A RAPIST was convicted today of murdering a pensioner while on the run from a secure mental health unit.

Terrence O’Keefe, who is in his late 30s and comes from Liverpool, was found guilty of murdering 73-year-old David Kemp in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in March last year.

Prosecutors told Norwich Crown Court that O’Keefe strangled Mr Kemp and then stole his television in order to raise money to buy drugs.

Police did not initially think that Mr Kemp, who lived alone in a flat, had been murdered.

But about a month after his death, one of O’Keefe’s associates contacted police and pointed the finger.

O’Keefe had escaped from a unit in London where he was serving a life sentence imposed in 1996 after he was convicted of rape and robbery.

The jury at Norwich Crown Court heard that O’Keefe had given his guard the slip while having treatment at a hospital.

He then travelled to Great Yarmouth, where he lived for several weeks, the court was told.

Prosecutor Graham Parkins said that, while on the run, O’Keefe had adopted a false name, twice contacted police and claimed benefits.