A depraved murderer in the UK has been sentenced to life behind bars for stabbing his girlfriend to death — and scrawling the words “It was me” on her leg in red nail polish.
Daniel Smith, 41, of Oldham, attacked Imogen Bohajczuk, 29, his girlfriend of several months, with a kitchen knife after an argument in February, the Sun reported.
On Tuesday, Judge Patrick Field sentenced Smith — who pleaded guilty to murder on July 20 — to life in the slammer, with a minimum term of 17 1/2 years.
“As I told you at the time, there is only one sentence that the law provides for the offense of murder and that is life imprisonment,” Field told him, according to the Manchester Evening News.
“It remains my task, however, to decide upon the appropriate minimum period that you will spend in gaol before the Parole Board can consider whether you are safe to be released,” he said, adding that Bohajczuk suffered a “brutal and ferocious attack.”
“The fatal injuries were multiple stab wounds, at least two of which were delivered with sufficient force — severe force — to penetrate bone,” he continued.
Referring to the nail polish message, the judge added: “This act looks like an act of callous and cruel triumphalism.”
Smith dragged Bohajczuk’s body to the bedroom, where he put her on the bed and wrote the chilling message.
She was discovered with defensive wounds, lying with her arms crossed and clutching a bottle of perfume, two weeks after she was slaughtered, according to the news outlet.
Smith also left a soft toy by her neck and bound her legs.
After murdering the mother of one, whom he had emotionally and physically abused throughout their turbulent relationship, the brute used her debit card 38 times to buy booze.
In February this year, Bohajczuk reported to police that Smith had attacked her and left marks on her neck and wrists, the Oldham Evening Chronicle reported. She also reported an assault from November 2020.
A month later, a friend became concerned because she had not seen or heard from Bohajczuk since Feb. 15, according to the outlet. When she went to check on her friend, she made the ghastly discovery.
Among the scratches and bruises, the victim also had strangulation marks, the paper said.
After he killed his girlfriend, Smith tried to cover his tracks by making calls from her cellphone and using her debit card, buying gas several times in February.
He became the prime suspect, and when he was arrested at a friend’s house on March 5, he had her card in his possession, the Evening Chronicle reported.
“Firstly, our thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends, who have had to endure such a tragic and traumatic event,” Detective Inspector Andy Naismith said.
“This was a brutal and cowardly attack on a defenseless woman and Smith has quite rightly been jailed for life,” he said.
“He gave no thought to the victim before, during or after the attack and attempted to cover his tracks by using the victim’s phone and bank cards,” Naismith continued.
“He did not admit the offence until the full weight of the evidence was put to him,” he added. “The family are now left to pick up the pieces of their lives and to try and come to terms with the death of a daughter, sister and loving mother — nothing will ever bring them peace.”
