The Court of Appeal in Wrocław heard an appeal in the high-profile case of parents from Przemków accused of cruelly abusing their minor sons. At first instance, on 3 March 2026, the Regional Court in Legnica sentenced Marcin G. to 30 years in prison, while Monika M. was sentenced to one year and six months in prison.

On Thursday, 10 September, the final judgment of the second-instance court was delivered. The father’s sentence was reduced to 25 years in prison. In the mother’s case, the court upheld the earlier sentence: one year and six months in prison.

The case concerned two brothers – the older Filip and Piotr, formerly named Marcin. Piotr died on 20 May 2024, several months after suffering severe head injuries.

The court did not classify Piotr’s death as murder

The legal assessment of the act concerning the younger son’s death was crucial to determining Marcin G.’s sentence. The second-instance court upheld the first-instance court’s position that the father had not committed murder against Piotr.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the court found that G. had committed the crime of causing severe bodily injuries that unintentionally led to the boy’s death:

The appellate court upheld the first-instance court’s assessment that Marcin G. had not committed murder against his son Piotr, but had caused severe bodily injuries that unintentionally led to the boy’s death.

According to the court, the perpetrator acted with conditional intent to cause serious harm to health. In the second-instance court’s view, a 30-year prison sentence was too severe in these circumstances.

“The court found that because the perpetrator acted with conditional intent, a 30-year prison sentence appeared too severe,” the prosecutor’s office reported.

Earlier, the prosecutor had sought life imprisonment

The District Prosecutor’s Office in Głogów disagreed with the Regional Court in Legnica’s decision, however, and filed an appeal on 23 April 2026.

Among other things, the prosecutor challenged the legal classification adopted by the court for the act concerning Piotr’s death. In the prosecutor’s view, the evidence collected indicated conditional intent to take the child’s life.

The prosecutor’s office also sought a harsher sentence for M. In the appeal, it demanded, among other things, that she be found guilty of suffocating Piotr and hitting Filip with a bottle, as well as being given an aggregate sentence of 10 years in prison.

Regarding Marcin G., the prosecutor sought a finding of guilt for Piotr’s murder and an aggregate sentence of life imprisonment.

The Court of Appeal did not grant these far-reaching demands.

Mother will not be held liable for aiding in her son’s murder

The second-instance court also upheld the position that Monika M. was not liable for aiding the children’s father in Piotr’s murder. The woman was convicted of abusing her minor sons – both independently and together with their father. The prosecutor’s office stated:

The appellate court also rejected the allegation that a sentence of one year and six months in prison for the mother, who acted with diminished capacity, was manifestly too lenient.

– This court upheld the first-instance court’s position that Monika M. had committed only the abuse of her minor children, independently and together with their father, and not aiding the children’s father in murdering one of his sons – added Liliana Łukasiewicz, spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica.

The children’s mother acted with substantially diminished capacity. The court took this fact into account when imposing her sentence.

The children were beaten and suffered severe injuries

The case began with the hospitalization of the younger boy. On 27 February 2024, Piotr was admitted to a hospital in Głogów. His parents claimed at the time that the child had choked on milk. Further examinations, however, revealed injuries inconsistent with the version of events they presented.

According to the prosecutor’s office’s earlier findings, the boy was diagnosed with, among other things, skull fractures, brain swelling, and ischemic and hypoxic changes.

The child was taken to hospital again after Marcin G. allegedly struck him on the head with considerable force on 28 February 2024. Piotr suffered further serious injuries at that time. He ultimately died on 20 May 2024.

The older Filip was also allegedly a victim of repeated violence. The investigation established that he had suffered numerous head injuries, including subdural hematomas. According to earlier information from the prosecutor’s office, the boy’s psychomotor development had stopped at the level of a much younger child.

In the indictment, the prosecutor’s office stated that the children had been beaten and pushed, thrown against various objects, and dropped onto hard surfaces.

Prosecutor’s office to examine whether grounds exist for a cassation appeal

Although the second-instance court’s judgment is final, the prosecutor’s office has not ruled out further legal action.

– Nevertheless, the District Prosecutor in Głogów will request a written statement of reasons because, in its oral reasoning, the appellate court addressed the prosecutor’s appeal grounds rather tersely – the spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica informed.

Only after receiving and analyzing the written statement of reasons will the prosecutor decide whether there are grounds for filing a cassation appeal.

Court also upholds bans imposed on father

The Court of Appeal upheld the 15-year ban imposed on Marcin G. on contacting and approaching the injured party, Filip G., within 200 meters.

It did, however, amend the second ban. The lifetime ban on holding positions and pursuing professions involving the upbringing, education, treatment, or care of minors was reduced to 15 years.

The judgment of the Court of Appeal in Wrocław is final.