Man jailed for life for murder of ex-partner

David Gikawa, 39, stabbed 29-year-old Linah Keza to death - fulfilling his threat to her and to others that if he could not have her, nobody could, said judge Michael Topolski at the Old Bailey. "It was not a loss of control, but a loss of temper, and an act of calculated, jealous revenge on an innocent woman whose life you had made a fearful misery," Topolski said, the Guardian reports.

The prosecution said during Gikawa's trial that the "systems in place" failed to prevent the death of Keza, who had been in contact with both police and social services.

Gikawa denied murdering Keza while she was with their two-year-old daughter at her flat in Leyton, east London, at about 4.20am on 31 July last year, but he was convicted by the jury.

The judge told Gikawa: "You stabbed her three times. The third, and probably final, stab wound was in her back. The evidence was that it would have required the use of severe force - the point of the knife broke off, and remained inside her body. You did all this in front of your two-year-old daughter."

The couple met in 2009, and their child was born in September 2010.

Gikawa was capable of being kind, helpful and even loving, but also showed possessiveness and had jealous and violent outbursts, the judge said.

Five or six days before her death, Keza made a statement in an application for a non-molestation order, describing his controlling behaviour and his verbal and physical abuse. She alleged that on one occasion he put a knife in her mouth.

Gikawa was not prepared to accept the end of the relationship, the judge said.

"The very thought of her forming another relationship offended and enraged you," he told him.

"By July, it was obvious that she wanted you out of her life altogether, but you were not prepared to accept that. You would not leave her alone, you were stalking her, you were harassing her, and you failed to remove all your property from her flat."

On the evening of the night of the 28th and 29th, she rang the police three times, telling them in one call: "I'm so scared, I can't even breathe."

After the killing, Gikawa just drove away, without attempting to call for help. The trial heard that he gave himself up later that day.

A neighbour, Gideon Bello, who tried to intervene when he heard Keza screaming, was commended and awarded £500 from public funds by the judge.