Sister heard last breath of woman gunned down

5:06pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

The sister of a care worker killed in gunfight crossfire has relived the moment she heard her last breath over the phone.

Magda Pniewska was hit by a stray bullet as two teenagers shot at each other - "Wild West" style - in a housing estate car park in New Cross on October 2.

The 26-year-old was talking to her older sister Elzbieta Luby in Poland as she walked home from Manley Court nursing home in John Williams Close when she was shot, the Old Bailey heard.

Speaking through an interpreter, Miss Luby told the court: "I heard shots.

"I have heard shots from a gun in my life before and I'm certain, 100 per cent at the time, it could not have been anything else.

"At that point I heard several shots - three, four.

"There was a short break between the third and fourth shot, like a moment of hesitation."

Ms Pniewska, who was carrying several carrier bags and a dog's bed, had joked on the phone to her sister that she was "loaded like a camel" as she walked towards her flat.

Miss Luby said: "I heard the last breath of Magda. I heard when she fell down, I heard the bags fell down.

"There was silence for a minute and then I heard two more shots."

The court has heard Ms Pniewska was shot to the head when she was caught in the crossfire between two 17-year-olds exchanging gunfire.

The pair, neither of whom can be named for legal reasons, met outside Stunell House in John Williams Close, to settle a row about money.

One of the youths is on trial for murder, although jurors have been told he is not likely to have fired the fatal shot.

The youth, from Streatham, has denied murder, attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life - but has admitted possession of an illegal firearm.

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