Two men convicted of murdering a 23-year-old Polish national in County Roscommon have appealed their convictions at the Court of Appeal. Leszek Sychulec, aged 35, with an address at Drinan, Ballymahon, County Longford, and Andrzej Gruchacz, aged 36, were found guilty by jury in the Central Criminal Court of the killing of Patryk Krupa on 20 June 2014 near Athlone. Both received mandatory life sentences in June 2016. The victim was assaulted, rendered unconscious, and subsequently drowned in the River Shannon. Evidence presented at trial included DNA recovered from Sychulec's belongings and witness testimony. During the appeal hearing, defence counsel for Sychulec challenged the identification procedures used by gardaí, arguing that witnesses were shown a single photograph rather than a range of images. Counsel for Gruchacz raised concerns regarding the admissibility of identification evidence and trial procedure. The prosecution contested these submissions. The three-judge panel reserved judgement.
Source links
Original report plus public source leads and related archive reports used for review context.
Public source leads
- Cage fighter and his accomplice appeal convictions for murder of man beaten and left to drown - Irish Examiner Irish Examiner · Fri, 27 Oct 2017 07:00:00 GMT
- Longford cage fighter seeking to have murder conviction declared miscarriage of justice - Longford Leader Longford Leader · Sat, 16 May 2026 12:38:00 GMT
Related court reports
-
Cage Fighter found guilty of beating man and leaving him to drown in Shannon
Courts News Ireland · 2016-04-22
At the Central Criminal Court, a cage fighter and a second man have been convicted of murdering a 23-year-old Polish national in June 2014. Leszek Sychulec, aged 34 and...
-
Cage fighter seeks to have murder conviction declared a miscarriage of justice
Courts News Ireland · 2026-05-15
A Polish cage fighter serving a life sentence for the 2014 murder of a 23-year-old man in Co Roscommon has brought proceedings before the Court of Appeal seeking to...
-
Cage fighter who beat man and left him to drown in Shannon has murder conviction upheld
Courts News Ireland · 2018-01-30
The Court of Appeal in Dublin has upheld murder convictions against two men in the death of a 23-year-old in June 2014. Leszek Sychulec, aged 35, from Drinan,...
-
Cage fighter jailed for life for "shocking" murder of man left to drown in Shannon
Courts News Ireland · 2016-06-13
A cage fighter and another man have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a 23-year-old man who was beaten unconscious and left to drown in the River...
-
Murder accused "pummelled" deceased and threw him in river, State tells jury
Courts News Ireland · 2016-04-19
At the Central Criminal Court, the jury in a murder trial heard closing arguments concerning the death of a 23-year-old man in June 2014. Prosecutors alleged that the...