So Awkward

A Man who shot, stabbed and smothered his young son to death has been found guilty of murder.

Lukasz Czapla, 41, killed two-year-old Julius after splitting up with The Boy 's mother.

Czapla was given a Life Sentence for murder and The Judge said he would serve at least 23 years before being eligible for parole.

He had denied murdering The Toddler in his home in Muirhouse, Edinburgh, in November 2020.

Czapla had offered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of culpable homicide at The High Court in Edinburgh, but it was rejected by The Crown .

A jury heard that Julius was killed by Czapla " in a fit Of Anger and spite" to " get back at and hurt his former partner" Patrycja Szczesniak.

The couple had been in a relationship Until June 2020.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist, Dr Alexander Quinn, told The Court he believed that Mr Czapla's actions were a " narcissistic and entitled" act.

Prosecutor Alan Cameron said The Evidence before The Jury showed Czapla was motivated by anger and jealousy over Ms Szczesniak's new relationship.

He told jurors that on The Night Julius died, Mr Czapla sent text messages to Ms Szczesniak, who was in a relationship with him Until June 2020, asking her about her new partner and her Sex Life .

She did not answer The Questions .

He also referred to evidence given by Mr Czapla's friend Wojciech Marchlewsk and consultant psychiatrist Deborah Mountain, Who Said The Accused seemed more distressed about his own future.

Czapla told police officers and psychiatrists that he could not remember killing his son days after The Toddler 's body was found.

A couple of months later, however, The Accused then gave a " harrowing" account of how he killed The Boy after claiming to remember more details, according to consultant psychiatrist, Dr Quinn.

The Court heard Czapla told The Psychiatrist that he had tried to end his son's life by shooting The Toddler in The Head with a BB gun, but failed.

Upon seeing his child in a " distressed manner" and " handicapped" Czapla then told Dr Quinn he proceeded to stab and smother Julius.

When questioned In Court , Czapla admitted to withholding information when being interviewed about killing his son because he could not confront his actions.

Dr Quinn and another senior consultant psychiatrist Dr Khuram Khan both assessed Mr Czapla, and disagreed over over his mental state.

After multiple interviews, Dr Khan said Czapla had Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), a condition that causes intense fluctuations of emotions among other symptoms including depression and impulsivity.

Earlier, psychiatrist Dr Quinn agreed Czapla had a " depressive illness" but that it " was not severe" and dismissed the EUPD diagnosis.

A childhood friend of Czapla told a jury how The Man " joked" about killing The Child .

Wojciech Marchlewski, 41, said Czapla laughed after making the remark about two-year-old Julius.

He Said : " I felt So Awkward but at the same time it didn't Surprise Me because Lukasz used to joke like this.

" I said it's not funny, it's a bad joke. He acknowledged it saying, 'I know'. "

The Court heard that Mr Marchlewski and Czapla had been friends since childhood. They had both moved from Poland To Live in Edinburgh in 2005.

He told The High Court in Edinburgh that Czapla said he " had plans" after separating from The Boy 's mother.

Mr Marchlewski told jurors that he asked Czapla what his plans were and that he replied that " kidnap doesn't make sense".

Source of news: bbc.com