Killer jailed in skull-find case

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A man has been jailed for life for the murder of a fellow Lithuanian whose skull was discovered in the garden of a house in north-west London.

Officers found the skull of Jurij Grigorjev, 29, at the house in Wembley Park Drive, Wembley, on 30 July 2007.

Mr Grigorjev was identified by DNA and a fingerprint, the Old Bailey heard.

Wojciech Sokolowski, 35, of Grasmere Avenue, Wembley, was convicted of murdering Mr Grigorjev and must serve a minimum of 16 years.

Police said Mr the victim's family in Lithuania had reported him missing as they had last heard from him in January 2007.

'Brutally beaten'

Police found his body, which was separate from the skull, buried in the garden, along with clothes, the facia of a mobile phone, a cigarette stub, a piece of paper, a piece of cord, a small blue pen and a single key.

A forensic examination of the skull found there were traces of the victim's blood in the back room of the house.

Officers said mainly squatters from eastern Europe lived in the house, which had been owned by a developer since 2003, and Mr Grigorjev was a visitor.

Wojciech Sokolowski was living in the house at the time of the murder

Police said Sokolowski was living there at the time of the murder and various accounts led to him being arrested and charged with the murder in December.

Det Ch Insp Tariq Sarwar said: "The transient community that both the suspect and the victim lived in made this a difficult investigation.

"Identifying those who resided in Wembley Park Drive was the key to identifying the suspect.

"The victim had never resided at the address but was visiting at the time of his murder.

"Jurij would have been 30 this year. He had come to the UK to make a better life for himself, instead he was brutally beaten to death."