HERTFORDSHIRE MAN JAILED FOR DEADLY ASSAULT ON HOUSEMATE
A man has been sentenced to a minimum of 14 years imprisonment for murdering a woman in Hertfordshire.Tomas Navickas, aged 32, from Ermine Close in Royston, was convicted of the murder of Svetlana Olsevka, aged 43, at their shared home.
Ms Olsevka was discovered in March 2010 with fatal injuries including chest and stomach wounds.
Navickas admitted to the murder at the start of his trial at Luton Crown Court and received a life sentence.
The victim left behind a daughter in her early 20s, as well as her mother and brother, who reside in the Daugavpils area of Latvia.
The case revealed that Ms Olsevka had come to the UK five years prior to work, and both she and Navickas had been drinking heavily on the night of the attack.
Post-mortem examinations showed she suffered 14 broken ribs, and her liver, spleen, and small bowel were torn, leading to her death.
Prosecutor Beverly Cripps described the assault, stating that she suffered relentless violence including kicking and punching, which resulted in her being utterly helpless.
Navickas expressed remorse and said she was his best friend and he could not understand how he could have done it.
Judge Richard Foster said, 'That night, in drink, you attacked Svetlana relentlessly.
You kicked her and you punched her and it was your shod foot and your hands that brought about her death.
She would have been utterly helpless in the face of such a persistent attack.'
