The case of the "Bloody Tulip" from Kołobrzeg went to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court will hear the case of Mariusz G. from Kołobrzeg, who was illegally sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of three women, and who is called the "Bloody Tulip" in the media. The defense attorney filed an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal in Szczecin to refuse to accept the cassation appeal.

The spokesman for the Szczecin Court of Appeal, Robert Bury, confirmed to PAP on Tuesday the information that the defense attorney Mariusz G. had filed a complaint to the Supreme Court against the order of the Court of Appeal to refuse to accept the cassation appeal against the judgment of January 24 this year. The complaint was filed with the Supreme Court on April 28. The date of its consideration has not yet been set.

On January 24, the Court of Appeal in Szczecin overturned the judgment of the District Court in Koszalin from June 2023, which sentenced Mariusz G. from Kołobrzeg to life imprisonment for the murder of three women and sentenced his four assistants to prison terms in covering up the traces of the crime and taking over the victims' assets.

The case was referred for reconsideration to the District Court in Koszalin, because the verdict was issued by the so-called neo-judge Anna Rutecka-Jankowska. Referring to the absolute grounds for appeal, the presiding judge of the SA, Andrzej Olszewski, stated that in the opinion of the entire five-person adjudicating panel, judge Rutecka-Jankowska "does not meet the standards of independence and impartiality" within the meaning of art. 45 sec. 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, art. 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and art. 6 sec. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Judge Olszewski pointed out that "this judgment is burdened with so many defects that even if this fundamental premise were not there, it would still be annulled."

The defense attorney for Mariusz G. filed a cassation appeal against the judgment with the Court of Appeal. On April 1, the court decided to refuse to accept it. "It is inadmissible against this judgment. Because this is a judgment that overturns the one issued in the first instance and a complaint may be filed against this judgment so that the Supreme Court could review the correctness of this overturning," Judge Bury told PAP on April 7.

Such a complaint was not filed by any party within the deadline, i.e. within 7 days of delivery of a copy of the judgment with justification. However, as explained by judge Bury, a cassation appeal would be possible if the SA (second instance court) upheld the judgment of the first instance court and "convicted someone".

The defence lawyer for Mariusz G. filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against the refusal to accept the cassation appeal by the Court of Appeal. The case files were forwarded to the Supreme Court along with the appeal.

Until the Supreme Court considers the appeal, the case of the retrial before the District Court in Koszalin and the motion of the District Prosecutor's Office in Szczecin to exclude the so-called neo-judges from adjudicating in it remains in abeyance. In the retrial in the case of the murder of three women from Kołobrzeg, the adjudicating panel was to be presided over by District Court Judge Sylwia Dorau-Cichoń. Judge Anna Sikorska-Obtułowicz was also drawn to the panel. Both were appointed after 2017 and appointed to the position of District Court judge in Koszalin in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The court in this composition wanted the trial to start on May 15.

Mariusz G., currently 48, from Kołobrzeg, whom the media have dubbed the "Bloody Tulip", was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2023 for the murder of three women with motives deserving of particular condemnation, the desire to seize property and committing 14 other crimes. The court ruled that Mariusz G. can apply for early conditional release after 35 years. It deprived him of public rights for 10 years and imposed the obligation to repair the damage (almost PLN 0.4 million) and pay compensation to the heirs of the victims (PLN 1.7 million).

According to the investigation, the first victim of Mariusz G. in the spring of 2016 was 31-year-old Iwona K. In October 2018, he killed 37-year-old Aneta D. 54-year-old Bogusława R. lost her life on June 7, 2019. The investigation was conducted by the District Prosecutor's Office in Szczecin.

Four co-defendants also appeared in court for various types of assistance in covering up the traces of the crime and taking over the victims' property. Sebastian T. was sentenced to four years in prison, and Dorota Ł. to three years in prison. Karolina S. was to spend two years and four months in prison, and her mother Łucja S. a year and a half.

Mariusz G. is in pretrial detention.

The final draft announced by the Ministry of Justice on the status of judges appointed after 2017, assuming their verification under the act, was published on April 24. It was submitted for opinion to the Venice Commission. According to the draft, competitions for positions currently held by these judges would be repeated.

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