The District Prosecutor’s Office in Lubin filed an indictment in May this year against a 30-year-old resident of Polkowice – Gracjan D., who on December 30, 2024, during an argument with his longtime friend, suddenly pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed him between the 8th and 9th ribs, severing an intercostal artery and causing bleeding into the pleural cavity, which led to circulatory failure and hemorrhagic shock in the injured man. – The injuries resulted in an illness that posed a real threat to his life, meaning that the man could have died had he not received medical assistance quickly – explains Liliana Łukasiewicz, press spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica.

How did this happen?

On December 30, 2024, the men, who had repeatedly abused alcohol together in the past, were doing cleaning work in the mother of one of them’s apartment. After finishing work, they decided to drink again at the defendant’s apartment. They argued on the way home. The spokesperson said: – During the argument, Gracjan D. pulled out a knife and struck his friend in the rib area with it. When the injured man fell, Gracjan D. told him not to pretend and to keep walking. The injured man asked for an ambulance to be called, which the defendant did.

After a while, the police and an ambulance arrived at the scene. Since the suspect was very aggressive, the officers arrested him using direct coercive measures in the form of handcuffs.

Investigators:

Gracjan D. was charged with causing the injured man an illness that posed a real threat to his life, under Article 156 § 1 point 2 of the Criminal Code. He was then temporarily detained. He remains in custody to this day.

When questioned as a suspect, he admitted committing the alleged act, but claimed that the injured man had impaled himself on the knife. The spokesperson said: – The investigation ruled out that possibility.

She added: – The opinions of psychiatric experts show that the defendant was sane at the time of the act. However, the psychiatrists found that the aforementioned individual was addicted to gambling and psychoactive substances and had personality and behavioral disorders. According to the experts, the defendant knows and understands the basic principles of social coexistence, correctly assesses social situations and is able to foresee the legal consequences of the act he is accused of committing. The aforementioned individual can participate in the ongoing proceedings and appear before the court.

The defendant had previously been convicted. He has an average reputation among his family and neighbors.

For the alleged act of causing the injured man an illness that posed a real threat to his life, Gracjan D. faces a sentence of 3 to 20 years in prison.

The case will be heard by the District Court in Legnica.