A woman has pleaded guilty to impersonating a millionaire oil executive found murdered in New Malden.

Julie Witham, of Enfield, north London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud at the Old Bailey today.

She admitted planning to hire a car using a credit card belonging to Carole Waugh, who was found dead in a lock up garage in Lime Court, New Malden, in August last year.

Witham, 47, will be sentenced on April 26.

Miss Waugh was last seen in April, having gone missing from her home in Marlyebone in central London. Her family reported her missing in May.

Her body was found inside a Volkswagen Golf parked in the garage on August 2. A post-mortem examination revealed she had died from a single stab wound inflicted four months previously.

Rakesh Bhayani, 40, from Wembley, and Nicholas Kutner, 48, of no fixed abode, are charged with her murder, and have been remanded in custody.

Five others have been charged with conspiracy to defraud - Debbie Burke, 64, of Hainault, Essex; Elaine Perkins, 61, of Illford; Susan O' Shea, 61, of Woodford Green; Derek Eastham, 55, from Pimlico and Elie Khoury, 39, of Paddington.