Courts / Kildare / Report
6.5 years for criminal with 61 priors who killed middle-aged man
Summary
Damian Szatkowski, 38, of Peachville, Kilshane, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty in October to the manslaughter of Marcel Kusenda, 48, in Newbridge, Co Kildare, on 8 March 2023. Szatkowski had moved into Kusenda's house shortly before the fatal incident and had previously assaulted the victim twice. He prevented a witness, Marytn Najder, from calling an ambulance and threatened her not to do so. The court heard that Szatkowski struck Kusenda twice in the nose and then kicked him three more times, leaving him unconscious in the bedroom for hours. Kusenda was later found with a large subdural hematoma and died on 10 March. The judge, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon, set a headline sentence of ten years, reduced to six and a half years after mitigation, including Szatkowski's guilty plea and apology. The sentence was backdated to his first custody in April 2023. The hearing included victim impact statements from Kusenda's son and sisters.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 6.5 years for criminal with 61 priors who killed middle-aged man. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- 8 March Incident
- March 8, 2023 Other
- March 10 Incident
- April 2023 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2025-02-17 Publication
Why: Mr Najder went into the injured party's room and could see he was still bleeding and at one-point corrected Mr Kusenda Snr's head position because "his breathing was strange". CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Imposing sentence today, Ms Justice Creedon noted that following the first assault, Szatkowski and another man were going in and out of the deceased's room taking out his belongings. The judge set a headline sentence of ten years before reducing this to six and a half years after taking mitigation into account, including Szatkowski's plea of guilty to manslaughter and his letter of apology.
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
- Naas General Hospital
- Newbridge
- Newbridge house
Topics
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