44‑year‑old Rafał Z. was sentenced to 12 years in prison by Warsaw’s regional court for the murder of his wife in Jagatowo, after he killed her when she sought a divorce.
Court Verdict Against Rafał Z.
On Wednesday, October 1, the Warsaw Regional Court found 44‑year‑old Rafał Z. guilty of direct‑intent murder, sentencing him to 12 years’ imprisonment. During the hearing he expressed remorse, admitted guilt, and claimed he killed his wife because she wanted a divorce and he could not accept it. The court cited psychiatric and psychological expert reports indicating a limited state of mental fitness at the time of the crime. The judge noted his emotionally immature personality, which impaired his ability to manage the high emotional stress and prevented any force from stopping him from carrying out the murder.
Crime in Jagatowo
The offense occurred in April 2024 on a property in Jagatowo, Pomeranian Voivodeship. The body of a 40‑year‑old woman was found by her son, bearing multiple knife cuts and stab wounds to the neck, head, chest, and forearms. External hemorrhage was the proximate cause of death. According to Prosecutor Bartosz Woźniak, Rafał Z. waited at home for his wife; when she arrived, he struck her repeatedly with a sharp object without speaking. Earlier in March 2025, the prosecutor disclosed that Z. had confessed to wanting to kill both his wife and himself “so that they could be together in heaven.”
Hid Behind a Pile of Clothes
After the attack, Z. fled the scene. Police initiated a search that spanned several days, focusing on the Pruszcz Gdański municipality and Gdańsk county, and using a police helicopter. He was apprehended on April 17, when officers, investigating a report of a possible break‑in at a farm building, discovered him beneath a heap of clothes in the structure. The suspect was detained as the alleged perpetrator of the Jagatowo murder.