Crack addict burglar gets life

A crack addict with a £1,000-aday habit was jailed for life today after stabbing an American banker and his fashion designer wife as they slept.

Moussin Boujjettif, 25, also carjacked a young mother and her baby, and carried out a string of burglaries, stealing £105,000 worth of valuables.

At the time he was on the run from a drug rehabilitation clinic and on licence after being convicted of a previous break-in.

Today Blackfriars Crown Court heard how the crack addict broke into Jon Santemma's Holland Park home and slashed him as he tried to protect his wife, Jennifer Okin, causing serious wounds to his stomach and arm.

The wealthy banker appealed to police to let him say goodbye to his wife because he was convincedhe was dying. Earlier, in May last year, Boujjettif confronted Frederique Andreani in Lancaster Gate, threatening to harm her 22-month-old baby if she did not drive him to a cashpoint and hand over money.

Boujjettif pleaded guilty to two residential burglaries, one aggravated burglary, two counts of possessing an imitation firearm with intent, two counts of wounding, two counts of kidnap, two counts of robbery and one count of possession of a bladed article.

He also pleaded guilty to burgling properties in Bayswater and Acton, and asked for 18 other offences of burglary to be taken into account between May and December last year.

Prosecutor David Markham said the addict was on licence over another aggravated burglary when he carried out the attacks.

Describing the Holland Park assault, which took place last November, Mr Markham said: "Mr Santemma and his wife had retired to bed on the second-floor. In the early hours of the following morning Ms Okin was woken by a noise in the bedroom and screamed, waking her husband.

"They saw a man coming towards the end of the bed. He said he had a gun and a knife and he told them to cover their faces. They could see he had a kitchen knife in one hand, a white towel, which they thought covered the gun, in the other hand.

"He demanded cash and jewellery from them and they directed him to where the jewellery was kept."

Boujjettif threatened to tie up the couple and Mr Santemma, who feared his wife was going to be raped, bravely tried to tackle the thief.

"There was a struggle on the floor," said Mr Markham. "Mr Santemma felt the knife go into him. He looked down and saw his intestines poking out from his lower abdomen. He felt he was going to die."

Since the attack in their home, the couple have found it impossible to live in Britain because of fears for their safety, the court heard.

Boujjettif stole £16,400 worth of valuables.