A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stabbing a man to death against a backdrop of excessive drinking during one of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the case of David Bolger, who stabbed his friend Przemyslaw Klimczuk to death, was a "tragic case for all concerned" in which the "void created by the coronavirus restrictions" led to the defendant and the deceased filling their days by "excessive drinking resulting in tragic consequences".
The judge said there was nothing unusual about the level of drinking in the house at that time during lockdown, and it is reasonable to believe that had circumstances been different, the stabbing would not have happened.
The judge said this was not an excuse for Bolger's behaviour, or for his excessive drinking, but it is "undoubtedly a background to the case".
After a trial in July, David Bolger (45), of Irish Street, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Przemyslaw Klimczuk (43), in the house they were sharing off Greenville Lane, Enniscorthy on May 1st, 2020
Bolger had denied the murder charge.
Stabbing
The court heard that Bolger had been drinking since 4pm that day, and he stabbed Mr Klimczuk with a kitchen knife after becoming aggressive.
Delivering the sentence on Tuesday, Mr Justice Hunt said he was satisfied that Bolger found the knife somewhere in the house and did not "come equipped to do damage", as in some other manslaughter cases.
He said there was no credible basis for saying the stabbing was carried out in self-defence, or as a result of provocation in circumstances where Bolger went up a flight of stairs and negotiated his way into the bedroom before inflicting the fatal injury.
The judge said he was satisfied that the finding of manslaughter rather than murder was based on the defence that Bolger lacked the necessary intention for murder due to his level of intoxication.
Mr Justice Hunt said the harm caused by the offence is self-evident and permanent, and was described "succinctly" by victim impact statements from Mr Klimczuk’s children.
The judge added: "He was a relatively young man in good health, and he and his family have been robbed of the many years of life that he should have otherwise had if it weren't for the events of this terrible night."
The defendant, he said, is in his 40s and will complete the sentence with a long part of his life still ahead.
He put the offence in the higher bracket, attracting a headline sentence of 14 years' imprisonment.
Taking into account Bolger's "genuine" remorse and his early offer to plead guilty to manslaughter, the judge reduced that to 10 years and six months and suspended the final 18 months on condition that Bolger be of good behaviour and keep the peace.
He will also have to spend 12 months under probation supervision following his release and must comply with conditions set down by the probation service or he will serve the balance of the suspended portion of his sentence.
The sentence was backdated to July 6th to take into account time already served in custody.
Memories
At the Central Criminal Court last week, the victim impact statement of Mr Kilmczuk’s children, Natan and Martyna, was read out by James Dwyer SC, on behalf of the State.
In the statement, they said all the good memories they have of their father are starting to fade.
Detective Garda Tom O’Leary gave evidence to Mr Dwyer that Bolger and the deceased, along with two others, shared a rental property.
On May 1st, 2020, a 999 call was made concerning a stabbing at the house and gardaí were dispatched.
Det Gda O’Leary said gardaí noticed Bolger sitting on a footpath opposite the residence, and on the second-floor bedroom of the house, paramedics were tending to a male with a single puncture wound to his chest area.
There were blood splatters in the downstairs living room and a knife was located.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Mr Klimczuk died from a single puncture wound.
Outlining the facts of the case, Det Gda O’Leary said that on April 30th, 2020, the deceased and Bolger were consuming alcohol at home with another man, while a fourth man remained in his bedroom, not drinking.
The three men who were drinking were joined by two acquaintances who did not live there, and a large amount of alcohol was consumed, with several bottles of Jägermeister purchased.
The two guests left the house as Bolger was acting in an aggressive manner, and Bolger continued to engage in aggressive behaviour towards the two men who remained.
The detective said there was an exchange of punches, and Bolger sustained injuries. He said that there was blood on Bolger’s face and blood on the floor and chair.
Det Gda O’Leary said Mr Klimczuk went to the bedroom of another housemate and asked him if he could stay in his room as he was scared. The door was locked with both men inside, before Bolger came to the door and asked to speak to Mr Klimczuk.
Bolger was allowed entry, and the other housemate saw Mr Klimczuk fall backwards onto the bed and saw the knife in Bolger’s hand. Det Gda O’Leary said the housemate also saw Bolger thrust the knife into Mr Klimczuk.
Admission
Det Gda O’Leary said that when gardaí arrived at the scene, Bolger told them a fight broke out, and he went upstairs and stabbed Mr Klimczuk with a small kitchen knife.
He told gardaí that he had been drinking since 4pm and claimed the other men had been shouting at him and saying he was “being an a*****e”.
Det Gda O’Leary said Bolger had a swollen left eye, a cut over his left eye, and dried blood around his mouth.
Mr Dwyer said a probation report on the defendant showed Bolger had a limited memory of the killing, but he accepted that he had committed manslaughter.
Mr Dwyer said Bolger told the probation services that he was devastated for causing Mr Klimczuk’s children grief and was remorseful. The probation services assessed Bolger at a moderate risk of reoffending.
Mr Dwyer read out the victim impact statement of the victim’s children, Martyna and Natan Klimczuk, who were 10 and 13 respectively when they lost their father.
“All the good memories we have of him are starting to fade. He did not deserve this fate, we can barely remember his voice,” they said, adding: “We have grown to learn and accept this terrible side of society.”
Mr Dwyer said that the Director of Public Prosecutions had placed this case of manslaughter in the highest range.
Defence counsel Colman Cody SC read out a letter of apology on behalf of Bolger, in which the defendant said he had “struggled to find the right words to say, knowing that no apologies can ever take away the pain” felt by the victim’s family.
“I have taken the life of a man I considered a friend, a good friend,” Bolger said, going on to say that Mr Klimczuk did not deserve to die the way he did, nor did his family and friends deserve this.
He said he had met the victim’s children and found them to be bright and well-adjusted.
“I pray that the loss of their father will not prevent them from living happy lives,” he said.
Mr Cody said Bolger had acknowledged that his behaviour had become volatile on the night of the killing, and he had allowed himself to be placed in this situation.
He said that his client had previous convictions of a minor nature, which reflected his difficulties with alcohol.
Counsel said Bolger had experienced mental health issues at a young age, which seemed to have deteriorated over the years. He added that Bolger had told the probation services he plans to remain sober, and he was remorseful for his actions and had expressed regret.
