Triple murder in Jurczyce. The judgment is final

In January this year The Krakow district court sentenced Wojciech R. to life imprisonment for triple murder – in two cases by securing the crime scene, and in the third by shooting.

The Court of Appeal in Kraków changed the verdict, finding that in the case of the third victim, the accused had created appropriate conditions for the shooting of this victim by Krzysztof P.

The case concerns the murder that occurred on the night of September 8-9, 2000, in a house in Jurczyce, of a 44-year-old woman, her 37-year-old cohabitant and a 30-year-old man. After over 20 years, Krzysztof P. (alias Loczek) and Wojciech R. were arrested in connection with this crime. The Krakow district court found that two of the victims were shot by Krzysztof P., who died in prison before the trial began, and the third by Wojciech R. He was illegally sentenced to life imprisonment in January.

The defendant's defense – attorney Zbigniew Ćwiąkalski and attorney Magdalena Stanisławska-Czop – appealed against the verdict both as to guilt and the penalty, asking for Wojciech R.'s acquittal or possibly leniency of the sentence. In the appeal, they criticized the court of first instance for arbitrary assessment of the evidence and over-interpretations, failure to pay attention to the circumstances indicated by the defense when assessing them, and – in case of doubts – the lack of a decision in favor of the accused.

– The case is undoubtedly circumstantial in nature. There is no doubt about this, because the only living person who witnessed that event is Wojciech R. – said attorney Zbigniew Ćwiąkalski in the courtroom, adding that therefore any statements in the materials of the preparatory proceedings or the justification of the trial court instances should be verified with “great caution”.

– As for the doubt being interpreted in favor of the accused, (the court) did exactly the opposite. So if there were doubts, he interpreted them to the detriment of the accused – said attorney Ćwiąkalski.

The defense lawyers convinced the court that Wojciech R. did not shoot Waldemar J., and at the critical moment of the crime – when all three victims were in the bathroom where they were killed – the accused was not in the room. At the same time, they refuted the evidence, which was the secured shoe print, which, in their opinion, did not point to Wojciech R. and “does not close the chain of circumstantial evidence.” According to the defenders, it would also be illogical for “Loczek” to give the gun to his younger partner so that he could shoot the third victim himself, thus endangering – in the defenders' opinion – his own life.

According to attorney Ćwiąkalski, in the light of criminal law, Wojciech R. cannot be charged with acting as an accomplice, an important element of which is “awareness and will to implement the agreement.” The defense argued that Wojciech R. did not arrange such an event with “Loczek”.

However, prosecutor Marek Sosnowski from the regional prosecutor's office asked for the contested judgment to be upheld. – In my opinion, it is correct, the court explained why it imposed such a penalty – emphasized the prosecutor. According to the prosecutor, the defense did not demonstrate that the court had made any arbitrary assessment of the evidence. He also referred to the expert opinion, according to which Krzysztof P. was in a position at the critical moment that “would make it impossible to fire a precise shot” at the third victim, and “the shot was fired for a touchdown.”

Wojciech R. did not admit to committing the crime from the beginning, but he did not deny that he took part in the events in Jurczyce. He explained his behavior as acting out of fear of Krzysztof P. During Thursday's appeal hearing, he emphasized that he regretted participating in those events.

– In fact, I did not inform the services, I did not provide help, I covered my tracks under pressure from “Loczek”, these were issues caused by the context of this situation, they did not result from my cooperation with him, but from the pressure he was able to exert,” he said.

In January, Wojciech R. was found guilty of triple murder in two cases by securing the crime scene and in the third case by shooting. In the oral justification of the judgment, the court referred to the crime in Jurczyce as an execution. – Three living people are brought to one place, a small bathroom, and one by one, without stopping, they are shot, said judge Aleksandra Sołtysińska.

In the justification for the ruling, the judge stated that it was impossible to determine the exact cause of the conflict that led to the tragedy, because Wojciech R. – the only living person – who was on site at the time – did not disclose it. She indicated a business-related dispute as probable versions. It was about plans to create an escort agency. The second possible version, according to the court, was the use of violence by Krzysztof P. against Barbara K., a participant of the meeting. At the same time, the judge emphasized that the accused did not try to escape from the scene and “cooperated with Krzysztof P. until the very end.”

The triple murder case in Jurczyce remained unsolved for years. After interviewing nearly 100 witnesses and securing approximately 200 pieces of evidence, it was discontinued in 2002. The breakthrough came in 2007, when the police found new evidence, but it was also insufficient to bring charges.

In mid-2020, investigators obtained information about a murder in Jurczyce during an interview in another case. After verifying new data and further evidence, they identified the suspects. The collected material allowed for charges to be brought.