Mirror apologises for 'Women who Kill' model photo mix-up

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The Daily Mirror has issued an unreserved apology to a fashion model whose photograph it wrongly used to illustrate an article about a serial killer.

The picture of Patricia Belda Martinez, also known as Morgana, appeared on the front cover and inside page of a supplement on "Women who Kill" on Saturday, next to an article about Vera Renczi, who lived in the former Yugoslavia between 1903 and 1939 and killed 35 men.

The model wrote on Twitter : "The Daily Mirror has stolen a self-portrait of myself to illustrate an article about a murderer of 35 people. Needless to say, I am not pleased."

Martinez told Journalism.co.uk yesterday that she had asked her lawyer to contact the paper "asking them to offer a solution".

Today's apology in the Mirror reads: "With Saturday's Daily Mirror we distributed a supplement entitled 'Women who Kill' which we trailed on the front page of the newspaper with a picture of the front page of the supplement.

"One of the women whose story featured in the supplement was Vera Renczi who lived in the former Yugoslavia between 1903 and 1939 and who killed 35 men.

"Unfortunately due to an error the picture we used, both inside and on the front page of the supplement, was not of Vera Renczi but of Patricia Belda Martinez, who is otherwise known as Morgana and who is a fashion model. The picture we used belongs to Ms Martinez.

"We apologise unreservedly to Ms Martinez for our error in wrongly using her picture in the supplement which she, of course, has no connection with and for the considerable embarrassment caused to her by our actions."