A man who strangled his former partner and three times with a kitchen knife has been jailed.
Rafal Rekowski, 26, of Selby, went to the victim’s address last May armed with a knife where he threatened and strangled her.
He made demands for the victim to go to Poland with him, otherwise he would kill her.
In fear, the victim agreed to go with him. Once outside the she briefly managed to flee and ran to a group of people across the road and asked for help.
Rekowski then approached the group and managed to stab the victim three times, once to her back, her shoulder and arm.
Prior to this Rekowski had sent her a message saying he was going to have a cigarette and would be in prison the following day.
He also made threats to “catch you this way or the other in a couple of years”.
During their investigations, North Yorkshire Police digital forensic experts discovered that Rekowski had installed software on the complainant’s computer to monitor her social media accounts after they had split up.
CCTV enquiries revealed Rekowski had discarded the knife blade down a storm drain. A specialist search team later recovered the blade from the drain.
Rekowski was jailed for six-and-a-half years at Leeds Crown Court. He will also spend three years on extended licence and was handed a lifelong restraining order.
‘Could have been more serious’
After the court case, Detective Alex Dorlin from North Yorkshire Police said: “This stabbing could have easily been far more serious if it wasn’t for intervention of people who were in the area at the time.
“I am glad Rekowski pleaded guilty, preventing the victim having to go through a trial, and although the sentence will never make up for the trauma she has been through, I hope it will help her begin to rebuild her life.
“North Yorkshire Police takes all forms of domestic abuse incredibly seriously. If you are affected by it, please have confidence in reporting it to us – we will listen and we will support you throughout our investigation.”
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