A FORMER Russian soldier who murdered his lodger using army combat moves is today starting an 18 year jail term.

Jevgenijs Maksimovs applied hand to hand fighting techniques, which he picked up in the special forces, to kill 43-year-old Jurijs Baklasovs in the back garden of his Hayhill Road home in Ipswich.

The 37-year-old then tried to cover up the murder by driving the body to a farm 20 miles away in Framlingham and dumping it in a ditch.

Maksimovs appeared at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday to hear Judge John Devaux pass sentence.

The former soldier and body guard was convicted by a jury after denying murder and claiming he had instead reacted to an unprovoked attack by an aggressively drunk Mr Baklasovs on December 20 last year.

Maksimovs told the jury the two had been drinking vodka alone when the incident happened in the garden of his semi-detached home, which he also shared with his wife and son, and Mr Baklasovs’ stepdaughter Inga.

Mr Baklasovs, a Latvian who also spent 20 years as a soldier, was claimed by Maksimovs to have approached him from behind and hit him with a bucket.

Judge Devaux said Maksimovs had become upset by Mr Baklasovs and his stepdaughter’s decision to move out of the Hayhill Road address.

He also revealed that Maksimovs’ wife had reported him to police in 2005 for assaulting her with a belt. But she withdrew the complaint when he promised to seek psychological help to manage his anger.

Judge Devaux continued: “This court has no doubt you continue to have a problem controlling your anger - and that problem becomes more acute when you have been consuming alcohol.

“Vodka fuelled you anger, and you carried out what has been described as a savage and sustained attack.

“You left him outside in the cold to die. You intended to kill him and later attempted to remove all traces of what you had done.”

Maksimovs was handed an 18 year prison sentence - minus the 242 days he has spent in custody since the murder.

He will not be considered for parole before completing the term and will remain on license upon his release.