Brighton prostitute killer found guilty of rape

Neil McMillan raped a woman weeks before he murdered Andrea Waddell

A murderer who killed a transgender prostitute at her Brighton home has been found guilty of raping another woman in the city five weeks earlier.

Neil McMillan, 43, formerly of Bennett Road, Brighton, was convicted this summer of the murder of Andrea Waddell in October 2009 and jailed for life.

On Tuesday, he appeared before the Old Bailey where he was convicted of raping a woman in Brighton in September 2009.

Murder detectives found a sock at his home that led them to the rape victim.

The court heard the 27-year-old rape victim went to a hotel room where McMillan was staying to collect money that he owed her, but he raped her.

Old Bailey jurors were not told about McMillan's murder conviction and Judge Stephen Kramer revealed the information at the end of the six-day trial.

He said: "Don't feel you have been deprived of important information that would have assisted you. You tried the case as you heard and saw in court as you were bound to do."

McMillan, originally from Dumfriesshire, will be sentenced on 22 November for the rape.

After the Old Bailey hearing, Sussex Police said that during the murder investigation, they found a bloodstained sock at McMillan's home.

McMillan murdered Ms Waddell who he visited for sex and set fire to her flat

Detectives took DNA from the sock to trace the woman and find out what had happened.

Det Insp David Wardley-Wilkins said: "We are glad that justice has been served for the victim in this case too. As soon as we identified her blood we started an investigation and were able to support her."

This summer, McMillan was jailed for at least 22 years for murdering Ms Waddell, who he visited for sex, and setting fire to her flat in Upper Lewes Road.

He applied "unremitting pressure" to Ms Waddell's neck, the court heard.

Ms Waddell, who was born male but had undergone gender reassignment surgery, had been working as a prostitute.

The court heard that McMillan, a satellite TV installer, strangled Ms Waddell while in a "worked-up and angry mood".