The full horror of the killing of an 81-year-old pensioner whose body was set on fire at her £2 million home was revealed for the first time today by a High Court judge.
Tautrydas Narbutas was sentenced at Reading Crown Court today – months after he admitted to killing Albertina Choules in her woodland home, in Ragmans Lane.
An arsenal of weapons, including a machete, knives and wooden stakes, were used to kill and “desecrate” the body of Mrs Choules by the man she caught climbing in through an upstairs window of her home early one morning.
Mr Justice Stuart-Smith told Lithuanian-born Narbutas: "What you did was deeply shocking and utterly revolting."
Moments earlier he had heard how then 23-year-old intruder had killed the independent white-haired widow and then put her body in a wheelbarrow before taking her into the garden of her home.
There, he stabbed her with three wooden stakes, before attacking her with a machete and cutting off her ring finger.
The judge said that he then set fire to the victim's naked body, before stripping naked himself as police arrived following the terrified victim's 999 call to summon help as she fought with Narbutas throughout the house before succumbing to the ferocity of his attack.
Narbutas, now 25-years-old, admitted killing Mrs Choules, a Buddhist widow, before dragging her outside and setting her alight.
Narbutas, who lived in High Wycombe, was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after denying murdering the 81-year-old last year.
Police were called out and struggled to arrest Narbutas, who also attacked a police officer before trying to escape.
A post mortem revealed that Mrs Choules' cause of death was from multiple injuries.
The prosecution had accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter rather than murder, because he has a psychotic disorder which makes him less responsible for his actions.
Sentencing him to serve an indefinite hospital order starting at Broadmoor Hospital, Mr Justice Stuart-Smith, said to the schizophrenic: "What you did was deeply shocking and utterly revolting to anyone in their right mind.
“You broke into her home by an upstairs window and then attacked her with sustained ferocity inflicting the most terrible injuries and humiliating degradation upon her.
“You took her out of her house and into her garden where you started a fire, onto which you put her naked body. At some point you severed one of her fingers and a ring was found nearby."
The judge also commended the brave police officers who were first on the scene and advised they received a commendation for their actions.
He added: “When the police arrived, they saw you stoking the fire; you were then naked from the waist up.
“Police Constable Coady thought he was going to die, the effects of that day have stayed with him daily. PC Crisp was under constant attack from you and has required considerable assistance to cope with the effects.
“When reinforcements arrived you were seen completely naked and making aggressive gestures to the police and a helicopter. As they approached you had placed your hands firmly in the fire, but when challenged you again became violent."
Mrs Choules body was discovered in her garden at around 7.15am on July 6, 2016 after she made a 999 call to report a disturbance at her home.
Italian-born Mrs Choules lived without electricity in her home and would take care of the wildlife near her country home.
Villagers were free to visit her estate as part of a Buddhist trail she built with her husband Michael, a fellow Buddhist convert, who died in 2004 after battling cancer.
At the time of her death, a statement from her family said: “Tina was incredibly special, as was her simple, self-sufficient way of life with no electricity, television or washing machine.
“She never liked to sit still and worked tirelessly to maintain her beautiful garden and produce all year round.
“Even in her old age she would chop trees, dig up flowerbeds and wrestle with her lovely dog, Georgie.
“She was completely selfless in giving away her fantastic fruit and vegetables to friends and family as well as sharing her wonderful Buddhist Stupas [that she built with her own hands] with those that chose to walk in the woodland.
“Her friends and family in both the UK and Italy miss her very dearly.”
Narbutas has been sent to Broadmoor Hospital indefinitely under a section 37 Hospital Order with a section 41 restriction under the Mental Health Act (1983).
Confirming the indefinite hospital order with a Section 41 Order under the Mental Health Act, Judge Stuart-Smith concluded: “The unlawful killing of Ms Choules was a grave offence, you would pose a significant risk if released.
“Any order of the court must provide proper and effective protection for the public. With the benefit of the expert evidence, I have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to make not merely a hospital order but also a restriction order under Section 41 without limitation as to time.
“If it is ever safe for you to be discharged into the community in years to come, it should only be under the closest supervision and monitoring.”
Narbutas wore a blue sports top while a Lithuanian interpreter translated proceedings.
Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Shearwood, of the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit, said: "This was an unprovoked, random attack on an innocent woman, who was killed in her own home.
"Mrs Choules was retired and was a popular figure in the local community.
"She lived alone at her home in Marlow and enjoyed a peaceful life, which was tragically ended on the 6th July, 2016, as a result of Narbutas' attack.
"Understandably, this has been an extremely traumatic ordeal for Mrs Choules' family, and I would like to thank them for their bravery and support throughout this process.
"Nothing will ever bring Albertina back to her family, however I hope the verdict goes some way towards helping them move forward from what must be an unimaginably painful time in their lives."
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