Dawid K. has been sentenced for 25 years in prison for the murder of Jacek Hryć. His shoe trace was left on the victim's face. He was the only one to admit to the beating, although his attorney attempted to prove that Hryć's death did not result from the sustained blows. Four friends of Dawid K. have been sentenced for 8 years each. Jacek Hryć was 28 years old when he was killed on the street because of "some sort of misinterpreted behaviour, glance, word".
28-year-old Jacek Hryć was fatally beaten on the 4th of June 2017 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, in front of a disco. According to expert witness, the cause of death was asphyxiation with his own blood. That's why the attorney for the main defendant Dawid K. tried to prove that the death wasn't a result of the sustained blows and had the paramedics administered proper help, he could still be alive.
The court, however, insisted on excluding the paramedics as a possible guilty party. "Jacek Hryć didn't die as a result of medical error, but due to sustained injuries. There's a clear relationship between the blows inflicted on him by the accused and the pulmonary hemorrhage," judge Ryszard Furman reiterated on Monday when presenting justification for the sentence.
No one has denied, both the defendant and his lawyer, that Dawid K. punched and kicked Hryć in the head, even after the 28-year-old had fallen down, lain still and couldn't defend himself anymore.
The co-defendants: Przemysław K., Łukasz K., Artur L. and Paweł Sz. were chasing Hryć together with Dawid K. but, as they said in the court, once they got there, it was all over. They only stood and watched, out of curiosity.
None of the defendants knew Hryć and he didn't know them. As the judge said on Monday, none of the defendants had any rational reason to attack him in such a way. "Jacek Hryć had done no harm to anyone," judge Furman added.
Ariel D., Hryć's friend was the main witness of the crime. The court took his testimony into account, despite the that he was watching the tragedy from a distance of 43 metres and was under the influence of alcohol.
The sentence was passed on Monday.
Different sentences, different motivations
Dawid K. was on trial for murder and was sentenced for 25 years in prison. The others were accused of second-degree murder and each were sentenced for 8 years in prison, with the exception of Łukasz K. whose sentence is 2 months longer for his intent to beat Ariel D.
The judge explained that although all defendants took part in the battery, they had different motivations, hence different sentences. He said this about Dawid K.: he didn't care if Jacek would survive or not and indifference to one's actions is characteristic for murder. After all was done, he simply walked away.
In the eyes of the court, the others didn't want the victim's death because, above all else, they placed the body in the recovery position and called an ambulance. Unfortunately, they did that too late. Earlier on, they accepted the brutality, they did nothing to stop Dawid K. "No one said 'leave it, that's enough'. They changed their behaviour only after seeing the agony. The police officer who arrived at the scene said that he had never seen anyone worried so much by an unknown injured person, not a friend or relative. This behaviour demonstrated by the defendants was a result of fear of the consequences," said Furman.
According to the court, "the accused must be served a severe punishment, a just one, because the society must be able to feel safe after such tragedies".
The verdict is not yet final and the two years already served by the accused will be subtracted from it.
Face trampled against the pavement
In the final speeches, the prosecutor and attorneys representing Jacek Hryć's family stressed that the perpetrators had beaten the victim without any reason, with no point. "One of the attackers explained it this way: 'we've decided together that we would catch and beat them. They were looking for a brawl from the start in the disco and they were provoking a fight,'" said the prosecutor from Jastrzębie-Zdrój Wojciech Zieliński.
The attorner for Dawid K. replied that there was a reason, maybe a poor one but still. "There was a feud, someone misinterpreted some sort of behaviour, glance, word and that leads to escalation," said Krzysztof Kitajgrodzki.
They all left the disco in the morning. Dawid K. explained that Hryć had bothered his girlfriend. Together with four of his friends he chased after Hryć and Ariel D. The latter managed to run away. When he saw his friend being beaten he called the police.
The witness first told the police and then the prosecutor and finally in court that he had seen Dawid K. trampling on Hryć's face against the pavement. One side of the victim's face showed marks of the pavement, the other - Dawid K.'s shoe trace. He said that he had seen all five of them beating and kicking his friend.
Chance for senescence
The sentence matched the expectations of the prosecutor, however, the attorney for the family of the victim demanded 25 years in prison for each of the perpetrators - they wanted them all to answer for murder.
The attorney for Dawid K. wanted a short short sentence so that his client would have a chance not to grow old in prison. Attorneys for all other accused wanted acquittal.
Judge Ryszard Furman: Jacek Hryć no longer has any chance to grow old.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvn24