Man admits to murdering girlfriend Natalina Angok in Melbourne's Chinatown

A man has admitted to murdering his girlfriend, whose body was found in a laneway in Melbourne's Chinatown.

Natalina Angok's body was discovered by a member of the public just after 6.30am on April 24 last year.

Christopher Allen Bell, her 33-year-old boyfriend of a year, today pleaded guilty to her murder.

Bell was ordered in December to stand trial in Victoria's Supreme Court but entered his plea during a preliminary hearing.

The death of Ms Angok, 32, prompted vigils across Melbourne. Her cause of death has not been revealed.

A court has previously heard Bell suffers from schizophrenia and was released from a psychiatric facility a week before he killed Ms Angok.

Bell, from Phillip Island, is due to return to court for a pre-sentence hearing in September.