Migrant who killed his own friend on St Stephen’s Day has been jailed for 6 years

A Polish national who killed his friend, whose brain twisted in his skull after he received 27 injuries to his head and neck on St Stephen’s Day three years ago, has been jailed for six years.

The Central Criminal Court was previously told at a sentencing hearing that no one knows “exactly what happened” on the night Maciej Nowak, aged 32, was killed and that both men had consumed “substances to excess,” reports Breaking News.

Rozpeda told an emergency operator that his friend had “gone crazy, hitting things and hitting himself” but a pathologist later found Nowak had died from blunt force trauma, not consistent with self-inflicted injuries.

Sentencing 29-year-old Tomasz Rozpeda at the Central Criminal Court on Monday, Judge Eileen Creedon said the fact that Nowak’s brain twisted within his skull suggested his head had been struck multiple times with an object or flat surface, reports Breaking News.

She said a pathologist found that the pattern of injury to the head was consistent with blunt force injuries suggestive of an assault.

The court was told during the sentence hearing last May that there was almost a fatal level of amphetamines in the deceased’s system, but this was ruled out as the cause of death, reports Breaking News.

Defence barrister Michael Hourigan SC previously submitted that what had been hoped to be a normal evening of socialising between two friends had turned into “something very different.”

He also pointed out that one of the tragedies of the case was that the men were friends who had arranged to spend time together that night, reports Breaking News.

He said Rozpeda and the deceased had consumed “substances to excess” that evening.

Rozpeda was originally charged with the murder of Nowak on a date on or about 26 or 27 December 2023, at Ballycranna, Kilross in Co Tipperary, reports Breaking News.

However, last March, Rozpeda, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court.

Before passing sentence on Monday, Judge Creedon noted that Rozpeda had initially sought to distance himself from the event but later contacted Nowak’s fiancée to say he had “put” the victim in hospital, reports Breaking News.

The judge said Nowak was due to be married on 27 June 2024, and that the deceased’s fiancée Joanna Biszof had spoken in her victim impact statement about the “deep trauma” suffered by her and her children.

“She confirms her life as she knew it has collapsed,” she added, reports Breaking News.

Judge Creedon noted that while the defendant made no admissions in his garda interviews, a plea of guilty to manslaughter was later entered.

The judge said that, having considered the level of violence and the injuries sustained, she would set the headline sentence at nine years, reports Breaking News.

The judge noted that the defendant’s most significant mitigating factor was his early guilty plea to manslaughter, which she said was of very significant value as several witnesses were outside the jurisdiction.

She also noted Rozpeda’s apology, with his defence counsel having previously said he was instructed to apologise and that Rozpeda accepted responsibility and culpability for what had occurred, reports Breaking News.

Judge Creedon said it was also important that the defendant had no relevant previous or subsequent convictions in this jurisdiction.

Rozpeda has three previous convictions from Poland, including driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and possession of narcotic drugs, reports Breaking News.

The judge also took into account that the defendant had suffered a stroke a number of years ago and that he would be serving his prison sentence away from his home and family.

Judge Creedon sentenced Rozpeda to six years in prison, backdating the sentence to when he went into custody on 28 December 2023, reports Breaking News.

At the sentence hearing last May, Detective Inspector Declan Boland from Thurles Garda Station told the court that a phone call was placed by Rozpeda to emergency services on the morning of 27 December 2023.

The Detective Inspector said Rozpeda spoke to the 999 operator for around 15 minutes, during which he indicated his friend Nowak was in trouble and had “gone crazy hitting things and hitting himself,” reports Breaking News.

An ambulance arrived at Kilross at 5.02am, where Mr Nowak was found lifeless and cold on the kitchen floor of his house.

The investigation revealed CCTV footage showing Rozpeda arriving at the area where Nowak lived at 4pm the previous day, reports Breaking News.

The pair were captured at an Applegreen service station outside Tipperary town in Nowak’s car before arriving back at the victim’s house after 5pm that day.

CCTV footage also showed a car similar to Nowak’s leaving the area around the time the 999 call was placed, reports Breaking News.

Rozpeda was nominated by gardaí as a suspect and efforts were made to locate him, with the defendant initially arrested on suspicion of having caused harm to Nowak but denying this in his interviews.

The Detective Inspector agreed with counsel that Rozpeda told gardaí he had travelled by train to his friend’s house rather than driving, and that a “number of untruths” had been told by the defendant to distance himself from events, reports Breaking News.

Gardaí were able to identify the defendant’s movements from witness accounts, which included a voice note sent by Rozpeda to a friend at 10pm on 26 December indicating something had happened and that the situation was “fu**ed up.”

The court also heard a number of attempted phone calls were made by the defendant to other individuals around 4am the following morning as Rozpeda travelled back to Dublin, with the defendant having sought advice about calling an ambulance and being told to call 999, reports Breaking News.

One person who spoke to gardaí indicated Rozpeda told him he had an argument with his friend and an accident had happened, while another said Rozpeda told him he had “f**ked up” and done something wrong.

A pathologist’s report recorded 70 areas of bruising on Mr Nowak’s body, with no stab wounds or fractures of any nature, reports Breaking News.

The 999 call made by Rozpeda claimed that Mr Nowak “had gone crazy,” was hitting himself and breaking the place up, which had been considered by pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers in her report.

A toxicology report showed a high level of amphetamine in Nowak’s system and a large quantity of alcohol, with a concern raised that the deceased had been misusing drugs and alcohol at the time, reports Breaking News.

The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, with an injury connected to the “twisting of the brain within the skull,” while the head and neck had 27 distinct areas of injury and bruising.

Blood-stained broken bottles were found scattered on the kitchen floor, and Dr Okkers had ruled out the presence of drugs in the deceased’s system as the cause of death, finding that the blunt force trauma was not consistent with self-inflicted injuries, reports Breaking News.

In a victim impact statement, the deceased’s sister Monika Kubiaczyk said her world “came to a standstill” when she received the news about her brother’s “sudden and tragic death.”

Kubiaczyk said she cannot believe she will never see her brother again and that the world has become an unsafe place for her, saying: “Someone in a brutal manner decided to take his life, nothing will ever be the same again. A part of me died with him,” reports Breaking News.

In a second statement, the deceased’s fiancée Joanna Biszof described Mr Nowak as the love of her life and a charming and kind-hearted man who was a devoted father to three children.

Biszof said they shared a “magical chemistry” and were due to marry in June 2024, and that she had been left with an emptiness, that her world had been shattered and that she is unable to accept her fiancé is gone, reports Breaking News.

She said the tragedy had broken her physically and mentally and she has been forced to rely on antidepressants, adding: “I do not believe I will ever be able to love anyone again.”

Under cross-examination, the Detective Inspector agreed with defending counsel that the “awful event” had happened in the context of there being no animus and the men having known each other for the previous ten years, reports Breaking News.

The barrister said what was hoped to have been a normal evening of socialising had turned into “something very different.”

The Detective Inspector also agreed that a very high level of intoxication in terms of amphetamines had been consumed, and that the pathologist had said there was almost a fatal level of amphetamines in the deceased’s system, reports Breaking News.

He further agreed that “no one knows exactly what happened that night” and that Dr Okkers had said the amphetamine use may have contributed to certain behaviours as described by Rozpeda.

In mitigation, the defence asked the court to take into account that his client had not brought a weapon to the house and there was no suggestion of prior animus, reports Breaking News.