Woman who beat Ludmila Poletelova to death with claw hammer to spend minimum of 16 years in jail
A woman who beat her friend to death with a claw hammer has been told she will spend at least 16 years in prison for the murder.
Ludmila Poletelova, 61, was found dead at her home in Lodge Court, Limavady, in April 2021.
Svetlana Svedova, 47, of College Court in the Co Londonderry town, pleaded guilty to the murder in December last year.
At a sentencing hearing at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday, Mr Justice O'Hara said he had already imposed a life sentence on Svedova but now had to set a minimum tariff on the time she would serve before her case could come before parole commissioners.
The judge told the court that Ms Poletelova, a mother and grandmother, had been born in Russia but spent most of her life in Latvia before moving to Northern Ireland in 2009, and had been employed at a wine bar in Limavady.
He said: "Ms Poletolova was a lady who helped fellow Latvians and eastern Europeans who were struggling in Northern Ireland.
"Over several years she assisted some and helped others to find accommodation."
Mr Justice O'Hara said Svedova, who is Latvian, maintained her innocence in the face of "overwhelming" evidence until she finally pleaded guilty last December.
A pathologist's report showed she had been murdered, with approximately 50 blows struck to her head, most likely with a claw hammer.
The judge said her death must have been "brutal and horrific".
He told the court that police suspicion quickly fell on Svedova, who turned up at the wine bar to cover her victim's shift with injuries to her arms.
She subsequently told police she had visited Ms Poletolova's home and they had drunk together but that she had not killed her.
Mr Justice O'Hara said Svedova maintained her innocence in the face of "overwhelming" evidence until she finally pleaded guilty last December.
He added: "There is little or nothing that can be said for the defendant beyond the fact that she eventually pleaded guilty and in all probability she did not go to Ms Poletolova's home with the intention of killing her.
"What she did, in short, was to beat her so-called friend to death with approximately 50 blows from a hammer, probably on the Tuesday.
"She left her body lying in the flat until it was discovered on the Friday. She turned up at work to cover her shift and after that she maintained a complete denial of the murder.
"I do not accept there is any real evidence of remorse and none of the sort I would expect from a defendant who had murdered a helpful older friend."
The judge said that, even at the end of the 16-year minimum sentence he set, Svedova's release is not guaranteed, as that decision will lie with the parole commissioners.
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