Piotr Krowka: Pair jailed for manslaughter over Maghera killing

Two men have been jailed for the "brutal" killing of a homeless man in County Londonderry.

The body of Piotra Krowka, 37, was found at a derelict parochial house in Glen Road, Maghera, in 2018.

Caolan Michael Johnston, 21, from The Fort, Maghera, and Adrian Kozak, 22, from Garvey Wood, Ballymena, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Kozak was sentenced to eight years and Johnston was handed a six-year sentence.

Both will serve half the terms in jail and half on licence.

Kozak, from Garvey Wood, Ballymena, was 17 at the time of the killing and was also involved in previous attacks on Mr Krowka prior to the fatal assault.

Johnston, from The Fort in Maghera, was aged 16 at the time and described as easily led.

The court was told that Mr Krowka - who was originally from Poland - was left to die after being attacked by Johnston and Kozak on 31 March 2018.

It happened in a derelict former parochial house where Mr Krowka was sleeping rough.

The men went back to the scene twice on the day after the attack, but did not raise the alarm.

Mr Krowka's body was found on Tuesday 3 April, 2018.

A post-mortem examination revealed that he had suffered a violent death, caused by blunt-force trauma to his head, chest, abdomen and left arm.

Judge Patricia Smyth described the attack as sustained and brutal, causing catastrophic injuries.

At Belfast Crown Court on Monday, she said the case had been "exceptionally difficult".

The Belfast Recorder spoke about both Kozak and Johnston's youth and immaturity in March 2018 and said she accepted that neither young men intended to cause Mr Krowka serious harm.

Mr Krowka had been living with fellow Poles in Maghera but found himself homeless following allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman.

This resulted in him being attacked on several occasions prior to the fatal beating carried out in the disused property.

Both men were initially charged with murder before they pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

As she sentenced them, Judge Smyth said the injuries sustained by Mr Krowka were "catastrophic".

"A vulnerable man was left to die, having been subjected to a brutal and sustained beating by two teenagers who did not intend to cause him really serious harm, and who - due to their age, relative immaturity, lighting conditions within a derelict house and a degree of panic - failed to appreciate the extent of his injuries or the fact he was in a life-threatening condition."

As their families sat in the public gallery, both young men were led from the dock in handcuffs by prison staff and taken into custody to begin their sentences.