A man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend almost 40 times in a “barbaric” murder in an alleyway has been sentenced to life in prison.

Dennis Akpomedaye tried to decapitate 21-year-old Polish student Anna Jedrkowiak in Ealing, west London, having stalked her from his home in Newport, South Wales, last May.

Wearing a balaclava with his hood up, the 30-year-old waited for Ms Jedrkowiak, known as Ania, to finish her shift at a Las Iguanas restaurant before he followed her and a young man.

Akpomedaye was absent from Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday to hear his life sentence handed down with a minimum term of 29 years.

Ms Jedrkowiak’s sister, Katareyna Glowacka, who lives in the UK, called him a “proper coward” for refusing to face court to be jailed.

“It just shows his true character, that he is a proper coward,” the 39-year-old said.

“He committed a crime but he is not able to face us, he’s not able to look us in the eyes.

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“For me personally, it’s really disrespectful that he killed my sister and he didn’t show any remorse.”

Ms Glowacka was pregnant when her sister died and said it was “heartbreaking that [her] little baby boy will never meet his auntie”.

She said her sister was “smart, tenacious and ambitious” and a gifted musician.

‘Horror and upset’

In a statement read to the court, Ms Jedrkowiak’s mother Danuta, who lives in Poland, said: “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”.

Jack Maskell, 21, worked at Las Iguanas and was walking with Ms Jedrkowiak when she was murdered.

Mr Maskell and Ms Jedrkowiak had become “more than just friends” and he had been “left with indescribable memories that can never be erased”.

Judge Rajeev Shetty said he could not imagine “the horror and upset [Ms Jedrkowiak’s family] have experienced” after the attack which he called “ferocious and savage”.

Akpomedaye, who was born in Nigeria, met Ms Jedrkowiak online in January 2021.

They dated for around a year before she ended the relationship.

Akpomedaye could not accept the break-up and in the weeks before her murder began trying to manipulate her by threatening suicide.

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Kerim Fuad KC, defending, said: “[Ms Jedrkowiak’s] life was to be ended by the defendant’s act borne of rejection and jealousy.”

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

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