Barmaid stabbed more than 20 times by 'jealous' boyfriend in north London home while they celebrated the New Year

James Richardson, 35, has been jailed for six years after he stabbed Natalia Czekaj more than 20 times with a bread knife in a "brutal and sustained" attack.
Victim: Natalie Czekaj was stabbed with a knife more than 20 times in her home
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Jamie Bullen2 October 2015

A popular barmaid was stabbed to death in her north London home with a bread knife by her "jealous" boyfriend as the pair celebrated New Year.

James Richardson, 35, attacked Natalia Czekaj with a knife more than 20 times while he was drunk in what was described as a "brutal and sustained" killing.

Richardson, of Berridge Green, Edgware, denied murdering the 34-year-old in January but admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility on the grounds he suffers from alcohol dependency.

At his trial at the Old Bailey, the court heard Ms Czekaj was considering splitting from Richardson, which caused him to start going through her phone.

On the day of her death, the unemployed plumber took three knives from the kitchen and repeatedly stabbed his girlfriend, almost decapitating her, as she tried to fend him off.

She suffered a ruptured heart from one stab wound to the back while wounds to her neck showed Richardson used the knife in a sawing motion.

Afterwards, he phoned 999 to report the attack.

Guilty: James Richardson admitted the manslaughter by diminished responsibility
Metropolitan Police Service

Prosecutor Tim Cray QC said: "The Crown case is the defendant carried out a sustained and overwhelming knife attack on the deceased who tried but failed to defend herself.

"In the period immediately before the killing, Natalia had been saying she had been thinking of leaving the defendant. This had made him jealous and he was going through her phone."

He added: "We say the attack was brutal and sustained. There is a background of controlling behaviour and evidence of previous violence."

Before Ms Czekaj was killed, the couple were involved in some pushing and shoving while they were both drunk, but the barmaid never complained said she could "give as well as she gets", the court heard.

Mr Cray said she came from a "close and loving family" and was "extremely popular" with everyone who knew her.

The court heard that her death was the second tragedy to strike the family as her Polish father had been murdered when she was two.

In mitigation, Alexander Cameron QC called for a sentence in "single figures" to take into account the extent of the conscious wrongdoing while he was suffering severe effects of alcohol dependency syndrome.

He said the sentence should mark the "loss of life but not put off for too long the root cause of this dreadful event".

Although Richardson could not remember the killing, "his remorse and shock have been wholly genuine", Mr Cameron said, and the defendant offered an abject apology and condolence to the grieving family.

The defendant hung his head in the dock as Judge John Bevan QC told him that Ms Czekaj had been "the gratuitous victim of your rage".

Sentencing, Judge Bevan told him he would serve two thirds of his sentence - amounting to four years - less the nine months he has already served on remand.

The judge also imposed an extended licence period of five years during which he will be closely supervised and receive help with his alcohol addiction.

In accepting the plea of manslaughter by diminished responsibility, the prosecution had to be satisfied he had a medical condition that substantially impaired his responsibility.

Two psychiatrists backed up the diagnosis in reports.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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