Kamil P. is accused of pouring paint thinner on his friend and then setting him on fire. The burned man died in hospital. The trial in this case began on Thursday in the District Court in Lublin.
Kamil P., 31, denies the main charge. However, he confirms that he poured a flammable substance on his friend and “fire erupted”. He attributes his behavior to the influence of alcohol and drugs.
The tragic events took place on the night of 15-16 January this year, when four men were drinking alcohol in an apartment in the Jeziorzany commune (Lublin Province). According to investigators, the accused began to accuse the 26-year-old of meeting with his close friend behind his back. The attacked man vehemently denied it and tried to calm the conflict. According to investigators, the accused began to scare the friend, took a canister of thinner, poured it on the man and set him on fire. The burning 26-year-old ran out of the apartment and threw himself into the snow to extinguish the fire. His companions did not help him in any way. He died a few weeks later in hospital.
He pleads not guilty.
During the opening of the trial on Thursday before the District Court in Lublin, prosecutor Krzysztof Sokół from the District Prosecutor's Office in Lubartów charged Kamil P. with murder with particular cruelty. According to investigators, the man acted with eventual intent. He is also responsible in court for depriving two people of their liberty, abusing and influencing witnesses by threats or violence, and possession of narcotic substances.
The 31-year-old pleaded not guilty to the main charge. He explained that he did not want to kill the victim. – It was supposed to be a stupid joke, I did not want to hurt him. I poured some of that solvent on his legs, it caught fire (…) We were so under the influence of alcohol and drugs that we did not realize that the situation was so bad – he described.
He explained that the solvent was in a plastic can of about 5 liters. – It was just a splash, not that I poured it out for a long time. It could have been a glass, less than half a liter, but it's hard for me to say – said the accused on Thursday, when questioned in court. He noted that he did not realize that his behavior could lead to the death of his colleague.
Punishment for co-defendant
When asked by the prosecutor why he did not extinguish the fire or help his friend later, he replied that he panicked and “at first it did not look that bad”. When asked by the attorney for the auxiliary prosecutor about the details of the incident, the man pleaded amnesia. He admitted to the rest of the acts he was accused of.
Co-defendant Roman K. pleaded guilty Thursday to aiding and abetting charges and filed a motion to voluntarily submit to punishment. His defense attorney proposed a combined sentence of two years in prison, to which the prosecutor and the attorney for the prosecutor agreed.
According to the indictment, on that fateful evening, after setting his friend on fire and returning home, the accused began to threaten and beat the second man as well, while Roman K. watched. The main accused forbade the injured parties from leaving the apartment despite their assurances that they would not tell anyone what had happened. After some time, Kamil P. calmed down and the men continued to drink alcohol and take drugs.
After returning home, the 26-year-old victim lied that he accidentally fell onto a bonfire during a party. His family, horrified by the sight of extensive burns on his body, took him to a doctor, who urgently recommended calling an ambulance. The injured man was taken to the intensive care unit with third-degree burns covering 40 percent of his body. Despite treatment, he died a few weeks later, in early March this year.
The main accused has a previous conviction. He faces a life sentence.
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