A man has been charged with the murder of a mother-of-two found dead by a dog walker in east London.

The body of mother-of-two Maria Rawlings, 45, from Chelmsford, Essex, was discovered in a shrubbery in Little Heath, Romford, by a man at about 2pm last Tuesday.

She had attended the King George Hospital in Goodmayes, Ilford, before she died, police had said.

Valentin Lazar will appear at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with her murder, the Metropolitan Police said.

In a statement, the force said: “A post-mortem examination at Walthamstow Mortuary on Wednesday 5 May gave a preliminary cause for Maria’s death as neck compression and possible blunt force head trauma.”

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