A man has been sentenced to 33 years for murdering his landlords at their shared home after he became paranoid about Covid during the first lockdown.

Daniel Briceno Garcia, 46, who previously lived at Dorset Road, Lambeth, murdered his live-in landlords, Sonia Butron Calvi and Edgar Aguilera Daza.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey today, with a minimum term of 33 years.

Police and London Ambulance Service were called to Dorset Road at around 4pm on April 1 2020 after reports of a disturbance.

Both Sonia, 66, and Edgar, 60, suffered numerous stab injuries and police found the couple lying in a “bloodbath” at the property, the Old Bailey was told.

Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the pair were pronounced dead at the scene.

Garcia was arrested, taken into custody, and a murder investigation was launched.

Garcia shared the house with five other people, including Sonia and Edgar, who owned the property and rented out several rooms.

Officers carried out a forensic examination of the crime scene and spoke to the other occupants about what they had heard.

Previously, Tom Little QC had told jurors how the defendant stabbed the victims repeatedly with a knife in a “brutal and frenzied” attack.

The couple had sublet rooms in the rented maisonette in Dorset Road to the defendant and five other Spanish speakers.

Mr Little said it was a “worrying and concerning” time when the Prime Minister announced the first national lockdown on March 23 2020.

He said: “Witnesses describe that the defendant had become concerned, if not paranoid, about the risk that Covid was going to pose and was concerned about that in this property.

“That in itself you may think is understandable. It is quite another thing to react to the risks which Covid posed with the use of a knife.”

On April 1, Ms Butron Calvi told one of the other housemates that the defendant was “constantly in a bad mood, jurors heard.

Later that afternoon, the defendant launched a “brutal and murderous attack”, first on Mr Aguilera Daza and then on Ms Butron Calvi, the court heard.

One resident heard shouting and opened her bedroom door to see Mr Aguilera Daza being repeatedly stabbed in the stomach while the defendant held him around the neck, the court heard.

Ms Butron Calvi was then heard to scream “Daniel, no, Daniel. Daniel, I’m going to call the police.”

Later, when the witness ventured out of her room again, the court was told the defendant, wearing white cleaning gloves, told her: “Go back into your room and lock the door. I’m calling the police.”

Six 999 calls were made on the defendant’s phone before police arrived at the property, the court heard.

Briceno Garcia opened the door and his hands were bleeding as he held them up, the court was told.

Mr Aguilera Daza was found in a pool of blood in the hallway and Ms Butron Calvi was lying face down in the kitchen with a knife clenched in her hand.

A search of the defendant’s bedroom uncovered the murder weapon – which may have been run under a tap as part of a “limited clean-up exercise”, Mr Little said.

There was also a whiteboard with writing in French and Spanish referring to the Covid crisis in red and a handwritten note.

Following his arrest, Briceno Garcia said “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” then declined to explain what had happened, jurors heard.

The defendant, who had superficial cuts to his hands, went on to claim to a psychiatrist that his fellow tenants had been violent towards him to obtain money and would intimidate him by striking him.

He also claimed the two victims were trying to kill him and that he was hearing voices, the court was told.

Mr Little, prosecuting, said the defendant’s claim of paranoid delusions or auditory hallucinations was “very much in dispute”.

Their daughter, Laura Aguilera, said the murders had left the family ‘crushed and heartbroken’ – she said: “They were not only wonderful parents, grandparents and friends but also excellent church advisors and mentors.

“Many people at church looked up to them because they were a humble, caring and stable couple.

“Sonia’s warm reassurance and Edgar’s infectious humour would make everyone feel better in times of struggle and hurt.

“This is why I find it so difficult to accept the way their life was taken in such a cruel way, how they were stripped away from us.

“The realisation that there will be no more interacting with them has emotionally depressed us as a family to the point where grief and pain overwhelm acceptance of their absence.

“It breaks our hearts to see innocent lives die unjustly.

“They leave behind a family who has suffered waves of painful solitude as a result of their absence which has immersed our family in a dark curtain of demoralising days for the past two years.

“The obvious nature of attempting to continue on with life with drive consistently fades as their parting overpowers our mental well-being on a regular basis.