Sławomir R. doused him with petrol and then set him on fire. Three of his companions, who saw that the bunker was burning and fled without trying to help the victim, were sentenced to five months in prison each.

He set him on fire because he did not return his watch

The incident occurred on 21 June 2014. That day, after leaving prison the previous day having served a four-month sentence for theft, Sławomir R. drank alcohol with his friends from the morning. At one point, he decided to go to a man named Rysiek, an acquaintance who lived in a bunker on Piastowska Street. Before his imprisonment, he had left his watch and a saw guide bar with him.

Other homeless men went with the defendant: the then 32-year-old Łukasz B., 46-year-old Janusz M. and 36-year-old Konrad P. R. entered with Łukasz B. When it turned out that Rysiek—a person with leg paralysis who moved around on crutches—no longer had Sławomir R.’s belongings, he pushed him and knocked him to the ground. Then, shouting vulgar abuse, he grabbed a crutch and began beating the victim all over his body.

Then he and Łukasz B. searched the bunker. R. found a petrol canister. He poured it over the victim, who was lying beside the bed. He also spilled petrol throughout the room. Seeing what Sławomir R. was doing, Łukasz B. fled the bunker.

The attacker poured the remaining petrol across the threshold at the entrance and threw the canister inside. After hesitating for a moment, he ignited the fuel with a lighter.
As a result of the intense burning of petrol vapours and, shortly afterwards, the canister’s explosion, a shock wave was created that caused the bunker door to slam shut.

They did not help the man who was on fire

Both Sławomir R. and the other men fled. No one helped the victim or notified the fire brigade, police or ambulance service. The 68-year-old disabled and beaten man was unable to escape the fire on his own.

Another man who noticed the burning bunker called for help. A cyclist passing by responded to his calls. He entered the burning room and pulled the victim outside.

The victim was transported by air ambulance to a hospital in Nowa Sól. Despite receiving prompt assistance, he died in hospital the following morning.

Thorough examination by prosecutors

During the examination of the bunker, the circumstances of the incident were not known to the prosecution or police. No bystanders had witnessed what happened, and the perpetrators had fled. A thorough examination by prosecutors, with the participation of a fire expert, established that the fire could not have been caused by a cigarette butt and that arson must have been the cause.

The police quickly established the actual course of events through operational work and apprehended the perpetrator of this terrible crime five days later.

Charges and explanations

Sławomir R. was charged with murder with particular cruelty. He committed the crime while being a repeat offender, having previously been convicted of theft, burglary and robbery. During questioning as a suspect, he admitted committing the offence but denied having doused the victim with petrol.

At the prosecutor’s request, the Głogów court remanded the suspect in custody for three months.

Verdict

The indictment in the case was filed by the Głogów district prosecutor in December 2014. The verdict delivered by the Legnica Regional Court on 20 May 2016 was consistent with the prosecutor’s requests. The court agreed that the murder should be classified as having been committed with particular cruelty.

The prosecutor considered the verdict justified, meaning that no appeal would be filed.

Liliana Łukasiewicz, press spokesperson for the Legnica Regional Prosecutor’s Office/ii