Father who stabbed family dies in UK jail

Tuesday 03 April 2018

A father whose fatal stabbings of his wife, children and friends left an “indelible mark on Jersey’s history” in 2011 has died in a UK jail.

Police announced yesterday that Victoria Crescent killer Damian Rzeszowski (37) died on 31 March at high-security facility HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire.

He had been serving a 30-year sentence there for manslaughter with diminished responsibility after a brutal knife attack in a St. Helier flat on his wife, Izabela (30), daughter Kinga (5) and son Kacper (2) on 14 August.

He also killed his father-in-law Marek Garstka (56), his wife’s friend Marta De La Haye (34), and her daughter Julia (5).

Pictured: Victoria Crescent, where the stabbings took place. (Google Maps)

Following a trial in 2012, Rzeszowski was acquitted of murder but sentenced to the lesser charge after his defence argued that he had been suffering depression and psychotic symptoms at the time of the attack. The court heard that he had been hearing voices, and later had no memory of his actions.

Speaking after the verdict, Police described how the stabbings had “left many families devastated.”

“We can only imagine the grief of the families, who lost their loved ones in such brutal circumstances… The events of 14^th August 2011 have left a very sad, indelible mark on Jersey’s history,” they said.

In a statement yesterday, a spokesperson confirmed Rzeszowski’s death. UK Police are now reported to be investigating.