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15th April 2023
09:38am BST
Chilling CCTV shows the moment an evil killer led a woman she had just met back to her flat just hours before stabbing her to death.
Birute Klicneliene, 51, was handed a life sentence after she murdered mum Dace Kalkerte, 50, in a brutal attack on 15 April last year.
Dace was stabbed 16 times and sustained nine other wounds during the frenzied attack in Klicneliene’s first-floor flat in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
CCTV captured the pair chatting as they walked back through a park to the victim's flat together just hours before the murder.
They had met a few hours earlier when they were drinking together with their respective partners at an allotment in the town.
Police were called to the flat in Highgate after midnight on April 16 to discover Dace had been stabbed.
She was rushed to hospital but died from a fatal stab wound in the stomach.
When initially interviewed by police, Klicneliene denied murdering Dace and said she had fallen asleep when the women returned to the flat.
She claimed she initially thought Dace – who was lying on the floor when she woke up - was drunk and it was only when she picked her up that she realised Dace was losing blood.
Klicneliene told detectives she may have touched the blood-stained knife when she moved her and blamed the murder on an unidentified man, but there was no evidence to show anyone else had been in the flat at the time.
When officers first arrived at the flat after the 999 call was made, Klicneliene’s clothing was stained with blood, but her hands were clean.
Klicneliene was sentenced life in prison at Norwich Crown Court on Friday and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years after a jury unanimously convicted her of murder.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Burgess said: “Klicneliene used a knife to murder Dace – a woman she had met only a few hours’ earlier and who had invited her into her home – in a sustained and brutal attack.
“She has always denied murdering Dace and we may never know why she inflicted such deliberate and directed violence, but it has no place in our society.
“Mercifully, incidents like this are rare in Norfolk and today, my thoughts remain with Dace’s family who continue to grieve their loss; they have shown incredible bravery throughout this ordeal and I thank them for their support at this very difficult time.
“We will continue to support them for as long as they need us.”
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