Joanna Cierpka, 51, is on trial for the murder of Henrik Slotsaa, 52, a City banker, whose body was found decomposing in their apartment in Elephant and Castle nine days after his death. Prosecutors claim that before being killed, Slotsaa offered to give Cierpka £70,000 and land in Greece to ease their separation due to his growing friendship with Aimee O'Shaughnessy. The court heard that jealousy over this relationship contributed to the killing, which occurred on March 15 when police intervened after finding Cierpka attempting suicide.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A City banker wanted to offer his girlfriend £70,000 and a plot of land in Greece before she stabbed him to death and left his body to rot, a court has been told.
asserted
court → want → body
Joanna Cierpka, 51, tried to cut her throat with an eight-inch kitchen knife when police officers stormed her apartment in Newington Causeway, Elephant and Castle, on March 15.
asserted
officers → try → March
They found the partially-decomposed body of 52-year-old Henrik Slotsaa lying in the bedroom.
asserted
They → find → bedroom
Investigators found unusual marks on the body which may have been 'an attempt' to dismember his body, they said.
uncertain
they → find → body
Cierpka, a Polish national, has pleaded not guilty to murder but she says she is guilty of manslaughter by reason of her diminished responsibility.
asserted
she → plead → responsibility
The Old Bailey previously heard that Mr Slotsaa told Cierpka on her birthday he had met someone else at work, while a prosecution psychiatrist has said jealousy over his friendship with Aimee O'Shaughnessy formed part of the backdrop to the killing.
asserted
jealousy → hear → killing
Ms O'Shaughnessy, who disclosed she was going through a divorce, grew close to Mr Slotsaa in the months before his death, with the banker telling her that he 'liked' her and 'enjoyed spending time with her'.
asserted
he → disclose → her
She told jurors on Friday that Mr Slotsaa had told her during a lunch that he was considering a financial plan which he thought could allow him to separate from Cierpka.
uncertain
him → tell → Cierpka
Ms O'Shaughnessy started work at Citibank in September 2025 and first met Mr Slotsaa at a work event on November 12, and they struck up a friendship, the court heard.
asserted
court → start → friendship
Joanna Cierpka, 51, (left), is accused of stabbing her banker boyfriend Henrik Slotsaa, 52, to death before leaving his body decomposing in their bedroom for up to nine days
Aimee O'Shaughnessy grew close to Mr Slotsaa in the months before his death, with the banker telling her that he 'liked' her and 'enjoyed spending time with her'.
asserted
he → accuse → her
In December, they had lunch together and they swapped numbers.
asserted
they → have → numbers
During a lunch near their office in January 2026, Ms O'Shaughnessy said Mr Slotsaa had told her that he 'liked' her and 'enjoyed spending time' with her.
asserted
he → say → her
She said that she replied that 'getting involved with somebody wasn't something I wanted to do' at that point in her life.
asserted
I → say → life
Mr Robinson asked: 'Were you explicit about that?'
Ms O'Shaughnessy replied: 'Yes.'
asserted
O'Shaughnessy → ask → that
Asked how he took it, she added: 'He was fine, he understood, he knew my home situation, I think he just wanted to be honest.'
asserted
he → ask → situation
Mr Robinson later asked: 'What was the status of the relationship?'
asserted
status → ask → relationship
Ms O'Shaughnessy replied: 'The same as it was before, just friends.'
asserted
it → reply → same
The prosecutor asked: 'As far as you were concerned did he appreciate that?'
Ms O'Shaughnessy replied: 'Yes.'
asserted
O'Shaughnessy → ask → that
The witness told the court that Mr Slotsaa had mentioned he was having a 'hard time' in his relationship with Cierpka and also discussed her health.
asserted
he → tell → health
Ms O'Shaughnessy said: 'He told me she was suffering from depression and hadn't been taking her medication.
'
asserted
she → say → medication
That was a struggle, he was trying to find ways to help her with that.
asserted
he → try → that
'He really did want to help her from the conversations I had with him.'
asserted
I → want → him
The witness told jurors that during one lunch, Mr Slotsaa discussed thinking about 'how he could resolve things with his partner financially so that they could perhaps separate'.
uncertain
they → tell → partner
Ms O'Shaughnessy went on: 'He was very good with his numbers and he worked a plan out that he thought could potentially work.
uncertain
he → go → plan
'But he was still very concerned about that because he didn't think it was the right thing to do because his partner, he deemed her to be not coping.'
asserted
her → think → that
Asked if Mr Slotsaa had mentioned anything about figures, she replied: 'He said he worked out that, potentially an offer of £70,000, and I believe there was a plot of land in Greece that he was potentially looking to offer.'
asserted
he → ask → that
Ms O'Shaughnessy added that Mr Slotsaa had mentioned feeling 'obligated' to his partner.
asserted
Slotsaa → add → partner
The court heard that in one text message to Ms O'Shaughnessy, Mr Slotsaa said: 'I always need you for some reason, I can't explain.'
asserted
I → hear → reason
Ms O'Shaughnessy replied to him that they were 'totally stuck together', telling jurors: 'He was just one of those people I knew I'd be friends with.'
asserted
I → reply → people
The court heard Mr Slotsaa also told Ms O'Shaughnessy in a text message that his 'heart skips a beat' when she was with him.
asserted
she → hear → him
She replied: 'We're def friends for life so you are stuck with me.'
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you → reply → me
Ms O'Shaughnessy told jurors: 'I was just trying to make light of it, we were just friends.'
asserted
we → tell → it
Cierpka was arrested after police found the body of Mr Slotsaa after being called to the property when being alerted to welfare concerns.
asserted
police → arrest → concerns
Danish national Mr Slotsaa, who worked as a banker at Citibank’s London office in Canary Wharf, was found dead in a bedroom, and it was clear he had been dead for some time, Danny Robinson KC, prosecuting, said.
'It was clear he had been dead for some time, as his body showed signs of decomposition, and there was dried, pooled, blood near to him,' said Danny Robinson KC, prosecuting.
asserted
KC → work → him
Cierpka was disarmed and told police: 'I don't want to be helped.
asserted
I → disarm → police
You know what happened here?
asserted
what → know → ?
He told me I'm a useless s***.
asserted
I → tell → me
He told me I should kill myself'.
asserted
I → tell → myself
She had a deep cut to her elbow and was taken to hospital where she told a member of staff: 'I killed my partner', which was recorded in writing, and she signed and dated the note, jurors were told.
asserted
jurors → have → note
Cierpka, originally from Poland, denies murder but has admitted manslaughter
Mr Robinson previously told jurors: 'There is no dispute that Miss Cierpka killed Mr Slotsaa by stabbing him with a kitchen knife.
asserted
Cierpka → deny → knife
…and 24 more, not listed.
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