Men face trial in Poland over UK murder in legal first after CPS drops charges

14 October 2023 , 15:48

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Andrzej Mucha's body was never found

Two Polish men face trial in their homeland over an alleged murder committed in the UK in a legal case believed to be the first of its kind.

Adrian Pietraszewski, 25, and Tomasz Weiss, 33, are accused of beating fellow Pole Andrzej Mucha, 57, in Slough, ­Berkshire, in November 2021. Weiss then allegedly strangled him but his body has never been found.

The pair were arrested in July last year after Thames Valley Police launched a murder probe, then charged with preventing the lawful burial of a body and perverting justice this February. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in July, stating that the “legal test” had not been met.

Tomasz Weiss allegedly strangled the victim

But after a joint investigation with Thames Valley Police, Polish prosecutors decided there was enough evidence to charge Weiss with murder and Pietraszewski with aiding and abetting. The pair, also charged with battery, are being held in prison and face a full extradition hearing before Westminster magistrates next month. They were both wanted for violent offences in Poland around the time Mr Mucha vanished. His family reported him missing a month after the attack and it is understood police in the city of Katowice contacted them for more details.

Nick Vamos, of law firm Peters & Peters, said it was “very unusual for a suspect to be extradited for a murder allegedly committed in the UK”, adding: “It’s possible Polish authorities have more evidence than is available to the CPS and there may be practical or technical reasons why that can’t be used in the UK.”

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Thames Valley Police said they were still searching for Mr Mucha and would continue to work with Polish police. The CPS declined to confirm why the pair are not being tried here, adding: “As there is an ongoing extradition case, it would not be appropriate for us to comment.”

In the only other such known case Albanian Fatjon Kapri, 43, was ordered to be extradited from Britain in 2014. He was sentenced in his absence to 22 years for stabbing a fellow Albanian to death in London in 2001. Albanian law allows for nationals to be prosecuted for crimes committed abroad.

Lee Sorrell