A JEALOUS ex-boyfriend who strangled his former partner and stabbed her from behind three times in the street has been jailed.

Hours before the attack, Rafal Wantoch Rekowski, 26, had secretly installed software on the Selby woman’s computer so that he could remotely monitor her online and social media activities, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Then he went to her home after drinking, held a knife to her throat and searched her flat before attacking and strangling her.

“She became scared he would kill her,” said Michael Smith, prosecuting. Rekowski ordered the woman to go with him and dragged her by her clothes out of the building.

“She was petrified and didn’t know what to do or what would happen,” said the barrister.

In the street, she sought help from three men and tried to use them as a shield, but Rekowski stabbed her three times from behind.

She suffered a collapsed lung and cuts to her shoulder and arm and now fears what he will do when he is released from prison, Mr Smith told the court.

In a personal statement, she said she still has sudden pains and is permanently scarred from the attack.

Judge Rodney Jameson KC told Rekowski: “She was concerned about your jealousy and unfortunately she was right to be so. “ He declared that Rekowski would be a danger to the woman and any future partner she may have after he is released from prison and passed an extended prison sentence.

Rekowski, of The Maltings, Flaxley Road, Selby, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and carrying an offensive weapon. He was jailed for six and a half years, plus a three-year extended prison licence. He was also made subject indefinitely to a restraining order to protect the woman.

The judge said the main mitigation was the guilty plea.

Defence barrister Julian Goode said Rekowski was remorseful. He recognised he had a problem with alcohol and wanted to tackle it. 

Det Con Alex Dorlin of North Yorkshire Police said: “This stabbing could have easily been far more serious if it wasn't for intervention of people who were in the area at the time.

“I am glad Rekowski pleaded guilty, preventing the victim having to go through a trial, and although the sentence will never make up for the trauma she has been through, I hope it will help her begin to rebuild her life.

“North Yorkshire Police takes all forms of domestic abuse incredibly seriously. If you are affected by it, please have confidence in reporting it to us – we will listen and we will support you throughout our investigation.”

Mr Smith told the court the couple had been together for some years but had split up about six weeks before the stabbing.

On May 17, 2022, Rekowski sent a text to a friend calling the woman a “slut” and borrowed her laptop with her consent.

Without her knowledge he installed the monitoring software.

Later that day, he texted her saying “tomorrow he would be locked up”, the prosecution barrister said.

Just before midnight Rekowski went to her flat with a knife that had a 12 cm blade. He showed her his phone with him logged into her Facebook account and searched her flat to see if she had a man there. She didn’t.

He held the knife to her throat and strangled her twice, once by a window and once by a bed before insisting that she come with him.

Terrified, she agreed, hoping to get help en route. Rekowski scared off a neighbour whom the woman asked for help by threatening to stab him if he followed the pair.

Then she saw the three men in the street.