Andrew Norfolk
Enter our Snapshots of Summer photography competition
The kidnapper of a young woman who was killed when she jumped out of his moving car was jailed for 11 years yesterday after a jury found him guilty of her manslaughter.
Ioannis Revenikiotis posed as a taxi driver to abduct Stephanie Hammill, 20, who was walking home with her fiancé after a night out in November 2003 when she saw his black Mercedes and flagged it down. As the travel agent climbed into the back of his car, the 29-year-old Greek-born electrical engineer sped away before her boyfriend could join her with Miss Hammill’s leg hanging out of the rear door.
The Mercedes left the centre of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and was heading for open countryside when Miss Hammill, terrified that she was about to be sexually assaulted, jumped from the vehicle. Sheffield Crown Court heard that she landed in the middle of the road and received fatal injuries when she was struck by a taxi travelling in the opposite direction. Revenikiotis then fled the country and was arrested in Greece in 2005.
After almost three days of deliberations, the jury unanimously found Revenikiotis guilty of kidnap and convicted him of manslaughter by a 10-2 majority.
The judge, Mr Justice Wilkie, told the University of Huddersfield graduate that he was “a menace towards women” whose desperation for female company had led him to subject Miss Hammill to “a terrifying ordeal”. “You robbed her, and her family and friends, of her life. Your actions have devastated their lives and nothing this court can do today can in any way make up for what you have done.”
During the four-week trial, the jury was not told that the defendant had been accused of a similar abduction nine months before Miss Hammill’s death. On that occasion he had posed as a taxi driver and taken a 23-year-old pregnant woman to a motorway slip road where he tried to force her to perform a sex act on him.
The Sheffield jury was also unaware that in October last year a jury at Leeds Crown Court had already ruled that Revenikiotis abducted and killed Miss Hammill. At the time, Revenioki-otis, who speaks three languages, had been declared mentally unfit to stand trial and the Leeds jury was merely asked to return verdicts on the facts of the case, after which he was ordered to be detained indefinitely in a secure psychiatric unit. Psychiatrists ruled subsequently that his condition had improved and that he was fit to face a criminal trial.
Miss Hammill’s fiancé, James Garland, described her as “a beautiful person” yesterday. “She was the sort of person who would try to help anybody who needed it. Life was going so well for us. We had set up home together and were excited about getting married the following year. What happened that night was absolutely horrendous. The shock of losing Stephanie so suddenly left me feeling like I had been cut in half.”
The victim’s parents, Brian and Jane Hammill, said in a statement that she had been “the perfect daughter”. “We can never forgive him for what he did. We hate him and there are no words that can properly describe how badly we feel towards him. His disgusting and selfish actions left a massive hole in our lives that can never be filled.”
Win a luxury weekend to Newcastle and its neighbour Gateshead, find out more here
Risk, resilience and embracing new technology
Industry sectors news at a glance. Interactive heatmap, video and podcast
Discover the collective power of smart thinking. Submit a solution and be in with a chance to win a Flip MinoHD Camcorder
The inside track on current trends in the charity, not for profit and social enterprise sectors
Everything the Business Traveller needs to know to make a better trip
Make the most of the summer and enter our fabulous photographic competition, you could win a £5000 holiday
Corsica is an island of beauty and contrast, an ideal holiday destination
Enjoy further reading from Travel to Fashion, Business to Sport, discover more
Shortcuts to help you find sections and articles
The clever way to lease a new car is with Car leasing made simple™
2009
42,945
2008
71,450
Car Insurance
Not Specified
MI6
UK-based
£60,000
The Environment Agency
Bristol
Up to £90K
Boots
Midlands
OTE £85k
Credit Protection Association
Nationwide Opportunities
Completely London
Luxury Condo's in Manhattan with NYC views
The best new homes in Wimbledon?
Nationwide
Save up to £1,000 per couple with Elite Vacations at the five-star Constance Lemuria Resort
and do the British Isles this Summer.
Save up to 60% with Oxford Hotels and Inns
Try our inspiring luxury holidays to the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia.
Great offers available
8 fabulous Canadian cities ...you won’t find cheaper
Contact our advertising team for advertising and sponsorship in Times Online, The Times and The Sunday Times, or place your advertisement.
Times Online Services: Dating | Jobs | Property Search | Used Cars | Holidays | Births, Marriages, Deaths | Subscriptions | E-paper
News International associated websites: Globrix Property Search | Property Finder | Milkround
Copyright 2009 Times Newspapers Ltd.
This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard Terms and Conditions. Please read our Privacy Policy.To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from Times Online, The Times or The Sunday Times, click here.This website is published by a member of the News International Group. News International Limited, 1 Virginia St, London E98 1XY, is the holding company for the News International group and is registered in England No 81701. VAT number GB 243 8054 69.
did i read in another article that a man who was a "look out" during a robbery - in which horrendously a police officer died and another injured - got 8 years? does not seem quite right if this man who kidnapped, intended to assualt and led the victim to death only gets 10 years - i cant quite make out how all this works.
possibly just goes to show that judges may need a complete overhaul as to their sentencing procedures
eve, UK,
How can it be right that this man only gets 11 years (only 5.5 years in reality) for causing the death of this lady & kidnap. He should be serving life, full stop. What sort of criminal justice system have we got in this country, where life imprisonment means serving, on average, 10 years & every other sentence means the convicted offender who receives a prison sentence will only serve half his sentence, even less if he pleads guilty when he will get another third off. Life means life. How is it right that judges can get away with handing out the same sentence for an offender who commits 1 crime as the offender who commits tens of crimes but has them all heard at the same time. Concurrent sentences should be scrapped & offenders receive a separate sentence for each crime he commits & the sentences served consecutively. Therefore the offender who gets 2 yrs for a theft should serve 10 yrs for 5 thefts. No time off because the government passes laws saying that only half need be served
Ida Letugo, London, uk