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Man pleads guilty to murdering Agoura Hills woman in England
By Lori Porter
Acorn Staff Writer

On April 23, Robert Noble, a 28-year-old Scotsman, confessed to the murder of 20-year-old Alyson Ilene Kaplan from Agoura Hills, during a 40-minute trial in Great Britain.

He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

During a freak January blizzard had shut down the London, England transit system, Kaplan, who’d been traveling by train to meet with a friend in London, was apparently unsure of what to do. Kaplan then took the "tube" to Victoria Station to catch another train, but she missed her connection after having gone to the wrong platform.

Kaplan was lured from that site in London’s Victoria Station by Noble, who later testified that he’d gone out that night with the intention of killing someone to satisfy a craving for notoriety.

According to the Daily Mail, a London paper, "Noble was fueled by cannabis and alcohol while strangling Kaplan to death with his hands and his scarf."

When her friend didn’t hear from Kaplan, she immediately contacted police and reported Kaplan as a missing person.

Kaplan’s body was found in a hotel room in Pimlico, a suburb of London, by a hotel housekeeper on Fri., Jan 31. The hotel was used by the department of social services for housing the homeless.

After killing Kaplan, stealing her belongings and selling her Gucci watch for 10 pounds, Noble turned himself into police and confessed to what he called "a cruel and nasty" murder.

Kaplan’s family, devastated by her death, wasn’t present at Noble’s trial, but is happy it’s over. There’s no death penalty in Britain. But Don Kaplan, Alyson’s father, said, "Capital punishment is too good for this person. He should suffer the rest of his life, just like all of us are." Kaplan also said the judge imposed the sentence on Noble immediately and didn’t mention any possibility of parole.

Noble initially sought a defense of insanity, but got nowhere after doctors examined him and found him sane.

"My daughter’s murder was a combination of five different things that happened within a twist of fate," Kaplan said. " If just one thing had unfolded differently, she would be here today."

Kaplan also mentioned how painful Alyson’s death has been on her mother, sisters and brother. They’re determined, he said, to turn Alyson’s death into something positive. They’ve also established the Alyson Ilene Kaplan Memorial Fund, a tax deductible nonprofit organization.

"We hope to raise awareness on and improve travel safety for young students. Through this fund, we will soon be giving away grants and scholarships to students," said Kaplan. The Kaplan family also plans to donate money to charities that support marine and animal life because Alyson loved animals, especially dolphins.

Donations can be sent to Alyson Ilene Kaplan Memorial Fund, 5699 Kanan Road, Box 234, Agoura Hills, CA. 91301.

The Kaplans recently discovered that while she was stranded at Victoria Station, Alyson wrote a letter to a friend which revealed her intention to complain to National Express, the rail provider, about the way she was left to find her own way during the storm. Her letter said, "I do appreciate that weather conditions are beyond (their) control, but do believe it was within (their) capability to provide a higher level of service in these difficult circumstances."

The Kaplans are considering legal action.