Man jailed after fatal doorstep attack on vulnerable 72-year-old in Wakefield

Stephen Jedynak was assaulted during an altercation outside his home in Thorntree Court, Crofton, on December 23 last year.

CCTV footage taken from a distance showed Stephen being punched to the side of the head by Hamza Shafique.

The blow caused Stephen to hit his head on the front door before he slumped to the ground.

Shafique then moved Stephen inside the property, closed the door and drove away.

Stephen was found unresponsive at his home on December 24 and was taken to Pinderfields Hospital.

He died in hospital on December 27.

His death was referred to police by the Coroner’s Office on December 31 for further investigation.

A murder investigation was launched by West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Major Enquiry Team on January 4 after a forensic post-mortem examination found Stephen had suffered serious head injuries consistent with an assault.

Enquiries to trace the vehicle involved led officers to arrest Shafique on January 8, along with two other men, aged 32 and 23.

All three were arrested on suspicion of murder and being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

A fourth man, aged 36, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

The three men were later released on bail, with enquiries into the drugs matters remaining ongoing.

Shafique was charged with manslaughter in connection with Stephen's death on January 9 and was remanded in custody to await trial.

At Leeds Crown Court, Shafique, now 28, of Maidstone Street, Bradford, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to six years and three months in prison.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson said: “Stephen Jedynak was assaulted on the doorstep of his home and lay fatally injured for several hours inside the address before later being found unresponsive.

“A full and thorough investigation by detectives established the circumstances in which he was assaulted and resulted in Hamza Shafique being traced and subsequently charged with his manslaughter, of which he has now been convicted and sentenced.

“Stephen was a vulnerable 72-year-old man who lived alone and who did not deserve to lose his life in such a harsh and unnecessary way as a result of Shafique’s violent actions.

“We hope it will provide some measure of comfort to Stephen’s family to see him held accountable for causing his death.”

In a statement, Stephen's family said: “Stephen was 72 years old when he passed away as a result of someone's reckless actions. He was a dad, brother, and uncle and he is missed by our family, especially at gatherings where he used to reminisce about our childhood to the younger generation.

“We do appreciate how quickly the police investigation progressed to identify the person responsible and making an arrest, to charging him. We would like to express our thanks to Pinderfields Hospital's bereavement team, the Crown Prosecution Service and the police investigation team and our family liaison officer, DC Jan Burrill.”