Tuesday’s decision is final and no longer subject to appeal, state news agency PAP reported.
The court confirmed that the sentence will be served in a therapeutic prison system, a regime that includes mandated treatment.
The crime took place in central Warsaw on February 25, 2024. A building caretaker found the victim, a Belarusian citizen, unconscious and unclothed in a gateway on Żurawia Street and alerted emergency services.
She was taken to a hospital in critical condition and died on March 1 without regaining consciousness.
Police arrested the suspect the same day. In a search of his home, officers found a large kitchen knife and a balaclava used in the attack. Investigators said he stole two mobile phones, several payment cards and a wallet.
On January 17, the Warsaw Regional Court sentenced Dorian S., then 23, to life imprisonment in the therapeutic system and ordered him to pay PLN 200,000 (EUR 47,000, USD 54,000) in compensation to the victim’s partner.
Photo: PAP/Przemysław Piątkowski
Defense lawyers appealed.
Judge Maciej Gruszczyński, delivering the oral reasoning for the appellate panel, said the first-instance proceedings had been conducted properly and the evidence assessed correctly.
He rejected defense claims that the original trial judge was improperly assigned to the case, saying no procedural errors occurred in appointing the bench.
He also dismissed arguments that someone may have slipped a substance into the defendant’s drink before the crime, noting that expert opinions showed no deficiencies and that the defendant’s behavior appeared rational and planned.
“The appellate court, after a comprehensive review of the case file and the first-instance justification, found no gaps, no flaws, and no deficits in the lower court’s proceedings,” Judge Gruszczyński said.
“In the appellate court’s view the penalty is deserved," he added.
He said the offense combined three crimes, robbery, rape and murder, and described it as exceptionally brutal.
He added that surveillance footage allowed the court to analyze the first phase of the event in detail and showed the victim was entirely defenseless.
According to the judge, the recording indicated that the assailant’s original intent to rob shifted toward a sexual motive, even as passersby were nearby.
Under Polish law, a person serving life imprisonment may apply for conditional early release if strict legal criteria are met.
Defense attorneys Patryk Wrycz and Michał Świętosławski said they would review the written justification before deciding whether to seek a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court - a legal process used to challenge a court's decision, focusing on the interpretation and application of the law rather than the facts of the case.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP