Alleyway killer jailed for life

Miss Motylska worked at a cafe in the Harehills area

An Iraqi Kurd man who killed his flatmate's 19-year-old girlfriend by almost severing her head will serve at least 19-and-a-half years in prison.

A judge at Sheffield Crown Court heard how Abobakir Jabari, 39, brutally attacked Lidia Motylska because he did not approve of the relationship.

He garrotted Ms Motylska with a cord from his tracksuit trousers in an alley in the Lincoln Green area of Leeds.

Jabari, of Little London, Leeds, admitted murder at the hearing.

The judge, Mr Justice McKinnon, heard how Jabari shared a flat with Ms Motylska's boyfriend in the Little London area of Leeds.

Judge McKinnon jailed him for life and told him he must serve a minimum of 19-and-a-half years in prison before he can be considered for release.

After the hearing, Det Supt Bill Shackleton, of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said: "Lidia was a 19-year-old girl in a new relationship and in a new country and her life was callously taken by Jabari."