Sebastian Kalinowski murder: Mom and partner found GUILTY of torturing boy, 15, to death
Warning: Graphic content
A 15-year-old Polish boy was beaten, tortured, and murdered by his mother and her partner on August 13, 2021. The duo was found guilty of this crime on July 22. Sebastian Kalinowski, 15, died in Huddersfield from organ failure as a result of sepsis caused by several untreated fractured ribs. The victim was subjected to torture by his mother, Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, and her steroid-using partner, Andrezej Latoszewski, 38. This heinous crime was captured in a CCTV camera, which was installed by the suspects to keep an eye on Sebastian.
At Leeds Crown Court, a jury heard the testimony of how Sebastian's mother and her companion pierced him with a needle, beat him with a board of wood, and whipped him with an extension cord. As punishment for leaving crumbs on his bedroom floor or using the restroom late at night, he was force-fed and made to perform a severe exercise.
RELATED LINKS
9-yr-old Arlene Alvarez's mom Gwen slams jurors for letting daughter's killer Tony Earls walk free
Police confiscated CCTV cameras from the couple's home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire after the pair were taken into custody in connection with Sebastian's murder. According to the prosecution, the cameras were put up in part to monitor and impose control over Sebastian.
On surveillance footage, Latoszewski, who is a bodybuilder and a martial artist, was shown pushing food and drink into Sebastian's mouth the day before his death. The video also showed him stabbing Sebastian several times with a needle in the crotch and thigh. While performing this cruel act, Latoszewski was laughing, Metro UK reported.
On Friday, August 13, 2021, paramedics arrived at their home in West Yorkshire and discovered Sebastian to be unresponsive. He was left in the cold for about three hours before help came. Unfortunately, he did not survive. The prosecution claimed that Sebastian's severe injuries — including open wounds on his buttocks and several rib fractures — were what led to his ultimate demise.
Kalinowska and Latoszewski had both denied murder, though she admitted child cruelty and he admitted to manslaughter. But after a five-week trial at Leeds Crown Court, a jury found them both guilty of Sebastian's murder.
The jury was previously informed that when Kalinowska was detained before trial, she accepted Latoszewski's marriage proposal. When Latoszewski proposed to her from his prison cell, Kalinowska accepted it, saying that she would marry him anywhere, even in a tracksuit. Despite the crime she committed, she said that she had too many beautiful memories with Latoszewski.
"Each night, I go to sleep and I look at the sky and know you are somewhere far away. Keep your head up, be strong. Remember you've got me. I am yours forever," she had reportedly said.
The prosecution had previously shown the jury some horrifying CCTV videos from the couple's residence. Videos of instances where Sebastian was repeatedly hit, kicked, and stamped on were shown. He was shown getting whipped with a wire in one video.
Considering the nature of the clips the jurors had to sit through, the judge, Justice Lambert DBE, made the rare decision to discharge all of the jurors from further duty. The judge said to the jury, "Your commitment and your dedication to this case has been truly extraordinary; it really has. You have had to endure quite horrifying footage of Sebastian suffering great pain over a period of time and then his death. May I thank you personally for all of your hard work, dedication and patience over the last six or so weeks."
Sebastian had only been in England for a little over a year when he moved from Poland, where he had been living with his biological father. The court was informed that Sebastian attended the North Huddersfield Trust school and was a great student.
"Sebastian was happy at NHTS," head teacher Andrew Fell said, adding, "His spoken English improved significantly, helping him blossom from an initially shy student into one with much more confidence and a strong circle of friends. Caring, intelligent, and fun-loving, he will be remembered for his charming smile, his sharp sense of humor, and his kindness. He embodied what our school stands for in demonstrating a positive attitude to school, treating others with respect, and showing a determination to make the most of his education. Our close-knit school community is deeply saddened by the loss of Sebastian."
According to testimony given in court, Sebastian arrived in Huddersfield in October 2020. His teachers described him as a charming and well-mannered youngster who was noted to be shy, and at times seemed melancholy.
"In the initial days it would suggest that certainly for Kalinowska, she was delighted that her child was here with her," said prosecutor Jason Pitter QC. He informed the jury that by New Year's Eve, the defendants' found Sebastian to be a burden on them, and they had spoken of him as a liar and truant from school.
Mr Pitter said, "You may assume that these were efforts to legitimize what they might describe as a reason for Sebastian's punishments. The punishments, if that is an appropriate way to describe them, were by any stretch of the imagination cruel and became increasingly more severe and violent over time. It would appear that the punishments were precipitated by things such as Sebastian merely dropping food on his bedroom floor, or even just having gone to the toilet during the night," he added.
Jurors were informed that beginning in January 2021, Sebastian's discipline grew harsher and that he was kept purposefully out of the way of others, either as part of the method of discipline or to mask the abuse.
According to Mr Pitter, Latoszewski phoned 911 to the defendants' home on August 13 after Sebastian had been unresponsive for almost two and a half hours. Latoszewski claimed to have discovered Sebastian in the bathtub with his head submerged, suggesting potentially that he had drowned.
The court was informed that Sebastian had many rib fractures in addition to bruises on his buttocks, forehead, mouth, belly, arms, and legs. According to Mr Pitter, the suspects' phones and CCTV systems were seized and analyzed.
Mr Pitter described it as: "Together, their contents document the catalog of abuse that Sebastian had endured before his death. A broad description is one of Sebastian being attacked, principally and most severely by Latoszewski, but with his mother being involved at various times. It included messages and recordings of conversations which have the defendants speaking of and to Sebastian in the most derogatory and inhuman ways, in the context of a perceived need to punish him. That included forcing him to undertake physical and humiliating drills, even when he was too weak to really do so."
In the video that was shown to the jury, Latoszewski was seen striking Sebastian's rear with what Mr Pitter claimed to be a bed slat. Latoszewski also appears in other videos, whipping Sebastian with an extension wire and making him perform exercises to spur him on. Mr Pitter said that footage from Latoszewski's phone also showed him verbally harassing a distressed Sebastian.
According to Mr Pitter, CCTV footage from August 10 of last year revealed aggression directed against Sebastian that began at 8.15 am and lasted through 4.10 pm. Jurors were told that Sebastian was struggling to move but was being held up so that the assault could continue. The defendants' telephone records and CCTV images show the history of violence that Sebastian had undergone before his death.
Mr Pitter said, "A broad description is one of Sebastian being attacked, principally and most severely by Latoszewski, but with his mother being involved at various times. It included messages and recordings of conversations which have the defendants speaking of and to Sebastian in the most derogatory and inhuman ways, in the context of a perceived need to punish him,"
"That included forcing him to undertake physical and humiliating drills, even when he was too weak to really do so," he concluded.