A woman has recounted the moment she discovered her sister's lifeless body and encountered a man holding a large knife at a house in Waterlooville, Hampshire. The account was presented to jurors at Winchester Crown Court through police video testimony. Joanna Derkacz, 37, died in December 2023 shortly after ending her relationship with Stephen Sexton, who denies the charges against him.
According to BBC News, Arleta Derkacz told detectives she had gone to check on her sister after Sexton claimed Joanna was not at the property. Upon entering a bedroom, she found her sister dead. When she came downstairs, Sexton was holding what she described as a large kitchen knife.
Sexton, 39, of Cherrywood Gardens in Totton, denies murdering Joanna Derkacz at her home in Nevinson Way during the early hours of 28 December 2023. He also denies charges of rape and behaving in a coercive or controlling manner towards her.
In her recorded police interviews, Arleta Derkacz stated that her sister had previously told her Sexton had attempted to choke her, leaving her unable to breathe. After discovering Joanna's body, Arleta said Sexton told her:
You're not leaving.
Describing her fear to detectives, Arleta Derkacz recalled:
I just saw my sister being dead. He had nothing to lose; he'd just killed my sister. He could have followed me upstairs and stabbed me. She was pulled from the house by her partner and said she felt
petrifiedand
didn't look back.
What does the prosecution allege?
Prosecutors have presented evidence suggesting Sexton made no effort to seek medical assistance after Derkacz's death. According to BBC News, the prosecution told the jury that Sexton instead attempted to visit two sex workers; he denies these allegations.
The prosecution also presented DNA evidence indicating that Derkacz had been sexually assaulted. As BBC News reported, her saliva was discovered inside a Tesco shopping bag beside her bed, while Sexton's fingerprints and saliva were found on the bag's exterior.
What injuries did the victim sustain?
Post-mortem examinations revealed fractures in Joanna Derkacz's neck. Sexton's defence team has challenged the timing of these injuries, arguing they could have resulted from medical examinations conducted after her death rather than during the alleged attack.
What is Sexton's background?
The jury heard that Sexton had previous convictions for assaulting his ex-wife and damaging her phone, according to BBC News. Earlier in December 2023, during a police welfare visit, Derkacz had told officers that Sexton had never strangled her, though the court later heard conflicting accounts of this interaction.
What happens next?
The trial is scheduled to last 12 weeks, with proceedings continuing at Winchester Crown Court as the jury considers the evidence presented by both the prosecution and defence teams.
