A pair who beat a man to death with a wooden table while he slept have been found guilty of murder. Rafal Zabiecki, 48, was asleep when Jakub Molga, 26, and Andrej Kolecki, 61, barged into his Pinner home on February 20, 2023.
A jury at Woolwich Crown Court heard how Molga beat Rafal with a wooden table leg, hitting him so hard the piece of furniture broke. Molga re-armed himself with heavier piece of wood and continued his attack, finally pouring boiling water over Rafal’s feet. He sadly died at the scene, as the whole attack was filmed by Kolecki.
Metropolitan Police pieced together CCTV and phone evidence, along with finding fingerprints in the property in Howards Close. Molga was arrested by officers on February 24, with officers then able to recover the video despite it having been deleted.
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Molga, of Romford Road, Forest Gate, was charged with murder on February 27 along with Kolecki, of Chaplin Road, Cricklewood who had been arrested the previous day
Detective Inspector Lucy Carberry, who led the team, said: “Molga’s claims that he didn’t intend to cause him serious harm are staggering – it was clear that Molga and Kolecki went there with a plan. From the start we knew we had to prove that this was a case of murder and that they had intended to seriously harm him.
“The team spent hours building the case against Molga and Kolecki, so that they could be properly held to account for their heartless crimes that day, and give Mr Zabieki’s family a small degree of comfort knowing that they were brought to justice.”
At the start of the trial Molga pleaded guilty to manslaughter, claiming that he hadn’t intended to kill Rafal or cause him really serious harm. The jury saw through this and found him guilty of murder along with Kolecki. Molga had previously pleaded guilty to ABH on another party present, Kolecki was also found guilty of ABH on the same individual.
Rafal’s sister, Magdalena, said: “I am so happy that the jury have made the right decision. Although it can never bring Rafal back I feel that we have got justice for him and the rest of the family. I would like to thank the police investigation team for everything they have done and the support they have provided to us.”
The pair will be sentenced on Friday, 2 February at the Old Bailey.
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