A court in Szczecin has sentenced the prime suspect in a murder and cannibalism case for 25 years in prison. The judge found Robert M. guilty of masterminding a murder of an unknown man nearly 20 years ago. Three other men were also accused of eating part of the victim's body, but the court had discontinued the inquiry due to a statute of limitations.
Four man were accused in this case - Robert M., Sylwester B., Rafał O. and Janusz S. A fifth man, who had died in 2017, was also said to have been involved in the crime - he was believed to have murdered the victim, whose identity has not been determined in the course of the investigation.
The other men were accused mainly thanks Rafał O.'s testimony, which he gave more than a decade after the murder, which the investigators believe had taken place in 2002 at Osiek Lake in Ługi village (Lubelskie province). Rafał O. stated that the prime suspect Robert M. first had an altercation with the victims at a certain location in the village of Łasko. Later, both men drove by the lake, together with the other suspects and Zbigniew B.
The court found that Robert M. masterminded the crime by ordering Zbigniew B. to kill the victim, and by telling him "you know what to do". He followed the order and slashed the man's throat with a knife he had with him, and then cut his head off. According to the court, Robert M., Zbigniew B., and the other men desecrated the victim's corpse by cooking parts of his body over open fire and eating them.
Robert M. is to spend the next 25 in prison.
Judge Tomasz Banaś also said that Sylwester B., Rafał O. and Janusz S. had been found guilty of desecrating the victim's body, but discontinued this inquiry due to a statute of limitations.
The verdict is not yet legally binding. The defendant's attorney announced they would appeal against the ruling.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
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