Courts / Dublin / Report

'Air of mystery' about homeless man's violent death

Date
2020-11-16

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Oldtown

County
Dublin

Summary

In a High Court sentencing hearing, Mr Justice Tony Hunt imposed a mandatory life sentence on Sebastian Barczuk, 32, for the murder of his former flatmate, Michal Kurek, 33, who was found dead in a country lane in Ballyboughal on 4 August 2017. Kurek's body bore 62 stab wounds, including 25 to his back, and a Nokia 105 phone was recovered from his pocket. Barczuk was convicted by an 11‑1 jury after a trial that presented evidence of DNA on the phone, cell‑site data linking the accused's phone to the area at the time of the discovery, and CCTV footage of a Fiat Punto associated with Barczuk. The judge noted an "air of mystery" surrounding the motive and described the case as tragic, while acknowledging the evidence pointed toward Barczuk's guilt. The sentence was back‑dated to 6 April 2018, when Barczuk entered custody. Sebastian Barczuk pleaded not guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 'Air of mystery' about homeless man's violent death. Charges or matters: his murder. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

August 3 Incident
August 4 Incident
April 6 2018 Other
August 2, 2017 Other
August 9 Other
August 13, 2017 Other
August 13 Other
August 20, 2017 Other
April 4, 2018 Incident
Christmas Other
2020-11-16 Publication

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

Case subjects

Sebastian Barczuk

Convicted Person

Charges: his murder (Proven)

Plea: Not guilty

Finding: Convicted

Outcome: Convicted; Sebastian Barczuk (32) to life imprisonment today after he was last month found guilty of murdering his former flatmate Michal Kurek. Mr Justice Hunt sentenced Barczuk to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering Mr Kurek.