Man jailed for at least 29 years for ‘barbaric’ murder of ex-girlfriend

Dennis Akpomedaye, 30, tried to decapitate Anna Jedrkowiak while stabbing her almost 40 times after midnight in Ealing, west London, having stalked her from his home in Newport, South Wales, last May.

Wearing a balaclava and with his hood up, he waited for the 21-year-old, known as Ania, to finish her shift at Las Iguanas before following her and a young man she was close with.

Judge Rajeev Shetty, jailing Akpomedaye at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, said the attack was “ferocious and savage”.

He said: “There is no mitigation here. There is no evidence of a mental disorder or disability.”

Ms Jedrkowiak’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”.

Ms Jedrkowiak’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.”

Ms Glowacka, 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.

Jack Maskell, 21, who worked at Las Iguanas, was walking with Ms Jedrkowiak 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 been erased.

“It was dark and cruel. I will never unsee what he did to her.”

Mr Maskell 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 Ms Jedrkowiak, 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 Ms Jedrkowiak’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.”

Akpomedaye, who was born in Nigeria, met Ms Jedrkowiak online in January 2021 and they dated for around a year before she ended the relationship.

In the weeks before her murder Akpomedaye, who could not accept the break up, began trying to manipulate her by threatening suicide.

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.

In the weeks before the murder he told Ms Jedrkowiak: “We will be together no matter what. I will find you.”

Akpomedaye was hurt during his attack, giving false names when he twice went to hospital for treatment.

He used a bizarre cover story – saying he was a sword performer whose trick had gone wrong.

But the killer had left a trail of blood leading from the scene, leading detectives to a pond in Gunnersby 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 Ania’s death.

He was caught at Victoria coach station trying to return home to Wales.

Police say he has never shown any remorse for the murder, refusing to answer officers’ questions or attend court for his trial or sentencing.