Ex-lover guilty of fireball death

Clarke left Miss Szmecht for dead, Liverpool Crown Court heard

A 27-year-old man has been found guilty of the kidnap and murder of his former girlfriend, who died after being stabbed and set alight.

Monika Szmecht, 21, was able to crawl for help and identify her attacker as Anthony Clarke before she died, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

The ex-soldier drove her to a remote country lane in Rainford, Merseyside, to carry out the attack in June 2007.

Clarke, of Halsey Crescent, West Derby, Liverpool, will be sentenced on Friday.

Murder charges against Clarke's uncle, David Clarke, 46, and best friend Philip Savin, 29, were dropped when the men agreed to give evidence for the prosecution.

Savin helped Clarke force Miss Szmecht into the van and threatened her with a can of petrol, while David Clarke arranged for the van to be cleaned and all evidence of her hostage ordeal removed.

Shooting threat

David Clarke, of Walton Village, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender and Savin, of Chester Avenue, Bootle, Merseyside, pleaded guilty to kidnap, making threats and assisting an offender. Both will be sentenced on Friday.

The court was previously told that when Clarke learnt of his uncle's decision to give evidence, he threatened to have his own aunt shot.

Miss Szmecht, originally from Kloda, Poland, was stabbed six times and set alight in revenge for her attempt to blackmail her former boyfriend, the jury was told.

But Miss Szmecht survived long enough to crawl 150 yards to a house and, moments before she died, named Clarke when paramedics asked who was responsible.

Clarke, the owner of a tyre firm, motor garage and a taxi company in Liverpool, had denied the charges but was convicted by a unanimous verdict.

It was a truly brutal and tragic end to a young life Det Ch Insp Mark Dale, Merseyside Police

During the trial, Andrew Menary QC, prosecuting, told jurors how Clarke had ended a year-long relationship with Miss Szmecht - but refused to allow her to see other men.

He said Miss Szmecht had gone to the police when Clarke had been violent towards her, before demanding £1,000 from him to withdraw her statement.

Mr Menary said it was this blackmail attempt, which he called "naive and out of character", that led to her meeting Clarke on 11 June.

Instead of receiving the money, Miss Szmecht was forced into his van, locked inside a cage at the back and left for four hours.

She was then driven to Blindfoot Road, near the village of Rainford, St Helens, where she was murdered.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Ch Insp Mark Dale, who led the investigation, said the meeting with Clarke happened just before Miss Szmecht was due to make a complaint about him.

He said: "We do not know exactly what happened to her after that, until she turned up, seeking help in Blindfoot Road at 9pm, brutally stabbed and set alight.

"It was a truly brutal and tragic end to a young life."