Paul Bryan: Murderer jailed after 39 years on the run

A murderer who assumed the identity of a dead man to evade justice for 39 years has been jailed for life.

Paul Bryan was 22 when he stabbed 62-year-old Roman Szalajko at the victim's south London home in 1984.

The crime remained unsolved as Bryan "simply disappeared" until a cold case review led to his arrest last year. He was convicted last month.

Mr Szalajko's daughter-in-law said seeing Bryan brought to justice had given the family "great peace".

Sentencing Bryan at the Old Bailey, Nigel Lickley KC said he would serve a minimum of 24 years for murder.

"There was no need to use violence of such an extreme nature towards Roman Szalajko," he said.

The "suffering and damage" he caused had affected people to this day, the judge added.

Mr Szalajko was fatally stabbed at his flat in Seaton Close, Kennington, in February 1984.

Afterwards, Bryan took on the identity of a dead Welshman with the same name and embarked on a new life in Portugal, Crete, Spain and France.

He became a suspect when his fingerprints were identified from a bottle at the scene during a cold case review in 2013.

DNA from Bryan's late mother's hairbrush was later found to be a familial match to traces on the victim's vest and clump of hair.

Scotland Yard Det Sgt Quinn Cutler took a decade to track down the defendant and arrested him at Stansted, Essex, as he stepped off a plane from Portugal in November last year.

The defendant, now aged 62, originally from Hammersmith, west London, admitted having a false passport and was found guilty of murder after a trial.

Bryan had refused to give a statement on why he murdered Mr Szalajko, but Judge Lickley said he believed it was financial gain.

During sentencing, in a victim impact statement, Mr Szalajko's daughter-in-law Julie Szalajko said the killing had a "painful and long-lasting" impact on the family.

Her husband Gerard had been accused of killing his father and both he and his sister died before Bryan was caught.

However, Ms Szalajko said knowing the truth about her father-in-law's murder had been a "great comfort" to her and her family.

"Seeing Paul Bryan being brought to justice gives us great peace and comfort after all these years," she added.

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