Courts / Dublin / Report

Judge charges jury in trial of man accused of murdering homeless friend

Date
2020-10-05

Stage
Trial

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Tony Hunt charged a jury on 5 October 2020 to decide the verdict in the murder trial of Sebastian Barczuk, aged 32, who is accused of stabbing his former flatmate, Michal Kurek, aged 33, 62 times and dumping the body in a country lane in north County Dublin between 3 and 4 August 2017. The jury, consisting of seven men and five women, had spent 1 hour 45 minutes deliberating before retiring for the evening. Mr Hunt outlined the principles of criminal law—presumption of innocence, burden of proof, and proof beyond a reasonable doubt—emphasising that the prosecution must eliminate all reasonable possibilities of innocence. He noted that no direct eyewitness evidence existed and that the case relied on circumstantial evidence, including DNA from a mixed profile on Kurek's Nokia phone that matched Barczuk's DNA, cell‑site data from both phones, and CCTV footage of a Fiat Punto linked to Barczuk. Sebastian Barczuk pleaded not guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Judge charges jury in trial of man accused of murdering homeless friend. Charges or matters: murdering his homeless friend Michal Kurek (33) at a place unknown within the State between August 3 and 4, 2017. Procedural stage: trial

When:

August 3 Hearing Or Sentence
August 4 Other
August 2, 2017 Other
2020-10-05 Publication

Why: Mr McGinn said the prosecution was unable to point to a motive between the accused man and deceased, which he described as one of the biggest mysteries in the case as both were "like brothers" to each other. Prosecution account reported by CNI