A vile killer tried to “decapitate” his ex-girlfriend in an alley ambush before trying to claim the injuries from the murder was a sword trick gone wrong.
Dennis Akpomedaye tried to cut Anna Jedrkowiak’s head off in a brutal attack where he stabbed her almost 40 times after midnight in Ealing, west London.
The 30-year-old had stalked her from his home in Newport, South Wales, last May.
Then, wearing a balaclava with his hood up, he waited for the 21-year-old, known as Ania, to finish her shift before he began stalking her and a young man she was close with.
Akpomedaye was today jailed for life, with a minimum term of 29 years, as Judge Rajeev Shetty branded the attack “ferocious and savage”, at Kingston Crown Court.
He said: “There is no mitigation here. There is no evidence of a mental disorder or disability.”
Akpomedaye was branded a "proper coward" by Ania's sister after refusing to appear in court to hear his sentence.
Akpomedaye, who was born in Nigeria, met Ania online in January 2021 and they dated for around a year before she ended the relationship.
In the weeks before her murder Akpomedaye began trying to manipulate her by threatening suicide.
He also told her: “We will be together no matter what. I will find you.”
When Akpomedaye was hurt during the attack, he gave false names when he went to the hospital twice for treatment and claimed he was a sword performer whose trick went wrong.
Ania's mother Danuta, who lives in Poland, said in a statement read to the court: “He, this murderer, is still alive and will be for many more years, despite the fact he took my daughter’s life.”
She said the “barbaric” way her daughter died meant her heart “broke with grief and despair”.
Ania's sister, Katareyna Glowacka, 39, who lives in the UK, was tearful in court as a statement describing her “despair, helplessness and complete disbelief” was read out.
She said: “I am also very angry. I have been robbed of the opportunity to have a sister in my life.”
Katareyna, who was pregnant when her sister died, added: “It is heartbreaking that my little baby boy will never meet his auntie.”
She said her “smart, tenacious and ambitious” sister, who was also “caring, kind and thoughtful”, was a gifted musician.
Speaking about his non-attendance in court, she added: "It just shows his true character, that he is a proper coward.
"He committed a crime but he is not able to face us, he's not able to look us in the eyes.
"For me personally, it's really disrespectful that he killed my sister and he didn't show any remorse.
"He never gave any statement why he did it, he just killed her and went about his life like nothing ever happened, which is horrible."
Jack Maskell, 21, who worked at Las Iguanas, was walking with Ania when she was murdered after the pair became “more than just friends”.
He told the court: “I have been left with indescribable memories that can never be erased.
“It was dark and cruel. I will never unsee what he did to her.”
Jack said seeing the killing has left him with “significant emotional problems” such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
He also told of feeling regret despite his efforts to save Ania, adding: “I will never know if I could have stopped what happened.”
Judge Shetty told him not to feel regret, saying there was “nothing” he could have done.
Addressing Ania's family, the judge said: “You have been present in court for the entire trial and sentence and heard the most painful evidence of Ania's last moments.
“I cannot imagine the horror and upset you have experienced and I know, as has been said, that Ania’s premature death will leave a hole in your lives that can never be closed.
“What I can say is that you have behaved with dignity. The sentence cannot do much to help you grieve or recover, save that I hope it at least completes a process of justice being done.”
After the attack, Akpomedaye had left a trail of blood leading from the scene, leading detectives to a pond in Gunnersbury Park, where he had dumped items he stole from Ania.
Using CCTV, forensic evidence and phone analysis, Metropolitan Police officers managed to arrest him within 22 hours of her death, and he was caught at Victoria coach station trying to return home to Wales.
Kerim Fuad KC, defending, said: “It is truly tragic and awful that a relationship once so full of hope and love can have come to this.
“The photographs that the jury were shown of the defendant and Ms Jedrkowiak speak of happiness, love and hope for the future.
“Her life was to be ended by the defendant’s act borne of rejection and jealousy.”
He told the court Akpomedaye had been “slowly falling down a dark hole”, living in maggot-infested “squalor” and facing financial difficulty.
Police say he has never shown any remorse for the murder, refusing to answer officers’ questions or attend court for his trial or sentencing.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk
If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk
