On July 25, 2022, Adrian Ellingford, a married father-of-two, was stabbed to death in bed with his girlfriend, Stephanie Breame, by her ex-boyfriend, Marek Hecko, in Nelson Grove.
Hecko, 26, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 26 years in prison.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence of Hecko’s obsession with Breame and jealousy towards Ellingford, who had started dating her after their breakup in May.
Hecko had stalked Breame by showing up at her work and home uninvited and sending her messages and videos.
The night of the murder, Ellingford woke up in bed, saying there was someone in the house.
Shortly after, he collapsed to the floor with a knife lodged in his back.
Hecko had broken into Breame’s home, taken a knife from the kitchen, and stabbed Ellingford with such force that the blade struck a bone in his chest and the handle broke off.
After the murder, a police officer guarding the crime scene recorded a visibly inebriated Hecko stumbling back to the scene and telling the officer, “I know what happened.” Hecko was later identified as the main suspect in the killing while in custody.
At the sentencing, Ellingford’s widow, Laura, delivered a victim impact statement, describing her late husband as a “truly brilliant father” whose death has devastated the family.
The jury took less than a day to deliver the guilty verdict.
In his sentencing, Judge Christopher Morgan said Hecko was “jealous of her and suspicious of her.”
Hecko was sentenced to a minimum of 26 years in prison with credit for 230 days served.
»Man sentenced to 26 years in prison for stabbing Adrian Ellingford to death in Nelson Grove«
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