“I loved him more than life itself,” says the father of the late Kacperek. What was the boy’s last day with his dad like?

Rafał told the court what the day on which his little son tragically died had been like. Once again, he had to relive those moments. Does he think each time about what he could have done differently? And what he could have avoided doing so that his little son would still be with him?

In the brief statement he gave us after the first court hearing, it is clear that the emotions are overwhelming and that the father is experiencing immense suffering.

On April 27, 2020, the day the child disappeared, Rafał called a friend after 11 a.m. They had work to do at the allotment garden. He took his son with him so the child could play outdoors.

“I called a friend to cut wood at his allotment garden,” the father recounts. “He told me he did not know whether he would be able to start his van and asked me to come help him, but when I arrived, the van was already running and we went to the allotment garden. Then he asked me whether I had ‘something.’ I replied that I had a little. We snorted it. I went first, and Mariusz second. Then we started cutting wood, while the little one rode his bicycle beside us,” Rafał said in court.

After 3 p.m., another of Rafał’s acquaintances arrived at the allotment garden. He was the one who had found a buyer for the wood. That man gave Kacperek a plastic excavator, which was later recovered from the river. The boy took a liking to his new toy.

“Kacperek played with the excavator at a neighbor’s allotment garden,” Rafał says. “There was a little depression there that held water, and he filled it in with the excavator. He did not go near the embankment. Once, he went down the steps to the Kwisa with me because I went there for water. I filled a bucket with water and we came back. When we were walking up the steps, I was holding Kacperek’s hand. I believe Kacperek would not have gone down those steps by himself because he would have been afraid,” Rafał insisted.

At around 5 p.m., the men loaded the wood and left the allotment garden. Rafał’s two friends drove the wood to the person who had ordered it, while Rafał and his son went home for dinner. They arrived at around 5:30 p.m. After several dozen minutes, they returned to the allotment garden.

“I went home for dinner, then returned to the allotment garden because my friend wanted me to help him repair a saw,” Rafał said. “I got out of the car, opened the door for Kacper, and saw that he was walking beside me. I went over to my friend for about two or three minutes. I realized that the little one was gone. I started running around the allotment gardens looking for him. A man said that Kacperek might have gone to jump on a trampoline, so I ran around calling for him. A woman told me she had heard a splash in the river and thought it was a beaver. Then I started running along the river. I ran about 500 meters, and on my way back I saw the little one’s excavator floating with the river’s current—the same one he had been playing with,” the father recounted.

We have described the subsequent search in detail in numerous articles. The most extensive account was presented in the video: Reconstruction of events from the day Kacperek disappeared. Conjectures, theories and scenarios. The child’s body was found by diver Marcel Korkuś almost two weeks after the day he disappeared.

The father’s defense attorney, Luiza Słychan, appeals for restraint in assessing this family tragedy.

“A terrible tragedy occurred on April 27, 2020,” attorney Luiza Słychan, Rafał’s defense attorney, says. “Kacperek’s family, including his father, who shared a special bond with the child, still have not recovered to this day. When I read the comments posted beneath articles or posts on Facebook, I can see how much emotion there is among those commenting. Of course, I understand that the case arouses various emotions in the public. Nevertheless, since no verdict has yet been issued in the case, I ask people to refrain from posting insulting and vulgar comments directed at the accused and his loved ones. I would also like to remind everyone that only a comprehensive assessment of the evidence gathered by the court can answer the question of what happened on that tragic day. Therefore, I appeal to all of you not to formulate hasty opinions based on incomplete information,” the lawyer asks.