• Man on trial for killing mother’s friend
• He committed the murder after mother criticized his unemployment

Ernestas Juska, 21, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years after pleading guilty to murdering Nina Denisova in the early hours following a party at his mother’s house in August 2024.

Juska, from Dartford, Kent, told police he stabbed the 39-year-old victim multiple times in the face, neck, and chest with a large kitchen knife.

The court heard that after the attack, Juska walked to a nearby bus stop and asked a passerby to call the police because he had “just killed someone.”

Prosecutor Danny Moore explained that Juska, who had consumed a large amount of drugs, was angry after his mother criticized him for being unemployed, and chose to violently attack Denisova while she was asleep in an upstairs bedroom.

The victim, described as a “happy and hard-working” woman who had come from Lithuania to the UK seeking a better life, woke up after being stabbed in the neck and began to struggle, before Juska covered her mouth and continued stabbing.

Judge Dias said in sentencing that “the last moments of Nina Denisova’s life were filled with extreme, unexpected horror which she did not deserve.”

Detective Sergeant Max Gregory described the crime as “a shocking and senseless act of violence, seemingly without reason or any sign of remorse.”

The victim’s brother, Aleksandras, told the court that his sister’s death left “a huge void” and an “indescribable” impact on the family, adding, “We can never forgive him for what he did, and we will never understand why he committed this on that tragic day.”

Defense lawyer Beth O’Reilly stated that her client was “emotionally frozen, hopeless, and helpless,” expressing regret for what happened, though she acknowledged that her words might ring hollow in court.