24 years in jail for 'monster' who murdered woman, 94 (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

24 years in jail for 'monster' who murdered woman, 94

8:00am Saturday 4th February 2012 in News By Steve Wright

A “damaged and dangerous” young man who carried out a prolonged and ferocious attack on a 94-year-old woman at a Bradford nursing home, has been locked up for at least 24 years for her murder and attempted rape.

Scott Sorby, 21, attacked Elizabetta Pecka after breaking into her room, hitting her at least ten times and leaving her with fractures to her cheekbones, jawbone and eye socket.

Mrs Pecka, originally from Slovenia, who had been relatively well and independent before the attack, never recovered from the trauma and died, aged 95, in hospital two months later.

Sorby, formerly of Binns Lane, Lidget Green, Bradford, was 20 at the time of the attack and on licence after serving a jail sentence for the rape and assault of a young woman security officer when he was 17.

The Court heard he suffered flashbacks to that incident during the attack on Mrs Pecka, hurting the pensioner because he wrongly blamed his previous victim for hurting him.

Sorby, who pleaded guilty to murder and attempted rape at a previous hearing, wrote in a letter found in his prison cell: “I thought I was hurting the person who had hurt me.

“When I came back to reality I was covered in blood. I felt like a monster.”

In another letter, meant for the probation service, he wrote: “I wanted to keep on hurting her. I kept on hitting her on the head. All I wanted to do was hurt this elderly lady.”

Prosecutor Adrian Waterman QC told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that Mrs Pecka was a resident at Rosewood Court nursing home in Shakespeare Close, Barkerend, and had gone to bed when Sorby broke in.

She was found by a member of staff, kneeling and covered in blood in her bathroom. Her lower clothing was around her ankles. Blood covered the walls and floor.

Mrs Pecka told medical staff her attacker was an animal who had treated her like a dog. She was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary but her condition “relentlessly and inexorably” worsened. She became a shadow of her former self and died from bronchial pneumonia, due to multiple injuries.

Medical experts linked her death to the attack on her.

The court heard that when Sorby heard that she had died he smashed up his cell, tied a bedsheet round his neck, cut his arm and daubed messages, some in his own blood, about himself on his cell wall, including “evil bastard.”

His barrister, Paul Greaney QC, said the attack on Mrs Pecka had not been pre-meditated and Sorby had intended to cause her grievous bodily harm, but not kill her.

Mr Justice King sentenced Sorby to life imprisonment and said the minimum term he would have to serve before the Parole Board could even consider his release would be 24 years.

The judge said: “I should stress that such a release is by no means automatic. The Parole Board will only order your release if they consider it safe and appropriate to do so and are satisfied that you pose no danger to the public. You are a patently dangerous young man.”

Mr Justice King said the murder was for gain during the course of a burglary and the victim was particularly vulnerable.

“You inflicted a significant degree of mental and physical suffering upon her before she died some two months after.”

It was a prolonged and ferocious attack and it appeared Sorby had deliberately imprisoned Mrs Pecka in her bathroom. He said it appeared he had carried out a search of her bedroom after the physical attack upon her.