The husband of murdered Jill Meagher says the man who raped and murdered his wife is “unrepentantly evil”.

“They should have the death penalty for people like me,” Adrian Bayley told police after admitting he raped and strangled Jill Meagher in a Melbourne laneway.

The family of Jill Meagher have released a statement describing their devastation after a 41-year-old man Adrian Ernest Bayley was charged with her rape and murder.

ABC Australia says 41-year-old Adrian Ernest Bayley has been charged with the rape and murder of missing Irish woman Jill Meagher.