Fears about Britain’s lax border checks raised after two males wished for violent crimes in Poland allowed into UK and alleged to have killed one other man
Tomasz Weiss, 36, and Adrian Pietraszewski, 28, face trial for the homicide of Andrezj Mucha (Picture: Courtesy of Polish police)
Two Polish criminals going through trial of their residence nation for a homicide dedicated in Britain have been on the run for different violent offences on the time.
Tomasz Weiss, 36, and Adrian Pietraszewski, 28, are set to look at Gliwice Regional Court docket in Poland greater than 4 years after the brutal killing of fellow Pole Andrezj Mucha in Slough, Berkshire, in November 2021.
It’s only the second identified trial to happen abroad for a homicide dedicated in Britain.
Mucha, 57, was allegedly crushed by each males in his flat earlier than Weiss strangled him to dying. His physique was then stuffed in a suitcase and buried in close by woodland.
Thames Valley Police final month (FEB) stated human stays discovered by officers in woodland in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire – about three miles from the homicide scene – had been formally recognized because the sufferer.
On the time of Mucha’s killing, each males have been wished by Polish police for different violent crimes and later dedicated additional offences in Britain.
Their circumstances are surprising indictments of the lax prison historical past checks at our borders.
Homicide sufferer Andrezj Mucha (Picture: Courtesy of Polish police)
British and Polish police seek for the stays of Andrezj Mucha (Picture: Courtesy of Polish polics)
Learn extra: How crime gangs exploit Britain’s lax border checks
Authorized paperwork confirmed that in July 2021, 4 months earlier than Mucha’s homicide, a choose at Westminster Justice of the Peace Court docket had ordered the extradition of Pietraszewski to serve an excellent sentence for a string of crimes, together with assaulting two law enforcement officials and prison harm.
He was launched on bail and broke his digital tag to go on the run after his attraction towards elimination was dismissed the next April.
The daddy-of-one had arrived in Britain in 2018 after he didn’t communicate along with his probation officer, triggering a suspended sentence of 1 12 months, 9 months and 28 days for his earlier crimes in Poland.
Weiss had been on Poland’s most wished record for greater than two years for an additional homicide, in addition to different offences, together with assault, on the time of the killing.
He was prosecuted within the UK in February 2022, three months after Mucha’s dying, for violent entry and prison harm, however was cautioned and escaped jail or extradition proceedings on the time.
Final November a Excessive Court docket choose authorized their trial happening in Poland as a substitute of the UK, to permit witness statements given to Polish police for use.
Weiss was extradited in February on a navy flight from London’s Biggin Hill airfield, whereas Pietraszewski was despatched residence the earlier month.
Each males have since been formally charged in Poland and are in custody awaiting trial.
Tomasz Weiss being arrested (Picture: Courtesy of Polish police)
Weiss faces a possible life sentence for homicide if convicted, whereas Pietraszewski faces as much as eight years’ imprisonment for fees of beating and “obstruction of proceedings in reference to hiding the sufferer’s physique and overlaying up traces of the crime”.
Weiss was initially arrested by Thames Valley Police over Mucha’s killing in July 2022, a month after the sufferer’s daughter Paulina Mikolajczyk issued a public attraction for details about her dad’s destiny. Pietraszewski was arrested the next January.
The CPS determined it didn’t have sufficient proof to prosecute them for homicide and as a substitute charged them with perverting the course of justice and stopping Mucha’s lawful burial. These fees have been dropped to permit the trial to happen in Poland.
In January 2023, Pietraszewski’s girlfriend Kamila Wojcik and flatmate Adrian Nikiel returned to Poland and advised police they witnessed Weiss and Pietraszewski attacking Mucha within the Slough flat and that his physique had been buried in a forest.
Prosecutors declare the 2 suspects recruited one other Polish nationwide to unwittingly drive them in his van to close by woodland to get rid of Mucha’s physique three days after his dying.
They’re additionally stated to have hatched a plan with Wojcik and Nikel to cowl their tracks when questioned by the UK police about Mucha’s disappearance.
Polish detectives uncovered WhatsApp messages from Pietraszewski on girlfriend Wojcik’s cell phone with alleged directions on how she was to testify when summoned by the police. He additionally suggested Nikel on the way to “testify and hinder proceedings whereas he was within the UK.”
A warrant was issued by Polish police and Weiss and Pietraszewski have been arrested for extradition in Might 2023.
The day’s largest headlines in UK and World information and extra Subscribe Invalid e mail
We use your sign-up to supply content material in methods you have consented to and to enhance our understanding of you. This may occasionally embrace adverts from us and third events based mostly on our understanding. You possibly can unsubscribe at any time. Learn our Privateness Coverage
Two months later, after the CPS met with Polish prosecutors to debate the case, the CPS dropped its fees towards the pair after deciding the proof supplied by Wojcik and Nikel could be “inadmissible” in UK courts.
Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown, head of Thames Valley Police’s Main Crime Unit, stated: “With Polish regulation enforcement help, who gathered new and compelling proof linking Adrian Pietraszewski and Tomasz Grzegorz Weiss to Andrzej’s homicide, we’ve labored tirelessly with the Crown Prosecution Service and Polish authorities to safe a landmark resolution to discontinue authorized proceedings within the UK and extradite the defendants to Poland to face trial there.”
Leave a Reply