Date set for Athlone murder conviction ‘miscarriage of justice’ hearing

by Fiona Magennis

The Court of Appeal has set a date in December to hear an application by a Polish cage fighter who is seeking to have his conviction for the murder of a 23-year-old man who was beaten unconscious and left to drown in the River Shannon declared a miscarriage of justice.

Leszek Sychulec’s legal team told the court on Friday that they had written to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) seeking disclosure regarding an article published about a garda allegedly involved in organised crime who is connected to the case.

Sychulec, now in his 40s, with a last address at Drinan, Ballymahon, Co Longford, and his co-accused, Andrzej Gruchacz, previously with an address in Warsaw, Poland had pleaded not guilty to murdering Patryk Krupa at Bogganfin, Athlone, Co Roscommon on June 20th, 2014.

Mr Krupa drowned in the Shannon outside Athlone while incapacitated with a head injury from a violent assault.

A Central Criminal Court jury deliberated for five hours before reaching unanimous guilty verdicts. The defendants were accordingly given mandatory life sentences by Mr Justice Tony Hunt on June 13, 2016.

Before handing down sentence, the judge said that no explanation into the background of what caused this to happen to Mr Krupa had been forthcoming.

Sychulec’s barrister Stephen Faulkner BL told the Court of Appeal in May that his client intended to apply for a miscarriage of justice certificate following his conviction in June 2016.

The court heard on Friday that an affidavit has now been filed in respect of the application and has been received by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Mr Faulkner said disclosure was being sought relating to a newspaper article which had been published about one of the gardaí in the case alleging involvement with organised crime. He said his solicitor had written to the DPP “on foot of this disclosure in the public domain”.

Stephen Dixon BL, for the DPP, said “several letters have been received” and there would be “engagement” now that the affidavit has been filed. He confirmed the issue raised related to disclosure pertaining to “a particular member of An Garda Siochana”.

Mr Faulkner asked that the matter be listed for mention before the end of this term to “clarify the duration” of the hearing.

Ms Justice Kennedy noted the duration would “very much depend on what the disclosure is from the DPP”.

Mr Dixon said it would be “a very net issue at its highest” and suggested the matter would take approximately one hour. Ms Justice Kennedy set December 17 as the hearing date for the Miscarriage of Justice application. She listed the matter for mention on July 17.

The trial heard that Mr Krupa had been walking to the gym with his two friends, when a black BMW stopped beside them and two men got out. One of these men headbutted one of Mr Krupa’s friends and told them to f**k off. They moved away as instructed and Mr Krupa disappeared down an alley with the men from the BMW.

Blood and DNA matching that of the deceased was found on a watch worn by Sychulec at the time of his arrest and there was evidence of blood staining on one of his socks.

Both men subsequently appealed their convictions, but they were upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2018.