Life sentence for man who stabbed his sister at her Portadown home and set her on fire while she was still alive

Kornelijus Bracas, from Tresna Park in Randalstown, Co Antrim, stabbed his sister in the neck and then set her on fire while she was still alive in her Church Street home in Portadown almost three years ago.

His 37-year-old sister Alesia Nazarova was pronounced dead at the scene whilst his 12-year old niece was taken from the scene and rushed to hospital for treatment.

Handing down the 24-year life tariff, Judge Madam Justice McBride told Bracas that was the minimum period he would have to spend in prison before he was eligible to apply to be released back into the community.

As Bracas stood in the dock of Belfast Crown Court flanked by two prison officers, Madam Justice McBride told him: “You are one of the most brutal, remorseless and cold-blooded murderers I have had to deal with.

“This is exemplified by the hard-hearted way you told police that you took a knife from the kitchen and slit your sister's throat.

“Then you cleaned the knife and returned it to the kitchen. You have demonstrated gratuitous violence and a callous disregard for life.”

During a plea and sentencing hearing last month, prosecution counsel Neil Connor KC told the court the emergency services were called to the property in the early hours of Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

Bracas had set five seats of fire in the house and when firefighters arrived at the scene, Ms Nazarova was found downstairs whilst his niece was rescued from a first floor bedroom.

Paramedics also attended and whilst Ms Nazarova was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival, Mr Connor said a subsequent post-mortem revealed that when her brother set her on fire, she was still alive at that point.

She sustained 60% burns and she had also been stabbed between 14 and 15 times in the neck as well as sustaining four stab wounds to her abdomen.

The prosecutor said one of the wounds to her neck was “substantial” and would have required urgent medical attention to prevent a loss of life. The siblings are originally from Lithuanian and Bracas had been staying with his sister and niece prior to the murder after he fell out with both parents and Ms Nazarova took him in.

He was arrested later that day on a towpath close to the Tesco car park in Portadown. At this point, he made no reply and police noted a strong smell of heating oil on his clothing.

He was searched and found to be in possession of his sister's bank card which he had used earlier in Tesco.

During police interviews, Bracas admitted killing his sister. He also admitted setting five seats of fire with the intention of burning down the property, and stealing the bank card.

When asked by police to explain his actions, Bracas said that in the early hours of March 21 he was packing to leave his sister's home. He said they had an argument and that after his sister screamed at him he “snapped”.

Bracas also said that after she started climbing the stairs he grabbed her, placed her in a headlock and applied pressure on her throat until she stopped breathing.

He said he then took a knife from the kitchen which he used to slit her throat and that after this, he placed rubbish around her body which he set alight and also soaked towels in heating oil.

Bracas also admitted setting a fire outside his niece's bedroom door. In addition, Bracas claimed his sister didn't appreciate him, treated him “like garbage” and that he was made to do household chores like babysitting his niece.

During yesterday’s hearing Madam Justice McBride said these remarks showed Bracas had a “misogynistic attitude towards women. Far from treating him that way the deceased supported him and offered him a home whilst on bail”.

The senior judge added: “Domestic violence does not just involve intimate partners but wider family relations. It causes havoc in the family and is a scourge on society.

“In this case the defendant has a criminal record for domestic violence against his mother and brother and was on bail at the time of this offending.”

At arraignment, Bracas denied all the charges but subsequently pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Nazarova and stealing her bank card on March 21, 2023, as well as arson endangering the life of his niece and arson being reckless as to whether the life of others would be endangered.

Mr Connor also raised the issue of deportation and asked Madam Justice McBride to “give consideration” to this issue.

However, Madam Justice McBride said she had carefully considered this issue and had decided against making a deportation order.

None of Ms Nazarova's family were present in court but Mr Connor told Madam Justice McBride that they had asked to be updated following the conclusion of the tariff hearing.