Polish appeals court increases sentence to 30 years for former officer who killed priest in Kłobuck

Appellate ruling in Katowice

The Katowice Court of Appeals delivered a final ruling on 23 September 2026, increasing the prison sentence for 52-year-old Tomasz Jelonek from 20 to 30 years for the murder of Father Grzegorz Dymek. The decision modified a late March 2026 verdict from the Częstochowa Regional Court, which had sentenced the former police officer to 20 years. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, arguing that Jelonek acted with direct intent to kill, while defense attorneys requested a lower penalty on grounds that the death was an unintended accident during a robbery. Presiding Judge Gwidon Jaworski affirmed the first-instance court's finding of conditional intent but concluded that 20 years failed to reflect the gravity of the crime.

Circumstances of the robbery

The assault occurred on the evening of 13 February 2025 at the rectory of the parish of Our Lady of Fatima on Kochanowskiego Street in Kłobuck. Jelonek broke into the rectory garage expecting to steal church funds after the parish priest collected roughly 80,000 PLN during annual pastoral visits. When 58-year-old Father Dymek arrived by car, he encountered the intruder and attempted to resist and call for help. Jelonek forced the clergyman to the floor, bound his hands behind him with cable ties, and wrapped foil stretch tape around his head, completely blocking his mouth and nose. A neighbor heard the struggle and alerted the police, who arrived within minutes and detained Jelonek in a balaclava as he jumped a fence and entered his car. Resuscitation efforts at the scene failed, and a physician confirmed the priest had died of asphyxiation.

Evidence and legal intent

During the appeal proceedings, the court analyzed the tools and physical actions Jelonek used during the robbery. Judge Jaworski noted that while Jelonek brought zip ties and foil tape rather than weapons typically used for premeditated murder, his actions directly led to a slow death.

“There was no knife, no firearm, no baseball bat, no taser. Such tools are typically used by people who intend to kill.”

The judge emphasized that Jelonek accepted the probability of the victim dying once the attack escalated, rather than abandoning the robbery and fleeing. Medical evidence showed that the priest remained conscious while suffocating over a span of four to ten minutes.

“Father Dymek suffered greatly. Causing death in this way lasts from four to ten minutes. It is a fully conscious death, when the victim is suffocating and cannot manage to free themselves.”

Response from the victim's family

The victim's brother, Andrzej Dymek, expressed support for the harsher penalty after attending the hearing in Katowice. He noted that the tape had been applied so tightly that responding officers could not slide a finger underneath and had to find scissors to cut the material away. He pointed out that the perpetrator had professional training as a former law enforcement officer and was aware of the physical effects of blocking airways.

“My brother did not die an ordinary death. The autopsy showed that his lungs ruptured. He suffered. The perpetrator was a man of the services, knew procedures and knew what he was doing.”

The appellate verdict is final and concludes the proceedings that formally began when the trial opened in December 2025.