Parents recall dying girl's cries

Suvi Aronen's parents listened to her dying moments

A couple have described hearing their daughter being beaten to death in London from their home in Finland after they called her phone.

Sirpa Aronen said 23-year-old Suvi did not answer, but the line opened and she heard her crying "Go away, do not hurt me" in Finnish and English.

"I knew something evil was taking place," she told the Old Bailey.

Jason Dockrill, 34, of Stratford, east London, denies murdering Miss Aronen, who was beaten to death in March 2003.

The prosecution says there is no dispute he killed her, but the jury will have to decide whether he was guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

It was an awful moment Miss Aronen's father

Mrs Aronen had called her daughter at 1800 BST on 20 March but was unable to talk to her, although she heard her crying.

Her husband picked up a telephone extension when he heard his wife scream, but could not tell what was happening.

He told the court: "I heard Suvi's very desperate voice and she asked faintly for help, saying something like: 'No more' in both Finnish and English.

"The voice was getting fainter and slightly confused as if she would not have strength left. It was an awful moment."

They called Finnish police and their daughter's landlord in Redbridge, east London, near where she was attacked.

But Miss Aronen, a student at East London University, was found dead the following day in woodland.

The court has heard she was battered and sexually assaulted.

The prosecution says Mr Dockrill attacked seven other women over three days and has admitted four charges in connection with attacks on three women.

The trial continues.