Man who murdered 'heroic' teen trying to defend his mum before fleeing across Channel jailed

A man who stabbed a 15-year-old boy to death as he was trying to defend his mum from the attack before then fleeing across the Channel on a dinghy has been jailed for life.

Jakub Szymanski was killed as he heroically stepped in to stop Suleman Altaf, 45, carrying out the "extremely vicious, frenzied and targeted attack" on his mother Kataryzyna Bastek.

The teenager was fatally stabbed in the neck as he tried to fend off Altaf, who then fled the scene, in Miles Platting in Manchester, into a taxi before attempting to cross the English Channel.

He was discovered almost 24 hours later, approximately four miles out at sea, on a dinghy by an RNLI crew, and, after being brought ashore, was arrested.

Altaf was found guilty of Jakub's murder, attempting to murder his estranged partner Ms Bastek, who suffered serious injuries, and of possessing a knife in a public place, following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

He was jailed for a minimum of 30 years, and sentencing him, Judge Patrick Field KC said: “These were calculated, premeditated and wicked offences.

"Jakub Szymanski died an innocent hero trying to protect his mother from a cowardly and vicious attack.”

Speaking from the witness box on behalf of his family and his mother, Jakub's eldest brother Mikolaj Baraniak said: “Losing a child is difficult for any mother to bear.

"He came into my house to hurt me, this he did, not only physically but also the horrific injuries he inflicted on an innocent 15-year-old boy which resulted in his death.

“Altaf had no reason to come to the house. Such evilness. All we have now are memories.

"We can only describe him as unique, as each and every day he made us smile and laugh. Those quirky things that made us chuckle.”

Of his mum’s injuries, he said she is struggling with ongoing pain and issues to her arm, stomach and eye. He also said that he checks the Ring doorbell constantly and always checks that the door is locked.

“I have guilt that I survived and I lost my son,” Ms Bastek added in the statement, read by Mikolaj.

Jakub's sibling added: “He had a very special smile, a special face and was a special hero. We can’t and never will forget you, God bless Kuba.

"My only question is - Was it worth it? Because you have ruined the family.”

Jurors were told Altaf let himself into Ms Bastek's house, launching an attack on, and repeatedly stabbing her, as she desperately called out to her son for help.

Jakub ran downstairs and as he tried to fight off the attacker, he was stabbed in the neck.

The schoolboy received a catastrophic injury to the blood vessels in his neck, as well as defence wounds to his arms, and died around an hour later.

His mother received 13 stab wounds to her head and body, plus multiple facial fractures, a fractured rib and a collapsed lung.

Altaf was in the home for two minutes before fleeing, covered in blood, and taking a £350 taxi to Slough, where he was living at the time.

He then drove south to Dover, before boarding a dinghy on the English Channel, where he was spotted by an RNLI crew at about 6.45pm the following day.

He told rescuers he had used a dinghy because he wanted to get to Portugal to avoid deportation to Pakistan, as he feared arrest because he was no longer entitled to live in the UK.

Mitigating, Guy Gozem KC said his client was a man of good character, with character witnesses describing him as ‘helpful, kind and chatty’.

He said Altaf will reflect on his position over the next few ‘decades’ in prison.