GRUESOME photos show the horrific injuries of a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor who was killed in a cowardly street robbery as CCTV footage revealed the extent of his victim's ordeal.

Self-confessed heroin addict Artur Waszkiewicz knocked Zofija Kaczan to the floor, took her handbag and left her to bleed in the middle of the road as she made her way to church on May 28 last year.

9 Zofija Kaczan, shown in CCTV footage on the day of the attack, was walking to church when she was brutally assaulted Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

9 Zofija, a Holocaust survivor from poland, suffered a broken spine, a fractured cheek and serious bruising to her arm from the daylight attack Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

9 Arthur Waskiewicz left her bleeding in the street with a broken neck following the harrowing assault, which took place in Normanton, Derby., on May 28 last year Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

Polish-born Ms Kaczan, who survived a Nazi camp during the Second World War, was left with multiple injuries, including a fractured neck and cheekbone.

She died from pneumonia in hospital on June 6 - a condition brought on by the injuries she sustained in the attack.

Horrifying security footage played in court showed Waszkiewicz driving a Seat Leon car he bought from his father minutes before robbing Ms Kaczan - braking sharply when he saw a "small, vulnerable" woman on her own.



'EASY TARGET'

Waszkiewicz needed an "easy target" to steal from so he could meet a drug dealer a short time later to buy £20 of heroin, jurors heard.

At Derby Crown Court he was found guilty of killing her close to the junction of St Chads Road and Empress Road in Normanton, Derby.

The jury deliberated for just over two hours before unanimously convicting Waszkiewicz of manslaughter and robbery.

Wearing a black velvet jacket and velvet slipper shoes, the defendant looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as the verdicts were delivered.

She was small, on her own, vulnerable - an easy target for a man desperate for money Prosecutor Kate Brunner QC

The force he used ripped the handle off the handbag, inflicting significant bruising on Ms Kaczan's arm.

Opening the case, prosecutor Kate Brunner QC said: "She was attacked, she was thrown to the ground and her handbag was snatched from her.

"She was small, on her own, vulnerable - an easy target for a man desperate for money.

"He attacked Ms Kaczan, yanking her handbag from her and leaving her injured in the road and driving off."



ON THE RUN

Police arrested Waszkiewicz, who was also born in Poland, after his fingerprint was recovered from a receipt in the bag.

He fled the city and hid under a bed at his mother's house in London to try to avoid arrest.

He drastically altered his appearance by cutting his long hair and changed the insurance details on his car.

The jury heard he was so desperate for cash that he had tried to sell his dog, and asked neighbour John Shinners for money.

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The trial was told the 40-year-old had a number of previous convictions including shoplifting, creating false identification documents and one offence of battery.

He denied both charges, saying he had found the green handbag in the middle of the road, picked it up, and disposed of it at a well-known fly-tipping area because there was no cash.

Waszkiewicz, of Hilary Road in Shepherd's Bush, west London, will be sentenced at the same court on Thursday.

9 Zofija Kaczan was described as 'small and vulnerable' - an easy target for the lowlife thug Credit: PA:Press Association

9 The pensioner suffered horrendous bruising to her arm as well as cheekbones Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

9 The elderly victim was mugged in broad daylight as she walked home near the famous Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

9 Arthur Waskiewicz tracked on CCTV through the streets of Normanton in his Seat Leon on the day of the incident Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

9 CCTV footage showed Waskiewicz dumping his victim's handbag into a pile of flytipping in a bid to hide his crime Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

9 Zofija Kaczan's recovered handbag Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

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