Kettering: Pawel Chmielecki sentenced to life for killing wife

Pawel Chmielecki launched a 'sustained and ferocious' attack on his wife

A man who murdered his estranged wife after she walked out on him has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Pawel Chmielecki, 40, stabbed 31-year-old Marta Chmielecka 32 times in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in October 2021.

The judge at Northampton Crown Court said: "It was a sustained and ferocious attack borne entirely out of anger and jealousy."

Chmielecki will serve a minimum of 18 years and four months behind bars.

The defendant pleaded guilty to murder last year.

The court heard 19 stab wounds were found on Ms Chmielecka's face and neck and there were seven wounds on her right hand, which indicated she had tried to protect herself.

Marta Chmielecka's family say 'it's never going to be the same without her'

Marta Chmielecka and her husband moved to Kettering from Poland in 2017.

They separated three years later, but Ms Chmielecka stayed in Kettering close to her brother and his family.

She formed a relationship with a work colleague, but Chmielecki refused to accept his marriage was over.

CCTV footage taken on the night of 15 October 2021 showed Chmielecki approaching his estranged wife as she walked home.

It showed a struggle that resulted in Ms Chmielecka falling to the ground. Then, holding her in what police described as a "bear-hug", Chmielecki pushed her across a road towards his home on Wood Street.

Footage from police body cameras showed officers responding to a call from a concerned relative by forcing open the door of Chmielecki's flat.

Inside, they found Ms Chmielecka's body with Chmielecki sitting beside her with self-inflicted stab wounds.

Det Supt Joe Banfield, who led the inquiry for Northamptonshire Police, said: "Pawel Chmielecki did not want to accept the end of his relationship with Marta, and remained in contact with her despite her attempts to distance herself from him.

"Tragically for Marta, Chmielecki's efforts to maintain a hold over her culminated in his ferocious fatal attack, after which he stayed with her body in his room for almost four days, before he attempted to take his own life as police arrived.

Det Supt Joe Banfield welcomed the "significant prison term" for Pawel Chmielecki

"For the sake of her loving family, who remain devastated by her death, I am glad Chmielecki now accepts his guilt on this as well, and I'm pleased to see him receive this significant prison term."

Judge David Herbert KC sentenced Pawel Chmielecki to life imprisonment, adding that he should serve at least 18 years and four months. He told Chmielecki: "If you couldn't have her, you wanted to make sure no-one else could.

"Those last moments of her life would have been utterly terrifying, as she did her best to defend herself."

The family of Marta Chmielecka paid tribute to her, saying she had many plans and dreams

Ms Chmielecka's family said she had many plans and dreams. In a statement, they added: "We all loved her so much.

"Losing Marta has changed our whole lives. None of us will ever be the same."