Family of Wakefield pensioner fatally punched on his doorstep tells court: 'He didn't deserve this'
His family said he was the “life and soul” of family gatherings
The devastated family of a frail pensioner punched and killed on his own doorstep over a debt spoke out as the man responsible was sentenced.
Stephen Jedynak, 72, was fatally struck by Hamza Shafique who came to his home in Crofton just two days before Christmas last year.
Shafique, 28, was jailed for 75 months at Leeds Crown Court this afternoon after admitting manslaughter.
He was had denied the charge since his arrest but changed his plea today on what should have been the first day of his trial.
In a impact statement, written by Mr Jedynak’s brother and read to the court by prosecutor Ian Mullarkey, he 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.
“He was the life and soul of family gatherings.
“He was a good person but he did have his struggles. He did not deserve to die the way he did.
“It’s sad to think he was alone until he was found.
“At the time of his death he was quite frail and fragile. He was not capable of defending himself.
“Unfortunately, no sentence will bring him back. To find out he was deliberately hit by someone much younger shocked us.”
The court heard that Shafique and a group of men, all dressed in dark clothing and with hoods up, arrived on Mr Jedynak’s street on Thorntree Court, Crofton, at around 5.50pm on December 23 in a Cupra Leon car.
They were there to collect a debt, possibly for drugs.
Shafique went to the door of the bungalow, where Mr Jedynak lived alone, and spoke to the pensioner on the doorstep.
Shafique then lashed out with a single punch that sent the elderly man to the floor, unconscious.
He stood looking at his lifeless body for a few seconds, then bundled Mr Jedynak’s limbs back into the property in order to close the door.
Shafique went back to the car and sent an associate back to the bungalow, who looked through the window and saw Mr Jedynak getting up, so they all left the scene.
It was not until the next day, Christmas Eve, that Mr Jedynak’s sister-in-law found him on the sofa in his bungalow. He could barely communicate and was “very poorly”, Mr Mullarkey said.
He was taken to Pinderfields Hospital but died on December 27.
A postmortem found he had a fractured skull and significant hemorrhaging of the brain. It was consistent with being struck to the head.
Shafique, of Maidstone Street, Bradford, was arrested on January 8 and refused to answer police questions.
He was initially arrested on suspicion of murder and later charged with the lesser offence of manslaughter.
Following sentencing, the senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson of West Yorkshire Police, 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.”