Jogger 'buried in shallow grave'

Miss Rasta's naked body was found 12 days after her disappearance

A Harrods employee was killed and buried in a shallow grave in the park where she went jogging, a court heard.

Egeli Rasta, 27, went missing in July 2006. Her body lay undiscovered for 12 days in Mitcham Common, south London.

A kitchen knife with traces of the Estonian national's blood was recovered from the home of defendant Garath Davies, the Old Bailey was told.

Mr Davies, 23, from Mitcham, south London, denies murder and perverting the course of justice.

Mark Ellison, prosecuting, said Davies was "something of a loner" who spent quite a lot of time on the common on his own or with his dog Tyson.

The word "Gaz" was carved into the branch of a tree in the woods where Miss Rasta's body was discovered.

'Sexual motive'

Damp and bloodstained clothing was also recovered from his home, as well as home-made sex toys.

The evidence was coupled with the fact that the victim was found naked "clearly suggesting a sexual motive", the jury was told.

Mr Ellison said Mr Davies was found with Miss Rasta's mobile phone in his trouser pocket but lied about how he had got it.

He was traced after using the phone to send texts and photos of his dog, a black Staffordshire terrier, to a friend in Wales.

Mr Ellison said when questioned by police about Miss Rasta's disappearance, Mr Davies said he suffered "unbelievable" losses of memory.

He said that when he goes into a temper "my brain just goes off... half the stuff I don't remember".

Decomposed body

Miss Rasta was "fit, athletic, and quite strong" and would often jog and sunbathe on the common.

She went missing a day after working a shift at the LK Bennett concession at Harrods in Knightsbridge, west London.

"Precisely what happened around lunchtime on July 4 last year between him and her is unclear as her body lay undiscovered for 12 days," said Mr Ellison.

He said her body was so decomposed that the pathologist who examined it was unable to establish a cause of death.

The trial continues.