A MAN has been jailed after admitting to the manslaughter of his partner, who died after falling from a window in her second-floor flat.
Kathleen John, 39, had been assaulted before the fall from her flat in Wembley, London in July 2022.
Leonidas Georgalla, 51, had breached a restraining order to stay away from the NHS nurse, which was issued following previous incidents of domestic violence.
At the Old Bailey on Friday, he was jailed for 12 years with an extended licence period of five years.
"Leonidas Georgalla is a danger to women with a history of domestic violence offences," said Detective Inspector John Marriott.
"At the time of Kathleen's death, there was a restraining order against him for previous abuse she had suffered and officers established previous incidents where he had been convicted of domestic violence offences in other countries."
Disturbance
At around 2.20am on Friday, July 29. 2022, emergency services were called to London Road, Wembley to reports that a woman had fallen from a height.
Officers and paramedics arrived and found Ms John motionless in a pathway at the rear of the address having sustained significant injuries.
Despite their best efforts, Ms John died at the scene, having fallen from a window two floors up.
When officers entered her flat, they found blood along with broken items, indicating there had been a disturbance.
Georgalla — who was in a relationship with Ms John and was present outside the flat when emergency services arrived — was arrested.
A post mortem examination concluded that Ms John has suffered injuries consistent with an assault, in addition to the injuries she sustained from the fall.
Officers established that Georgalla had breached a restraining order in relation to being with Ms John, which was in relation to previous incidents of domestic violence.
A check of his criminal record showed previous instances of domestic abuse.
Throughout his police interview, Georgalla refused to answer any of the questions officers put to him.
He was charged with Ms John's murder on July 30 but a plea of manslaughter was subsequently accepted.
Assault injuries
"We will never know the exact circumstances of how Kathleen came to fall from the window of her flat but the post mortem examination shows she had sustained assault injuries in the moments prior to this," said DI Marriott.
"While Leonidas has admitted responsibility for her death, this will be of little solace to Kathleen's family and friends.
"Tackling violence against women and girls remains a key priority for the Met and we continue to strive to improve how we identify and investigate offending."
