Burglar must swallow 'severe' sentence top judge rules
A heartless burglar who left a 94-year-old woman with a death wish after ransacking her home of seven decades must swallow his 'severe' sentence, top judges have ruled.
The thug, of no fixed abode, was caged for five years at Wolverhampton Crown Court in May, 2013 after he admitted two burglaries and one count of handling stolen goods.
Today, three senior judges at London's Appeal Court rejected a sentence challenge by Wieckowski, saying his punishment was tough but 'justifiably so'.
Sir Colin Mackay said Wieckowski and another man struck after the elderly victim had been put to bed by her carer, forcing their way in through a rear window on January 26, 2013.
Having tampered with the burglar alarm, the pair wrenched out phone lines so no one would be able to call 999 and snatched irreplaceable items, before making their escape.
The victim was unaware of the raid until the next morning. However, she later gave a statement saying she no longer felt safe while alone in the house - where she had lived for 73 years.
She could not eat or drink in the aftermath of the burglary and had to be treated for dehydration in hospital before returning home.
"Whenever he carer visited, she simply said she wanted to die," the appeal judge said.
Wieckowski was also connected to an earlier burglary in West Bromwich and admitted handling items pinched from a home in the same area on January 17, 2013.
On appeal, his lawyers argued his punishment was over the top.
But Sir Colin, sitting with Lord Justice Davis and Mrs Justice Andrews, said: "It was a sentence that was severe and, in our judgment, justifiably so.
"It cannot be described as manifestly excessive and we would dismiss this appeal accordingly."
