Man Who Locked U.K. Nurse in Car Trunk for 10 Days Is Sentenced

An illegal immigrant who abducted a nurse in Scotland and left her tied up in the trunk of her car for 10 days has been sentenced to a minimum eight years in prison.

Justice Ngema, 35, was jailed for abduction and assault after Magdalen Makola was found dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia the day after Christmas last year.

He was given the eight-year jail term by the High Court in Glasgow as well as a lifelong restriction order.

This will see him remain behind bars for longer if he continues to a pose a risk at the end of the sentence.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, the nurse, 38, told how she "made friends with death" during her ordeal.

Her nightmare began when Ngema, an illegal immigrant from South Africa, conned his way into her house.

He then threatened her with a knife and warned: "I'm a professional at this job and I kill people if I like."

Her hands and legs were bound, tape was stuck over her eyes and mouth and a rope placed around her neck.

Ngema then drove her car around Scotland, plundering her bank account and using the money to buy gifts for a girlfriend.

"The most worrying thing was that rope on my neck," she said.

"I thought that the minute he's finished with my money he's going to come back and pull it. So I just started to make friends with death."

Eventually, Ngema abandoned the vehicle, leaving her for dead.

In the freezing December temperatures, Makola was shivering with cold, starving and had a desperate thirst.

"I tried to squeeze some condensation from the boot interior in the hope it would relieve my thirst," she said.

"But it was no good because of the tape on my mouth."

An investigation was launched after she failed to turn up for work at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Dec. 18.

She was found by police in her Vauxhall Astra in Airdrie, Lanarkshire.

Makola added: "I could hear the footsteps coming towards the car and one of them said 'we are the police'.

"I was like, 'thank God, I've been rescued.'"

Click here to read more on this story from Sky News.