This is the first photo of Cypriot pensioner Eleftheria Demetriou murdered in Wood Green recently.

A man stabbed his elderly neighbour Eleftheria Demetriou to death before waiting outside his flat to be arrested dressed only in a pair of shorts, neighbours said .

Witnesses said that when police led the suspect away from the gated courtyard estate in Wood Green he laughed and shouted: “Hallelujah.”

His victim, a 79-year-old Cypriot woman named locally as Eletheria Demetriou, was found with multiple stab wounds by paramedics.

A man in his early thirties, believed to be the woman’s grandson, later arrived at the flat in tears.

Mrs Demetriou, was born in Spathariko in Cyprus known locally as “auntie”, had lived alone in Morant Place, off Commerce Road, for at least 15 years and had difficulty walking after a double hip replacement.

Her alleged attacker, aged 31, lived a few doors away and often helped tend the balcony garden of her terrace flat and collected groceries from local shops. Residents described the community as “rough, but close-knit”.

Forensic science detectives worked through the night gathering evidence from the two flats. A large Union Jack hung in the window of the suspect’s front room, which was decorated with Team GB flags.

A 17-year-old girl who lives opposite said: “I heard the police sirens and came outside and he was lying in the street against a wall. He was just wearing a pair of thin shorts and no top.

“The police were everywhere, there was a helicopter and ambulances. They cordoned the road off and arrested him. As he was taken away I heard him say ‘hallelujah’. It looked like he was laughing. No one saw anything until the ambulances came. He must have called the ambulance himself.”

Hakim Abdillahi, 31, of Morant Place, is due to appear in custody at Highgate Magistrates’ Court today charged with the murder of the 79-year-old woman.

The victim was this morning named as Eleftheria Demetriou, also of Morant Place, although formal identification is yet to take place.

Ms Demetriou – who was known as “Auntie” or “Grandma” by her neighbours – died after being stabbed multiple times in the flat which had been her home for decades.