Woman accused of stabbing banker boyfriend and leaving body to decay for days

Police entered the Newington Causeway apartment on March 15 after a welfare check and discovered the partially decomposed corpse of Henrik Slotsaa, a Citibank banker, in the bedroom. Prosecutors allege that Joanna Cierpka stabbed him with a kitchen knife following a revelation that he had been flirting with a colleague and had told her he had met someone else. The body showed multiple sharp-force injuries and signs of decomposition, with dried blood nearby.

Cierpka, originally from Gdynia, Poland, attempted to cut her own throat when officers arrived and later told staff she had killed her partner. She has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, maintains she did not intend murder, and is appearing from HMP Bronzefield. The trial continues as jurors consider whether her mental state reduces her culpability.