AN ABUSIVE ex-boyfriend who claimed he was being controlled by an alter-ego called 'Stan' has been convicted of the murder of Shirley woman Lorna Smith.

Clifford Mills, 49, set up a fake Facebook profile under the name Charlie Manning while bombarding Lorna Smith, of Hewitt Close with text messages and phone calls after she broke off their four-year relationship.

The pair had remained close friends after splitting up but Mills, a former nightclub doorman, became jealous when he found out she was seeing someone else.

After the killing, Mills went to the casualty department of St Thomas' Hospital and told a receptionist: "Stan has killed Lorna."

Police broke down his door and found Ms Smith's mutilated body in his living room, with a plastic bag tied around her head and Oasis track 'Stop the Clocks' playing on repeat.

Mills admitted killing her but denied murder, claiming diminished responsibility on the basis of suffering a borderline personality disorder at the time.

Today (Friday) an Old Bailey jury took just 90 minutes to convict him of murder.

Mills showed no emotion as the verdict was announced, but some members of Ms Smith's family wept.

Mills will be sentenced on Monday.

Update: Clifford Mills jailed for life, with a minimum of 21 years, for murdering Lorna

During the trial, prosecutor Zoe Johnson told the jury Mills had killed in a fit of 'murderous jealousy'.

She said it was a planned killing, with Mills taking two bags of clothes with him to flee the scene.

Police found the body of Ms Smith, 45 and a Sainsbury's supermarket worker, in Mills' flat on Morrish Road in Brixton at about 5.23am on February 3 last year.

She is believed to have arrived there at about 3pm the day before, after agreeding to help Mills with paperwork.

A neighbour reported hearing a woman screaming about 25 minutes later, and CCTV footage showed Mills in nearby Streatham Place carrying two bags moments after that.

Records showed he travelled via bus and tube to Chelsea and then Hammersmith, where he left the bags in the basement of a block of flats.

He went drinking in Soho before arriving at St Thomas' Hospital's casualty department at about 5am an announcing that he was a psychiatric patient.

He is said to have told the receptionist: "I need to see someone, I really need to speak to someone - once I've told you what I've done you're going to have to call the police."

He said he had killed the 'love of his life', and then added: "Stan has killed Lorna, you need to call the police. I love her, Stan hates her - he killed her."

When asked who Stan was, he reportedly replied that Stan was in his head.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr Jeremy Coid had told the court during the trial that Mills had been suffering from a borderline personality disorder.

However, prosecution expert Dr Philip Joseph described Mills as an 'angry, potentially violent man'.

Mills will be sentenced on Monday.