The court sentenced the now 45-year-old Beata G. to one year in prison, suspended for three years, and a fine of PLN 3,000. In April 2012, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Głogów referred the indictment in this case to the court.

The incident took place on 16 November 2011 at the Vocational and General Education School Complex in Lubin. Around noon, the injured man came to the defendant’s office to discuss malfunctioning computers in the computer room. A verbal altercation broke out between the two individuals, who had been in conflict for some time. During it, the agitated Beata G. wounded her subordinate on the left side of his abdomen with a kitchen knife, causing a stab wound nearly 17 cm long.

The injured man pushed her away. At that point, two female employees, alarmed by the sounds coming from the office, entered. One removed the weapon from the injured man’s abdomen. Emergency services were called immediately.

An opinion obtained during the investigation from a forensic medicine expert indicated that the force of the blow had been considerable. The expert ruled out the possibility that the wound had resulted from self-harm or falling onto the knife. In the expert’s opinion, it was an active injury deliberately inflicted by another person.

Beata G. was detained. Questioned as a suspect, she denied committing the offense with which she was charged. The prosecutor ordered preventive measures against her in the form of a financial guarantee, suspension from her duties as school principal, and suspension from practicing as a teacher. Following an appeal, the court lifted both measures related to her employment.

She was charged with intentionally causing the injured man serious bodily harm in the form of a life-threatening illness resulting from a stab wound to the abdominal cavity, accompanied by bleeding that led to hypovolemic shock. The suspect faced a prison sentence of between one and 10 years for this offense.

During the painstakingly conducted trial, the court questioned several times the doctors who had treated the injured man, as well as several forensic medicine experts appointed in the case. Ultimately, the court found that Beata G. had committed the act with which she was charged, but that the stabbing had caused the injured man not serious bodily harm, but bodily injuries resulting in impaired health for more than seven days.

The court found that the defendant had exposed her subordinate to the direct danger of loss of life or serious bodily harm. Beata G. faced a lesser penalty for such conduct, ranging from six months to five years in prison.

The judgment was issued on 7 December 2015 and is not final. The prosecutor will decide whether to consider it justified after reviewing its written grounds. A decision will then be made on whether to file an appeal.

Liliana Łukasiewicz, press spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica/ii