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Libby Squire murder trial: Accused's behaviour 'frightening'

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Polish-born Pawel Relowicz is a married father of two young children who arrived in Hull eight years ago, the court has heard

A man accused of murdering a student is "utterly disgusting" but there is no evidence he killed her, jurors heard.

Libby Squire, 21, disappeared after she was refused entry to a Hull nightclub on 31 January 2019 and was found seven weeks later in the Humber Estuary.

Pawel Relowicz, 26, denies raping and killing her before dumping her body.

Sheffield Crown Court was told witnesses had heard screams after the defendant had left the student at Oak Road playing fields.

Giving evidence in court, the Polish-born butcher admitted he was driving around the student area of Hull on the night Ms Squire went missing because he wanted "to find a woman for sex or to commit voyeurism on that street".

Mr Relowicz confirmed his previous offences of voyeurism, outraging public decency and burglaries, including stealing sex toys and women's underwear.

Squire family Libby SquireSquire family
University of Hull student Libby Squire was last seen in the early hours of 1 February 2019

Questioning him, his defence barrister Oliver Saxby QC asked: "Do you accept you have a problem?"

He replied: "Yes."

Mr Relowicz said it was "difficult for me to accept I had a problem" due to him having a young family and feared his wife "would have left me" if she found out.

Outlining the defence case, Mr Saxby told the court: "How he has behaved, what he has done - it is utterly disgusting.

"Let me spell it out. He has violated homes; he has violated the intimate possessions of student girls; he has violated intimate moments."

The barrister described the defendant's behaviour as "so gross" and "extremely frightening".

However, Mr Saxby added there was "no evidence of any sort of violent attack" on Ms Squire.

Elizabeth Cook Artist sketch of defendant Pawel Relowicz flanked by court security guards in the dockElizabeth Cook
Mr Relowicz, who worked as a butcher for Karro Foods in Malton, arrived in the UK "to earn good money", the court has heard

Mr Relowicz told the court he had seen Ms Squire, a philosophy student originally from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, on the pavement of Beverley Road "crying and shouting" and he said he "wanted to help her".

When asked by Mr Saxby whether he had raped and killed Ms Squire, then put her body in the river, he replied "no" to all of the questions.

The defendant said Ms Squire got out of his car on Oak Road and he drove off leaving her at the scene.

But later he said he went back to Oak Road to find Ms Squire as he was "worried about her" and thought she had gone home when he could not see the student.

They also heard he lied to police and felt bad for cheating on his wife.

The trial continues.

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