Krzysztof K., who was convicted of attempting to murder a bishop’s driver, has been sentenced by a court of second instance to 11 years in prison. However, the defendant, who had previously been sentenced to nine years in prison by the lower court, was not present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. Before the appellate court heard the case, he had been released from custody after posting bail of PLN 5,000.
The case, decided by the Court of Appeal in Kraków, concerned a high-profile attack that took place in 2022. During a canonical visit by Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kraków Robert Chrząszcz to Chełm Hill near Myślenice, the bishop’s driver was brutally attacked with a knife by a man unknown to him.
The 30-year-old attacker was heavily intoxicated at the time. Tests showed he had a blood alcohol level of 3 per mille. As he later testified, he saw a man taking photographs near the chapel where a religious service was being held, which he had attended together with equally intoxicated friends. According to his testimony, he believed the man was a pedophile. The victim was 56-year-old Sławomir Skrzypek, the bishop’s driver, who was documenting the visit at the clergyman’s request.
Krzysztof K. charged at him with a knife, shouting, “You give your life!” He struck the victim forcefully in the head and stabbed him near the shoulder at collarbone level, narrowly missing the heart. Covered in blood, the victim managed to overpower his attacker by wresting the knife away and, using the last of his strength, reached the chapel where the service was taking place to seek help. Faced with the shocking incident, the bishop interrupted the prayers and administered the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to his associate. The injured driver was treated by an ambulance that happened to be returning from another emergency call in the area. By then unconscious, he was transported to hospital.
Convicted man released from custody
The attacker was apprehended several hours later and placed in pre-trial detention. During the proceedings, he admitted his guilt, and the court of first instance ruled that he had acted with the direct intent to kill. The prosecution’s argument that the intent had been eventual was rejected by the court. The District Court in Kraków sentenced him to nine years in prison and ordered him to pay PLN 50,000 in compensation to the victim.
Both sides appealed the judgment. The prosecution sought to increase the sentence to 11 years, while the attorney representing the auxiliary prosecutor requested a 13-year prison sentence and an increase in compensation to PLN 200,000. The defence, meanwhile, sought to reduce the prison sentence to two years and lower the compensation to PLN 10,000.
However, before the appeal was heard, the previously convicted man was released after spending two years in pre-trial detention, despite already facing charges of attempted murder. As Niezalezna.pl has learned, the judge set bail at just PLN 5,000. The amount was strikingly low given the seriousness of the charges against him. The appellate court could have kept the defendant in custody, but the judge handling the extension of the detention order reportedly made a procedural error by filing the motion alone rather than as part of the full judicial panel.
According to Niezalezna.pl, the convicted man was not present in the courtroom when the final judgment was delivered. The court will now have to ensure that the prison sentence is fully enforced.
Krzysztof K. already had an extensive criminal record. He had been convicted numerous times not only in Poland but also abroad.
“He repeatedly served prison sentences in the United Kingdom, including for offences against life and health,” prosecutor Janusz Hnatko, spokesman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Kraków, told the media in 2022.
The 30-year-old was deported to Poland from the UK.