A strangler who tried to kill a woman in the toilets of a West End bar – trapping her in a cubicle during a terrifying ten-minute ordeal – has been locked-up for a minimum of nine years and labelled a ‘dangerous offender’.
Portuguese-born Pedro Ricardo Eusebio Santos, 30, (pictured) was convicted by a jury of attempting to murder the 22 year-old woman at the bar in Upper St. Martin’s Lane, on November 25, last year.
He was captured on CCTV loitering outside the ladies toilets at 3.40pm and entering moments after the victim, who he did not know, went inside.
As she exited the cubicle Santos punched her violently in the face and pushed her back inside, locking the toilet door behind him.
He strangled the frightened woman to the point of unconsciousness – bringing her to the brink of death – before fleeing into the busy streets outside.
Eusebio was identified when using his bank card at a nearby cashpoint in Charing Cross Road and was arrested at home six weeks later.
He was identified at Southwark Crown Court as a ‘dangerous offender’ and given an indeterminate sentence with a nine-year minimum.
Detective Constable Louise Rochester said: “This violent attack had an enormous impact on the victim and she is undoubtedly lucky to be alive.
“She has shown great courage in her support for the investigation and during the subsequent trial.
“Eusebio Santos lay in wait for the victim and acted in the knowledge that she would be totally unable to defend herself against him.
“This sentence reflects the violent and wholly unprovoked nature of the crime and the affect it has had on the victim.”
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