Two women who tortured and kicked their ‘shy’ 60-year-old neighbor sentenced to death for at least 26 years

Two women who killed a “quiet, shy man with a heart of gold” to steal jewelery to fund their drug habits were jailed for at least 26 years today.

Zoe Rider, 36, and Nicola Lethbridge, 45, falsely accused their vulnerable neighbor Stephen Koszyczarski, 60, of being a pedophile when in reality he was “kind and generous ”, without a history of wrongdoing.

While under the influence of drugs and possibly alcohol, they threatened to mutilate him before punching and kicking him to death in his Sheffield home last August, a court heard.

Mr Koszyczarski suffered 22 injuries to his face, head and body and died of a brain bleed during the sadistic robbery, which the judge said was carried out to steal valuables to fund his drug addiction drugs.

Rider and Lethbridge were found guilty of robbery and murder by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court last month.

Today, Judge Sarah Wright gave them a mandatory life sentence and told them they must serve a minimum of 26 years behind bars.

She said they accused their vulnerable victim “completely falsely and without any reason to do so of being a pedophile”.

Mr Koszyczarski lived alone, was vulnerable with a mild learning disability and was in poor health with a history of heart problems, diabetes and epilepsy.

He was helpless when attacked by the “sadistic” women who targeted him, the court heard.

The judge told them: “You dealt with him in the most brutal, heartless and despicable way. You launched a vicious and extremely violent joint attack on him. You exposed his genitals, threatened to mutilate him and shouted obscenities at him. You singularly failed to listen to his denial of the accusation or offer him compassion when he was clearly hurt.

The judge said they intended to “humiliate, terrify and hurt him” and left him “disoriented, injured and bleeding”.

Mr Koszyczarski managed to call an ambulance but later died in hospital.

The court heard evidence that he was “financially comfortable” and his daily routine was to go to a coffee shop to chat.

But in his final weeks he was “penniless, unkempt and wary”, which the judge said was because Rider and Lethbridge “kept him awake and scared him”.

Then they took things further, beating him to death. Gruesome cellphone footage filmed by Rider and played at the trial showed him bleeding as two women threatened him with a knife and scissors.

The court heard an extensive police investigation found no child went to his home and had no connection to the pedophile activity.

A victim impact statement from close friend Mary Jones, who had known him for 38 years, said “Stephen was kind and gentle”.

She said: “It’s heartbreaking not to see him anymore. I cry most days and nights. He was a special man. He would help anyone and had a heart of gold. Why did they kill him when he should still be alive enjoying his life? Ever since he was taken from me, I’ve been looking at his photo – he’s smiling in that photo. I will love and miss Stephen for the rest of my life.

John Ryder, KC, for Rider, told the court he had a terrible upbringing. As a child, she was forced to shoplift to fund her mother’s drug addiction and was beaten by her parents. She was introduced to cannabis at 12 and switched to Class A drugs.

Inevitably, Rider had a long criminal history, including robbery, he said.

Jamie Hill, KC, for Lethbridge, told the judge his client also had a troubled past and would not have committed the offenses alone.