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A "brilliant mother" who died in a stabbing in east London had just found out she was four weeks pregnant before she died, her sister said.

The Metropolitan Police was called to an address in Walthamstow at about 03:00 BST on Monday following reports of an injured woman.

Alana Odysseos, 32, was found with stab wounds and she died at the scene.

Shaine March, 45, who police said was known to Ms Odysseos, appeared at Barkingside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday charged with her murder.

Mr March, from Surrey Quays in south-east London, was remanded in custody and will appear at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

Jasmine Yates, 26, said it felt like she was in a "living nightmare" after learning of her sister's death.

"We're all truly devastated and struggling so much to come to terms with this, that we feel so much anger at the same time," she said.

She said Ms Odysseos would be remembered as a "pure-hearted person" and for "how much of a brilliant mother she was".

Ms Yates said her sister "completely doted" on her daughters, aged 12 and two, and "was so excited to become a mother again because she just found out she was four weeks pregnant".

Ms Yates, who lives in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, said she was fundraising to set up a trust fund for her sister's children.

She said she had also set up an online fundraising page for her sister's funeral in Newmarket, Suffolk, where they grew up.

"I just want to make her proud and give her the best send-off that we can," she said.

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