A man from North London has had his sentence for manslaughter doubled, after killing his girlfriend in a drunken rage.
James Richardson was sentenced to six years in prison for the manslaughter of his girlfriend, Natalia Czekaj.
At the Old Bailey in September 2015, Richardson’s guilty plea to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility was accepted and he was subsequently sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, with an extension period of five years.
On Friday (15/01/16), the Court of Appeal doubled Richardson’s prison sentence to a total of 12 years’ imprisonment, with an extension period of five years.
The Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred the original sentence to the Court of Appeal.
Speaking after the Court of Appeal hearing, Mr Buckland said:
“I referred the original sentence as I felt that it did not properly reflect the severity of the case.
“This was a sustained and violent knife attack on the deceased, which involved her being stabbed in the back deeply enough to penetrate her heart – and the offender sawing at her throat so severely that all the structures of her neck were severed.
“I hope this increased sentence gives some comfort to the victim’s family.”
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