florina pastina
Florina Pastina was bludgeoned to death by her flatmate

A man who battered his flatmate to death with a hammer less than an hour after finishing a six-hour binge on extreme pornography is facing life imprisonment.

Hotel worker Lucian Stinci, 34, bludgeoned Florina Pastina repeatedly over the head at the home they shared in Croydon, London.

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The 36-year-old primary school teacher, who has been described as "kind and beautiful," later died in hospital after the attack in July 2017.

Today, the Old Bailey heard that Stinci – who worked as a supervisor at the Mayday Hotel in Croydon – had previously professed his love for Ms Pastina and asked her out on a date, Evening Standard reports.

It was also revealed that he hid a spy camera to film her in the shower.

Stinci, who moved to the UK a decade ago, sent his victim a Valentine's Day card which told her she had "magical powers." He followed this up with a birthday card in June, which read: "For the most beautiful creature from the universe. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes tonight."

Stinci was also apparently obsessed with sado-masochistic extreme pornography and had spent six hours watching multiple videos of women being tortured, raped and killed the night before he murdered his flatmate.

According to computer analysis, he logged on to a website just before midnight and finally stopped viewing videos at 6.07am on 19 July 2017. Ms Pastina met her tragic death less than an hour later at approximately 7am.

Stinci was also believed to be high on cocaine at the time of the murder and had recently taken a drug for erectile dysfunction.

He pleaded guilty to murder and possessing cocaine, as well as attacks on Pastina's niece and nephew, 25-year-old twins Claudia Pastina and Nicholas Hellen. He was accused of striking Mr Hellen over the head with a hammer before biting him. He also thrust a hammer into Claudia's stomach as she tried to intervene.

Stinci is expected to be sentenced later today by Judge Richard marks QC.