The Supreme Court declared the 15‑year‑sentence for 39‑year‑old Mark T. unjust, noting he was a 17‑year‑old student when the 2001 murder in Niedomicze occurred.
Zabójstwo w Niedomicach
On 23 January 2001, a shop in Niedomicze on the road from Tarnów to Żabno became the scene of a tragic murder when a customer discovered 35‑year‑old cashier Teresa K. lying in a puddle of blood. Ambulance arrival failed to revive her.
The last receipt was issued at 5:20 pm; Teresa was due to finish her shift ten minutes later. She lived in Biskupice Radłowskie, a few kilometres from the shop, and had worked there for about two years, commuting by bus.
Śmierć Teresy K.
The killer inflicted dozens of sharp‑tool wounds to Teresa’s throat, trachea and carotid artery, which produced fatal hemorrhage. Police collected shoe prints, a blood sample likely left by the perpetrator, and interviewed hundreds of witnesses.
DNA samples obtained from witnesses were compared with evidence from the scene but yielded no useful leads. Consequently, the investigation was halted in July 2002 after a year and a half.
Śledztwo w martwym punkcie
Despite the extensive evidence, the case failed to identify a suspect. The investigation was officially discontinued in July 2002.
W chwili popełnienia zbrodni miał 17 lat
Nearly twenty years later, Tarnów police and the X Archive re‑examined the evidence, conducting DNA tests on 672 individuals and nearly 500 samples between 2021 and 2022.
In September 2022, the Institute for Forensic Expertise found that a 39‑year‑old resident of Tarnów County matched the DNA left at the scene, and that at the time of the murder he was a 17‑year‑old vocational‑school student.
Skatował swoją ofiarę
In September 2022, 39‑year‑old Marek T., serving time for robbery, was charged with the murder of 35‑year‑old Teresa K. He allegedly stabbed her 21 times with a sharp instrument, stole her purse (containing ID and 170 zł) and left a vodka bottle behind.
During the initial interrogation, he partially admitted guilt, claiming the victim was a random target of his aggression. He was subsequently detained.
SN: Kasacja bezzasadna
In May 2024, the Tarnów District Court sentenced Marek T. to 15 years in prison; the December appeal by the Kraków Court of Appeals upheld the sentence.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in October 2024, deeming it baseless and holding the defendant liable for appeal costs. He may not be released from prison until at least 2037.