The Regional Court in Przemyśl upheld the three-month pre-trial detention of Ihor M., a suspect in the murder of a priest and the attempted murder of four people at the Benedictine convent in Jarosław. The decision is final, and the detention is being carried out in a psychiatric facility.
As prosecutor Bożena Harasz-Wołoszyn of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Przemyśl said, the court did not uphold the appeal of the lawyer of the 31-year-old Ukrainian national. This upheld the decision of the District Court in Jarosław of 26 September, which imposed three months of temporary detention. The information is reported, among others, by rp.pl and „Gość Niedzielny”.
Detention in hospital conditions
Due to the suspect’s health condition, the detention continues to be carried out in a medical facility with a forensic psychiatry unit with enhanced security. The prosecution does not disclose where exactly the man is staying. Earlier, court-appointed psychiatric experts found that he had acute psychotic disorders, which in the first days after the incident made it impossible to present charges and interrogate him.
Charges and course of the investigation
The attack took place on 24 September on the grounds of the Convent of the Benedictine Sisters in Jarosław, which we reported right after the incident. According to investigators, the suspect stabbed Father Stanisław Zbojnowicz numerous times, and he died. Four other people were injured.
On 7 October, Ihor M. was interrogated and charged with the murder of one person and the attempted murder of four people. As the prosecution reported, he admitted to all the acts but refused to give explanations and answer questions.
The prosecution notes that the experts’ opinion from the early stage of the investigation concerned only the suspect’s ability to take part in procedural actions, not his sanity at the time of the attack. This question is yet to be assessed. Investigators have requested from the Ukrainian side, through legal assistance, the suspect’s medical records, the questioning of his mother as a witness, and information about his criminal record in Ukraine. According to the spokesperson of the Przemyśl prosecutor’s office, cited by Interia, blood tests showed no alcohol, drugs or psychotropic substances.
How he ended up in Jarosław
According to the prosecution, the man entered Poland from Germany on the night of 23 September through the Świecko crossing and intended to cross the border with Ukraine at Korczowa. His car did not have mandatory third-party liability insurance, so he left it in Korczowa, and random people drove him to Jarosław in a private car. The investigation is being conducted by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Jarosław.
What comes next
The three-month detention, counted from the decision of 26 September, covers the period until the end of December. Before it expires, the prosecution will be able to apply for an extension. The suspect’s further fate, including whether he will be prosecuted criminally or referred to compulsory treatment, will be decided by expert opinions on his sanity at the time of the act and by the court. As of publication, the prosecution has not given a date for presenting them.
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