A YOUNG man was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to the murder of a 19- year-old woman in Galway two years ago. Both were from the Czech Republic.
Jakub Fidler (24), Cartur Leathan, Indreabhan, Co Galway, pleaded guilty to the charge of murdering Nicola Vonkova at Inverin, Co Galway, on an unknown date between July 20th and July 21st, 2008.
Gardaí discovered the woman’s body lying face down in a drain, immersed in water.
Supt Noel Kelly, a senior investigating officer in the case, told the court the accused was taken to Galway Garda station, where he told gardaí during interviews that he had been in the company of Ms Vonkova from 7pm on the evening of July 20th, 2008 until her death.
He said they had an argument on the way back from the beach in relation to the deceased spying on his e-mail and instant messaging account.
At the house at Inverin they had a big argument, which culminated in Ms Vonkova’s death.
The court heard the deceased first met the accused in the Czech Republic when they were both working at a Tesco supermarket.
In a victim impact statement read out to the court, the deceased’s mother Magdalena Vonkova described her daughter as “extremely self-sacrificing” and someone who had a “strong social sentiment”.
The court heard the deceased had fought for the rights of animals and organised sponsorship for a children’s clinic in the Czech Republic.
She said; “I am a mother who survived her child, and this is a situation no mother is prepared for.”
John Gallagher, defending, expressed on behalf of the accused the profound remorse he felt for what he had done.
Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed the mandatory life sentence on the accused to date from July 21st, 2008.