Real life can be stranger than fiction at times. One tragic murder in England is ripe for a Hollywood limited series.
On July 25, 2022, Marek Hecko broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Breame, and stabbed her married romantic partner Adrian Ellingford, killing him. Ellingford, who was married to a woman other than Breame, was a father of two and died at the scene. Hecko returned drunk and boasted to police that he knew what was going on, as seen on recently released bodycam footage. Hecko was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes.
Hecko and Breame dated for around seven months. When they split, Hecko, who worked as chef, did not take this well. He "pined and obsessed" over her and began to display "stalker-like behavior." He would show up to her home and place of employment unannounced. He made multiple attempts to get in contact with her, even though she had no interest in talking with him.
On that night in July, Breame and Ellingford were asleep in bed at Breame’s home. Breame heard Ellingford saying there was someone in the house, which woke her up. Ellingford got up to investigate, then collapsed with two stab wounds to the back.
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Hecko ran, but could not stay away. Ellingford was pronounced dead at the scene. With some liquid courage inside him, Hecko came back and spoke with a police officer processing the crime scene.
"I know what happened," Heck stated to police. “I know the people there involved." He was holding a bottle of brandy. Essex Police described him as "heavily intoxicated.”
Hecko refused to tell authorities his name. "You need me to figure out what happened … if you don't have me, you don't know what happened,” he boasted.
It was here that Hecko gave himself away. "I just know that some guy come here and he f—ed up some guy. You're going to think about me, but it's not gonna be me because there's no proof,” he stated.
At the time, there was no public information available about the murder.
Hecko was taken into custody and eventually charged with Ellingford’s murder. Evidence against Hecko included CCTV footage placing him at the scene at the time of the murder. His DNA was also found on the knife used to stab Ellingford and a wine bottle at the scene.
On Tuesday, March 14, 2023, Hecko was convicted of Ellingford’s murder. He received a sentence of life in prison with a minimum term of 26 years. Ellingford's wife Laura read a victim personal statement in court describing him as an "amazing husband of 17 years."
Laura went on to say: "Words cannot describe how I feel about the events of 25th July 2022. He was brutally ripped from our lives in events that I still can’t really comprehend myself or begin to explain to our boys. Having to tell them both that their beloved dad was never coming home was the most painful and heartbreaking thing that I have ever had to do. They are 12 and 10 years old and not really old enough to truly appreciate what they’ve lost. No one will ever be able to replace their dad.”
