THE callous killers of a defenceless father-of-one beaten death in his own bed have been jailed.
Rafal Chmielewski and Zbigniew Pawlowski rained down an ‘explosion of violence’ on Tomasz Dembler after simmering tension over a ‘sexual joke’ resulted in a brutal attack on the 39-year-old.
The violent pair then chopped off Mr Dembler’s hands before dumping his body in a shallow grave in woodland on the outskirts of Middlesbrough.
His mutilated body was discovered a month later when two teenage girls spotted his toes sticking out of the ground and alerted the police.
Today, they have been jailed for 17 years and six months after they admitted manslaughter seven weeks into their murder trial at Teesside Crown Court.
The court heard how Mr Dembler was killed within days of moving into a house on Edward Street, North Ormesby, Middlesbrough.
The Judge, Justice Mary Stacey DBE, said the pair had lied throughout and only changed their plea to guilty when they realised their stories were not convincing anyone.
She said it will never be known why the pair decided to launch their ‘explosive’ brutal attack and then try to cover-up their crime.
“He had been stripped naked and his hands and wrists removed before being unceremoniously dumped in a shallow grave in a remote spot at Flatts Lane Country Park,” she said.
“Tomasz was robbed of any dignity in death. His death has devastated his family and friends, it was not just the savage way he was killed, the desecration of his body and being dismembered, but also the concealing of his body, denying him a decent burial.
“It has caused unimaginable pain and grief for three generations of his family.”
During the trial, jurors had heard how Mr Dembler suffered a catalogue of injuries after being repeatedly kicked, punched, and stamped on in the early hours of March last year.
The judge added: “You were both drunk at the time; it was unplanned and an unpremeditated attack – no motive has ever been revealed. Extensive injuries were caused to Tomasz’s head, neck, chest, spine, and deep-muscle area – it would have cause Tomasz unimaginable pain and suffering.”
Sharon Beattie QC, in mitigation for Chmielewski, said her client had expressed to her that the death of Mr Dembler was something he was “deeply, deeply sorrowful” about.
“He thinks about what happened every single day and will continue to do so for the rest of his life,” she added.
And Toby Hedworth QC, representing Pawlowski, urged the judge not to deal with his client as a ‘dangerous offender’.
He added: “The reality is that on this night, when very drunk, he got himself involved in something very bad that resulted in the death of Mr Dembler.”
Three other co-accused - Monika Solerska; Tomasz Reczycki; and Adam Czerwinski, all pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice by helping to dispose of the body.
The judge dealt with all three individually as she passed sentences reflecting their involvement in the attempts to cover up the horrendous crime.
Solerska, 37, of Birchington Avenue, Grangetown, was branded a liar by the judge as she sentenced her to five years and six months.
The judge said: “You were most closely involved in the post mortem activities of all three of you, providing crucial transport to and from the burial site, cunningly using different routes, and trying to limit your visibility by limiting your mobile phone use.”
Czerwinski, 45, of Edward Street, North Ormesby, was jailed for five years for his role in the clean-up.
While Reczycki, 37, of Ashfield Avenue, Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison as ‘he was the first to break ranks’ the judge said.
Chmielewski, 37, of Birchington Avenue, Grangetown, was told he would serve 16 years and six months in prison with an additional one year on extended licence.
And Pawlowski, 42, of Leven Street, Newport, Middlesbrough, will serve the same sentence.
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