Rapist told victim 'I have to kill you now'

A man who raped and tried to kill a homeless former university student on a canal towpath in Leicestershire has been jailed for 34 years.

Leicester Crown Court heard Macauley Worden grabbed the woman, threw her to the ground and repeatedly punched and raped her.

He tried to strangle her with the cord from her hoody, saying, "I have to kill you now", but she grabbed the string and threw it away. She escaped after he threw her in the canal near Belton Road in Loughborough in the early hours of 30 August 2025.

Worden, 28, of Fox Covert in Whetstone, Leicestershire, was sentenced on Friday for rape, attempted murder, assault by penetration, robbery and actual bodily harm.

Warning: This article contains distressing details.

Worden had previous convictions for assault, robbery and in relation to weapons, the court heard.

He was on licence from his last prison sentence with conditions of curfew and residence in Nottingham.

Worden should not have been in Loughborough, the court heard, where he met up with a friend and had taken heroin and crack cocaine.

He chanced on his victim, a former student, who was 21 years old and sleeping rough under a canal bridge with her possessions.

Worden engaged her in conversation and asked to borrow her phone.

When he walked off with her handset, she followed him not wanting to lose it.

He then grabbed her, threw her to the ground and punched her about 10 times in the face, the court heard.

He told her not to scream before "violently" raping her, said Judge William Harbage KC.

Harbage said Worden wrapped the cord from his victim's hoody around her neck, as he was "not prepared to take the risk of her identifying you, so you decided she had to die".

The woman grabbed the ligature and threw it away. Worden grabbed a belt, but she managed to throw that away too.

"At that point, you pushed her in the canal," the judge said.

Worden tried to persuade the victim to get out of the water, but she was "fortunately" able to swim and stand on her tiptoes and got to the banking and escaped.

"But not before you threw her belongings in the canal," the judge told him.

She fled to a nearby bus depot cold, wet, bruised, with no lower clothing, save for her socks.

Despite Worden's DNA being found, he elected trial, claiming the woman had consensual sex with him.

He was found guilty of rape, attempted murder, sexual assault by penetration and robbery in April.

At a previous hearing, Worden admitted to actual bodily harm and theft.

The judge said the lead offence was the attempted murder and imposed 34 years, with five years on extended licence.

Concurrent sentences were imposed on the remaining charges. For the rape he received 15 years, the sexual assault by penetration eight years and seven years for the robbery.

Worden will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely, will have indefinite barring orders and a restraining order to prevent contact with the victim.

Leicestershire Police said the investigation was led by detectives from Signal - the force's specialist rape and serious sexual assault team.

Worden was arrested on 3 September after being found sleeping rough in a tent about a mile from where the attack occurred, officers said.

Det Insp Majid Zaveri, from Signal, said: "I hope the sentence passed today has provided the victim with a degree of closure which will allow them to move on with their life.

"The strength and courage they've shown throughout the investigation – and particularly during the court process – is testament to their character and determination to ensure that Worden was brought to justice for what was undoubtedly a violent and incomprehensible attack."

• If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, support is available via the BBC Action Line

Listen to BBC Radio Leicester on Sounds and follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.