Court issues verdict in Koszalin escape room tragic fire trial

Miłosz S. was sentenced to two years in prison, along with a 10-year ban on engaging in business activities related to culture, sport, and recreation. Radosław D. received the same sentence.

Two women, Małgorzata W. and Beata W., were sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years, and a 10-year ban on conducting business activities.

The judge said that, according to the court’s findings, the defendants had committed the acts they were charged with, in the time and manner described in the indictment. "Therefore, the court deemed the defendants' statements as attempts to avoid criminal responsibility for their actions," she added.

TVN24 reporter Alicja Rucińska said that the court took into account the time the defendants had spent in pre-trial detention when calculating their prison sentences. "As a result, they will spend the next four months in prison," she explained. "The moment the sentences were announced, whispers and even sobs of discontent could be heard from the families of the girls, who promised to continue fighting for justice," she added.

The mother of one of the deceased girls told the reporter that she disagreed with the court’s ruling. "Nothing will bring my child back to life, but justice needs to be served. And there is no justice," she said.

The court ordered the sentenced to jointly pay 200,000 zlotys to each parent of the five deceased girls.

On January 4, 2019, five teenage girls, 3rd grade students of the No.9 Junior High School (currently No.18 Primary School) - Julia, Karolina, Wiktoria, Małgosia, and Amelia - were celebrating the birthday of one of them at the escape room in Koszalin.

"I was supposed to be with the children and look after them. Unfortunately, I got a work assignment from my previous company to come in," said the father of one of the girls. "To this day, I carry this burden, and I will probably carry it for the rest of my life because I was supposed to be there with my children," he admitted.

At one point, a fire broke out. The emergency operator received the first call reporting the fire at 5:13 p.m. The girls themselves also called. They managed to say that there was a fire and they were trapped inside, waiting for help. "There’s terrible smoke, what should we do?" they screamed before the call was disconnected.

When firefighters extinguished the fire, they informed journalists and parents arriving at the scene about the deaths of all the girls trapped inside. The prosecutor’s office determined that the cause of the fire was gas leaking from the cylinders used to power the heaters in the building.

The fire also prevented an employee of the escape room from reaching the trapped girls. The man was suffered burns, but was not able to open the door for the girls. Only they could unlock the door after solving the last puzzle. There were no emergency exits in the facility. The only window in the room was boarded up from the inside, and from the outside, it was barred. The girls died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

On January 10, 2019, the five girls were buried at the municipal cemetery in Koszalin.

The investigation conducted by the Koszalin District Prosecutor’s Office lasted two years. The indictment covered four individuals: Miłosz S., his grandmother Małgorzata W., his mother Beata W., and Radosław D. These individuals operated, organized, and worked in the Koszalin escape room.

Miłosz S., from Poznań, was the main organizer of the escape room and the primary suspect in the case. In October 2019, three other people were also charged: Małgorzata W., the organizer’s grandmother who registered the business; Beata W., the suspect’s mother who co-managed the operation; and Radosław D., an employee at the escape room who was present when the fire broke out.

They were accused of deliberately violating fire safety regulations and causing deaths of five people by negligence. None of the defendants admitted guilt.