A 44-year-old from Białystok was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder. The man beat his friend to death because he had previously attacked his partner. An appeal against this verdict has now been filed with the Supreme Court.
Earlier, the Court of Appeal in Białystok increased the defendant's sentence from 15 to 25 years in prison – this is the result of an appeal against the first-instance verdict. The court found that only a more severe sentence for a perpetrator with multiple previous convictions gives him any chance for long-term resocialization.
In the same trial, the 44-year-old's common-law wife was finally sentenced to one year in prison, after the court found her guilty of failing to provide help to the seriously injured victim, even by calling an ambulance. Both convicts jointly and severally have to pay the deceased's brother PLN 10,000 in partial compensation.
“He went crazy”, beat up and locked his friend in the basement
The crime took place at the end of November 2022, in one of the houses in the Jaroszówka housing estate in Białystok. The man's body was found in the basement of the building; earlier, there had been an argument and a fight between the perpetrator and the victim. According to the indictment of the District Prosecutor's Office of Białystok-Północ, the 44-year-old acted with direct intent to kill, stabbing his friend twice, which led to bleeding and death.
Both men had numerous previous convictions; the accused acted under conditions of recidivism.
The 44-year-old admitted to murder during the investigation; however, in the district court, he only admitted to assault, but maintained his previous explanations. He said that the deceased was his good friend, they had known each other for 30 years. On November 24, 2022, the friend came to him; he suggested that they drink alcohol together.
During the investigation, the 44-year-old explained that his concubine was also at home, and when the alcohol ran out, he decided to buy some more. When he returned fifteen minutes later, he found the door locked and heard his concubine calling for help (as it turned out, locked in the basement).
According to his description, he saw an acquaintance with a knife in his hand through the kitchen window. He allegedly got inside that way. A fight broke out. When the 44-year-old freed his concubine, he heard from her that the attacker had insulted her, beaten her, beaten her and forced her into the basement. Then – as the convict described – he “went crazy” and after a brutal beating and knife attack – he finally pushed the acquaintance into the basement, where – after several dozen hours – he died.
More than 20 wounds
The Białystok district court found that the perpetrator acted with a possible, not direct, intent to kill; it sentenced him to 15 years in prison. It considered life imprisonment to be too harsh a punishment in the circumstances of this case.
The prosecutor and the attorney for the auxiliary prosecutor wanted a life sentence in their appeals. The accused's defense attorney also filed an appeal, believing that there was no intent to kill at all. Therefore, he wanted a change in the legal classification and a correspondingly milder penalty, and for the court not to award compensation.
Taking into account the appeal of the prosecutor and the attorney for the auxiliary prosecutor regarding the assessment that the sentence was grossly lenient, the court of appeal increased it to 25 years. It noted that the perpetrator acted very brutally, attacking the victim, who was practically defenseless due to alcohol intoxication, even tormenting her, inflicting over 20 wounds.
The court of appeal accepted the accused’s version that only a beating had been committed and there was no intent to kill as a line of defence; it also ruled out the possibility of necessary defence.
The Supreme Court's press office reported that the verdict was appealed in favour of the convict. The date of the Supreme Court's hearing has not yet been set.
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