Albanian illegal migrant Elton Stefa has been handed a “life” sentence for “brutally” murdering a father-of-two with a Stanley knife and a metal scaffolding pole.
The Albanian’s family had paid some £10,000 to have him flown into Britain using documents stolen from an Italian citizen, and he took a job with a construction firm under the false name “Franco”, or “Frankie”.
Stefa had “little or no skill” to speak of in the field of construction, but 47-year-old foreman John Woodward took him “under his wing” as a labourer on three construction sites over a seven-month period.
He paid for this kindness with his life, with the Albanian ambushing him from behind with a Stanley knife and stabbing him in the neck on a building they had been working on, before bludgeoning him to death with a length of scaffolding.
Stefa subsequently fled back to his native Albania, but he was extradited to Britain by the authorities there after his true identity was uncovered.
It is still unclear why Stefa murdered Mr Woodward — the migrant claims to have “no memory” of the violent killing — but it is understood that he had complained about his weekly wages and Woodward had taken up the case with their employer, but found the pay to be correct.
“John suffered blunt force injury to the head and was defenceless on the floor. There were also multiple non-fatal injuries to his neck. For some reason, you attacked and killed him that day, You ended his life in a brutal way, attacking his head,” said sentencing judge Nigel Lickley QC in remarks reported by MyLondon.
“You have given no reason why you murdered a man who was supportive of you and took you under his wing despite your shortcomings as a workman. You have said you have no memory of the incident. I doubt that because your actions before and after were purposeful,” he continued.
“You have caused untold distress and misery. Words cannot express the true damage you have caused. It was assumed he had fallen and suffered an accident, but he had suffered a vicious attack by you.”
“John was a loving and caring family man and supervisor who was attacked in the cowardly manner by the man who John had overseen for the previous seven months,” commented Detective Inspector James Howarth f0r the Special Crime team on the Metropolitan Police force.
“Elton Sefa has refused to say why he attacked John in such a brutal and frenzied way and that has only added to the distress for John’s family,” he added.
“To John’s family, I express my admiration for your patience, fortitude and dignity which you demonstrated over the past three traumatic and very difficult years. I hope that now Elton Sefa has been convicted of John’s murder, you can begin to rebuild your lives and move on from this traumatic episode.”
This may be easier said than done, however, as the minimum amount of time the Albanian has to serve before being considered for parole is just 22 years — meaning he could be a free man again aged just 46; younger than Mr Woodward at the time he was murdered.