A "violent and controlling" man who stabbed and killed his girlfriend in a jealous rage has been found guilty of murder.

Pawel Sroka ,34, of Meadvale Road, Croydon was convicted of the murder of Joanna Trojniak, 29, at the Old Bailey yesterday, April 6.

The court heard how Sroka, described as aggressive and controlling, had attacked Joanna at the house they shared after finding out she intended to end their relationship.

London Ambulance Service were called to the address by Sroka in Meadvale Road just before 9pm on March 23 who reported his girlfriend had been stabbed.

Police also attended the address and found Joanna's body in the living room - she has been brutally attacked and died of her injuries at the scene.

Sroka had fled the scene prior to police arrival but was subsequently traced to a car in Gordon Crescent, Croydon at around 10:30pm that night.

When officers attended they found Sroka inside the car suffering a stab injury to the shoulder; he told officers he had got into a fight with his girlfriend and the officers "should know about me".

He was taken to hospital where he was treated for his injury before being released into police custody. Sroka then declined to answer any questions put to him.

Officers began to piece together the relationship between Joanna and Sroka.

A friend of Joanna's had advised her to end the relationship with Sroka. However, Joanna had told the friend that she had lent Sroka £5,000 which she would not get back and that Sroka had warned her he would find her and kill her if she tried to leave him.

Further work established that, despite this threat, Joanna had been trying to end the relationship and in the weeks prior to her murder she had begun to have her mail redirected to another address.

Sroka is believed to have found out about this and reacted angrily.

On the night of her murder, Joanna had exchanged messages with a friend saying she intended to talk with Sroka that evening about their relationship.

A post-mortem examination at Croydon Mortuary gave cause of death as a stab wound and the pathologist noted, from the force of her injury, Joanna had been the victim of a ferocious attack.

Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Gwyn of the Homicide and Major Crime Command led the investigation.

He said: "Pawel Sroka is a violent and controlling man who flew into a murderous rage when he realised Joanna wanted to end their relationship.

"Due to Sroka's silence when being interviewed by police, we will never know the exact chain of events of that evening and what sparked the attack which resulted in Joanna's death.

"What is clear is that from the testimony of her friends and colleagues, Joanna was a bright and sociable person who did not deserve to have her life ended in such brutal circumstances."

Sroka will be sentenced at the same court today, April 7.