pictured with her dad Tony, was left with horror injuries Credit: PA