A MAN who killed a father-of-three by viciously kicking and stamping on his head in a “brutal and sustained attack” has been jailed for life with a minimum term of just under 17 years.

Polish national Dawid Kutek, 33, was found guilty of murdering Tadeusz Pac, 39, who died in Bradford on November 12 last year.

Kutek had denied the offence, but a jury at Bradford Crown Court took just 45 minutes to deliver a unanimous guilty verdict earlier this month.

Prosecutor Peter Moulson QC said it was whilst in Kutek’s flat on Ashgrove, off Great Horton Road, that Mr Pac had been fatally attacked.

The defendant and his victim had been part of a group of men who earlier that day had congregated outside an off-licence on Morley Street.

Mr Moulson said that Kutek had been “verbally aggressive” to Mr Pac, mistakenly believing him to be a “grass.”

Three men – Kutek, Mr Pac, and man called Marek Stanko – then went back to the former’s flat to carry on drinking, at which point the court that heard the “somewhat spontaneous” attack occurred.

Mr Moulson said: “He (Mr Pac) was killed by multiple assaults perpetrated by this defendant. The severity of the assault was such that it left footwear patterns on Mr Pac’s head.”

Despite the efforts of emergency services, Mr Pac was declared dead at the scene.

The court heard that the results of a post-mortem examination revealed the victim suffered “multiple blunt force injuries.”

They included injuries to his face, torso and limbs, with serious injuries to the abdomen and multiple fractures of throat structures, with the overall pattern indicating impact from fists or feet.

During the trial, the jury heard that blood had been found on socks and sandals being worn by Kutek at the time of the incident.

Analysis of the sandals showed they matched the patterns left on Mr Pac’s head.

Vinegar and spice powder had been used to try and clean up the kitchen of the flat, and blood-stained water was found in a mop and bucket in the room.

Mr Moulson said Kutek had given a “number of explanations” to police about Mr Pac’s death, including that he had been drunk and fallen, that he had been attacked by a group of hooded males, and that a “mystery man” had been responsible.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Pac’s sister, Teresa Wojityla, described him as a “good, hard-working man, well-respected in the Polish community.”

She said a phone call she received telling her about her brother’s attack had “completely shattered the whole family.”

Describing the scene in the flat, she said: “I’ll never forget walking through the door and seeing my brother on the floor. Those scenes will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

She said the pain of having to tell family members of his death was “like a terrible nightmare that would not end”, adding: “I can see my brother’s face everywhere I go. What my family want to know is why Dawid Kutek killed my brother. What did my brother do to die in this way.”

Rupert Bowers QC, defending, said it could only have been a “spontaneous and sudden loss of control” that led his client to commit the attack, with his judgement “severely impaired” by excessive drinking.

Judge Neil Davey QC said while he accepted that Kutek’s intention was to cause serious harm rather than to kill, he had unleashed a “brutal and sustained attack”, describing it as “an assault that was as callous as it was cowardly.”

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He told the defendant: “It can be deduced by the nature and extent of the injuries that you must have rained blows upon him, principally using your shod foot or feet as kicking and stamping weapons once you had knocked him to the ground where he lay defenceless.”

Judge Davey also said that Kutek had “callously abandoned” Mr Pac’s body on the kitchen floor, only seeking help when others arrived, and had refused to give any explanation for the attack, something he said “would have been of some comfort to the bereaved family.”

Kutek was ordered to serve a minimum term of 17 years, which was reduced to 16 years and 176 days due to the time he had already spent in custody.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Glen Alderson, of the West Yorkshire Police Homicide and Major Enquiries Team, said: “Kutek gave varying explanations to officers as to how Mr Pac’s horrific injuries were caused, but our investigation proved that he was responsible.

“I hope the sentence he has received today will be of some comfort to the victim’s family and will give them some closure.”