Białystok. He was convicted of a 1992 murder. The victim was stabbed in the stomach. The defense attorney filed a cassation appeal

The crime took place in May 1992 at Żelazna Street in Białystok. The investigation, which was conducted at that time, was finally discontinued after almost a year because – based on the evidence collected at that time – the perpetrator could not be identified.

In the spring of 2022 – on the initiative of the District Prosecutor's Office in Białystok – the case was brought to the attention of police officers from the so-called Archive of the 10th Provincial Police Headquarters in Białystok, i.e. dealing with crimes from years ago that have not been explained and their perpetrators have not been brought to justice. This time, the latest research methods were used, which led to the identification of the person suspected of committing the murder.

Thanks to genetic tests and, among others, psychological profiling identified a potential perpetrator. He is a resident of Białystok, currently 52, who was already serving a 12-year prison sentence for the murder of his then partner, committed two months after the crime in May 1992.

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The man was arrested at the end of August 2022. The man fell into the hands of counter-terrorists in the Białystok housing estate moments after he left work.

The prosecutor's office accused him of murder with direct intent. According to her findings, during an argument and struggle, he stabbed the victim in the stomach with a knife. It all happened in a group of people who met and drank alcohol together.

The court of first instance assessed that guilt was beyond doubt, but the perpetrator acted with a possible, not direct, intention to kill. The most important evidence – apart from the opinion of an expert in the field of genetics and forensic medicine – included the testimony of several people and some of the explanations given by the accused himself, already submitted during the second investigation. This is about admitting to stabbing him once (the accused talked about the sudden attack on him and the need to defend himself).

The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison on the basis of the current Penal Code, and not the provisions in force when the crime occurred – as the prosecutor's office classified it. He took into account that the then code still included and was in force – although it was no longer carried out – the death penalty, and in the current code the maximum possible penalty for murder is life imprisonment. He also took into account that the 52-year-old's conviction for the murder of his then partner had already been expunged, which means that he was treated as a person with no criminal record in this trial.

Before the District Court in Białystok, the prosecutor's office wanted 25 years in prison in this case, but ultimately did not appeal. The defense appealed the verdict and wanted either a recognition that the accused had acted in self-defense and acquittal, or a lighter penalty imposed.

The Court of Appeal in Białystok upheld the judgment. He assessed that the perpetrator and guilt were beyond the slightest doubt, and the version of an accidental stabbing was only a line of defense. The court also ruled out the possibility of assuming that it was a case of self-defense, and noted that after the blow, the perpetrator did not help the victim.

According to information obtained by the Polish Press Agency in the Supreme Court, the defendant's defense attorney filed a cassation appeal against the final judgment. The date for hearing the case has not yet been set.