A Polish cage fighter jailed for life for the murder of a 23-year-old man who was beaten unconscious and left to drown in the river Shannon is seeking to have his conviction declared a miscarriage of justice.
Leszek Sychulec, now in his 40s, a Polish cage fighter 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.
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 Judge Tony Hunt on June 13th, 2016. Before handing down sentence, the judge told the court no explanation into the background of what caused this to happen to Krupa had been forthcoming.
The trial heard 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 Krupa’s friends and told them to move away. They did as instructed and Krupa disappeared down an alley with the men from the BMW.
