Leon's mother, Karolina W., and her partner, Damian G, appeared in court. They are both accused of the murder of a 4-year-old boy. According to investigators, in August 2022, the child fell into boiling water and his guardians did not call for help. Leon died for a week, then his body was buried in the forest. Experts testified in court. – The main factor that led to this tragedy was fear – according to their findings.
At Monday's hearing before the Warsaw-Praga District Court in Warsaw, both the accused Karolina W. and the accused Damian G appeared. The prosecutor's office accuses the couple of murdering 4-year-old Leon with particular cruelty by failing to help him after an accident – extensive burns in the paddling pool while bathing. The trial began at the end of January last year.
During a videoconference, experts in the field of psychiatry and psychology presented their opinion regarding Karolina W. – In our opinion, the logical sequence of what happened, without a moral assessment, of course, does not indicate any factors that could result in insanity during the alleged act or prohibited act – said one of the experts.
According to doctors, “the final diagnosis is unspecified behavioral disorders” of Karolina W. – While examining the subject (…), we did not diagnose such disorders in the interview, and even if they were there, they would have absolutely no impact on her subsequent sanity during the prohibited act – he explained expert in court. The specialists also emphasized that they did not see the need to treat the accused.
Karolina W.'s defense attorney asked the experts what the state of the accused's sanity was at the moment. – We assume that the accused is sane. Unless, in the light of evident evidence, it states otherwise, the expert answered. He added that the tests also showed that the accused had no intellectual disorders.
Fear of consequences and emotional immaturity
According to experts, Karolina W. did not show any tendency to aggression or cruelty. – The main factor that led to this tragedy was the fear of the consequences of this burn – they said. In their opinion, it was caused by an “immature attitude” and concern for the child fell into the background. – Here the fear escalated and concerned legal consequences. The concern was placed in the wrong place. We do not detect any significant demoralization, no cruelty, no tendency to aggression. Absolutely not, the expert maintained.
Karolina W.'s defense attorney also asked what psychological features led to the defendant making such and no other decisions. – First of all, it was emotional immaturity, egotism, fear of external, social and legal assessment regarding failure to fulfill the obligation to care for the child, but also low social skills and personal experience – answered the expert.
What impact did this have on decisions and their consequences? – (The accused) made decisions under the influence of emotions and not in terms of specific tasks or goals. She did not approach the situation in a task-oriented manner, did not take the child to a doctor, and did not ask for professional help. She only focused on emotions, fear and the consequences of her behavior at the time when the child was burned, she added.
The experts noted that it was not a situation that lasted a few minutes, a one-time mistake, but a choice (“it lasted several days”). “In the case of the majority of society,” at some point they would think “that something is wrong and that the child must be saved regardless of the possible consequences.”
Karolina W. was four months pregnant when the tragedy occurred. – It had no impact on the emotional state that would exclude sanity – said the expert. – This would mean that all pregnant women cannot make different decisions and be responsible for their decisions – the expert explained. According to experts, there was also a bond between the accused and her son Leon.
The child's father about his mother: she was sometimes crazy
Leon's biological father also briefly testified in court. As he said, he broke up with Karolina W. shortly after the birth of his son, and his contact with them soon ended. He learned about Leon's death from the media.
His first testimony from 2022, quoted by the court, showed that “their relationship was toxic” and Leon was taken care of more by the defendant's grandmother than by herself. On Monday, however, he argued: – I think I attacked Karolina a little too much earlier. I'm sure she wouldn't do anything like that to Leon. She had her short tempers sometimes, but she took good care of the child.
Closing arguments were scheduled to begin during Monday's hearing. However, the accused Damian G. claimed that he had a fever and felt bad. His lawyer asked for a postponement of the hearing, and the court agreed. The next date is scheduled for March 3.
He fell into boiling water, died for a week, and they buried him in the forest
Let us remind you: the tragedy occurred in the fall of 2022. On October 21, the concerned great-grandmother of 4-year-old Leon reported to the police that she had not seen her great-grandson for a long time. The woman was afraid that something bad might have happened. After reporting, the police checked various addresses where the child and his mother could be staying. A week later there was a gruesome discovery. In the town of Górki near Garwolin, the body of a 4-year-old was found buried in the forest.
Source: Katarzyna Górniak | Fakty TVN
The prosecutor's office soon announced the arrest of the boy's mother, Karolina W., then 19, and her 19-year-old partner, Damian G. Both were charged and arrested.
– The child's mother and her partner were accused of acting jointly and in concert from an unspecified date, in the second half of August 2022, to August 21, 2022, as persons providing direct and voluntary care for 4-year-old Leon. with particular cruelty, with the intention of taking his life, after he suffered extensive burns in his place of residence, contrary to the special legal obligation to call for help medical, anticipating and agreeing to the boy's death, they refrained from calling for help for several days, as a result of which the child died on August 21, 2022 – said prosecutor Krystyna GoÅ‚Ä…bek from the District Prosecutor's Office in Siedlce.
According to the investigators' findings, the boy fell into an unsecured paddling pool with hot water and suffered extensive burns. He died about a week later. – After the child's death, the defendants buried his body in the forest and then flooded the place with a layer of concrete – added prosecutor GoÅ‚Ä…bek.
At the end of September 2023, the District Prosecutor's Office in Siedlce submitted an indictment against the boy's mother and her partner to the local District Court. In turn, at the end of October, the Court of Appeal in Lublin decided to transfer the case to the Warsaw-Praga District Court in Warsaw.
Karolina W. and Damian G. face from 12 years to life in prison
Source: tvnwarszawa.pl
Main photo source: TVN24