The killers of Lithuanian immigrant worker Jolanta Bledeite have been sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment, with recommendations that they serve 28 and 20 years respectively.  Should they ever be freed, they are likely to be deported after Lord Pentland made that recommendation.

“Vitas Plytnykas, the jury has unanimously convicted you of the horrific murder of Jolanta Bladeite, of dismembering and disposing of her body, stealing her bank cards and using them to remove the sum of £1,400 from her bank accounts. By your pleas of guilty you Alexandras Skirda also stand convicted of her murder, of dismembering and disposing of her body and of stealing the sum of £1,400," Pentland said.

"The evidence clearly showed that the two of you planned and plotted these crimes with cold-blooded deliberation over a period of some months. Your victim was to be a young and defenceless woman, one of your fellow Lithuanian citizens, whom you understood to have saved her hard-earned wages from farm work. Your motive was to rob her of her savings by forcing her to disclose the PIN numbers for her bank accounts. Your intention all along was to murder Jolanta Bladeite and then to mutilate and dispose of her body in an attempt to cover your tracks. You executed this wicked scheme with determined ruthlessness and a chilling lack of pity.

"Jolanta Bladeite must have suffered a terrifying and lonely death. Having been threatened, she was then left bound, gagged and helpless on the floor in her own bedroom while you Plytnykas went twice to use her bank cards and PIN codes and you Skirda stood guard over her, smoking a cigarette. After the first unsuccessful attempt to withdraw money, you assaulted her. Then, having eventually got the money, you suffocated her with a pillow. It is clear that her ordeal that morning must have been a prolonged one.

"After that the two of you set about desecrating her body and discarding it, having on two days carried parts of the body through the public streets in the repulsive and degrading manner described in the evidence.

"Despite what has been said in mitigation, I am not at all persuaded that either of you has shown any genuine sign of remorse at any stage.

"The gravity of this murder was substantially aggravated by a number of factors. First, there was a particularly strong degree of pre-meditation. Second, the motive was financial gain. Third, your victim must have suffered great terror before her death. Fourth, she was a defenceless woman who had done you no harm whatever. Fifth, you went to great lengths to desecrate and dispose of her body in an effort to escape detection. Sixth, you have evinced no genuine remorse.

"Vitas Plytnykas on charge 2 – the murder charge – I impose the mandatory sentence of imprisonment for life.

"The law requires me to set a minimum period that you must serve in prison as the punishment part of your life sentence. In fixing this period I take account of the aggravating features I have already mentioned. I can identify no mitigating considerations and your counsel has not submitted that there are any. I take account also of your previous conviction for manslaughter in Germany in 2001 for which you received a sentence of seven and a half years imprisonment. It is very clear from the fact that you have now been convicted twice of homicide (the present case being of a particularly evil nature) that you have no respect for human life or decency. In the circumstances, I consider that you must serve at least 28 years in prison as punishment before the possibility of release on licence may even be considered. I emphasise that the period of 28 years is only a minimum which I am required by law to set at this stage. You will not necessarily be released after 28 years and may indeed never be released. I shall backdate that sentence to 7 April 2008 when you first appeared in court in relation to these matters.

"On charge 3, I impose a sentence of imprisonment of 15 years. This will run concurrently with the sentence on charge 2 and be backdated to 7 April 2008.

"On charge 1 I impose a sentence of 1 year’s imprisonment. On charge 4 I impose a sentence of 6 months’ imprisonment. On charge 5 I impose a sentence of 1 year’s imprisonment. These sentences will all run concurrently with the sentence on charge 2 and be backdated to 7 April 2008.

"In view of the gravity of your crimes I will also recommend to the Secretary of State that a Deportation Order be made against you under section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1971, as amended.

"Alexandras Skirda, although you are the younger of the two perpetrators, you played a full part in the planning and execution of these dreadful crimes. You were a willing participant and despite all that has been said on your behalf in mitigation I am not persuaded that you have expressed any genuine remorse. Twice you had the opportunity to help the deceased when left alone with her, but you did nothing to assist her. I note that in the Social Enquiry Report you are described as cold, calculating and grimly determined and it is stated that you exhibited no emotion or remorse for the victim or her family. My own impression, having seen and heard you give evidence in court, is that these observations are entirely justified. I do not consider that the psychological report detracts from this in any great degree.

"In your case on charge 2 I impose the mandatory sentence of detention for life.

"The law requires me to reflect the fact that you pled guilty at an early stage. Had it not been for your early pleas of guilty, I would have fixed the minimum period which you must serve as punishment in prison at 24 years, taking account of your lack of previous convictions and the assistance you tendered to the police investigation.. To reflect your pleas and the fact that you cooperated in giving evidence for the Crown, I shall discount that period to one of 20 years. Again I stress that this period is only a minimum. I shall backdate your sentence to 7 April 2008.

"On charge 3, I impose a sentence of imprisonment of 10 years’ imprisonment discounted from 12 years.

"On charge 5 I impose a sentence of 9 months’ imprisonment discounted from 1 year.

"The sentences on charges 3 and 5 will both run concurrently with the sentence on charge 2 and be backdated to 7 April 2008.

"I will also recommend that a Deportation Order be made against you under section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1971, as amended in view of the gravity of your crimes”.