Polish court sentences Venezuelan man to 25 years for 2025 murder in Toruń park

Court ruling and sentencing

The Toruń Regional Court on Wednesday delivered its non-final verdict against Yomeykert S., a Venezuelan national convicted of the aggravated rape and murder of 24-year-old university student Klaudia K. Presiding Judge Grzegorz Waloch handed down a 25-year sentence for the murder committed in connection with rape, along with a four-month term for an earlier knife threat against another individual. The five-judge panel combined these penalties into an aggregate term of 25 years and one month of imprisonment, crediting the time the defendant has spent in pre-trial detention.

In addition to the custodial sentence, the court ordered the defendant to pay 250,000 zlotys in partial compensation to the victim's parents. The trial had been conducted behind closed doors since its opening on 11 June 2026 to protect the victim's family and preserve courtroom order. The court announced the verdict publicly without delivering an oral justification.

Jarosław Szymczak, assistant spokesperson for the Toruń Regional Court, confirmed the outcome following the decision.

The aggregate sentence is 25 years and one month. The verdict is not final.

Timeline of the attack

The incident took place during the night between 11 and 12 June 2025, around 1:10 AM, in Glazja Park near Plac Pokoju Toruńskiego in Toruń. Klaudia K., a doctoral student at Nicolaus Copernicus University who also worked as a bartender at an Old Town pub, was walking home when she was ambushed. Investigators established that the assailant stabbed her multiple times in the head, neck, and chest before assaulting her.

A nearby resident named Błażej heard the victim's cries for help and intervened, causing the attacker to flee the scene. Police officers arrested the suspect shortly afterward on a nearby street. Paramedics transported the victim to the municipal hospital in Toruń in critical condition. Doctors treated her extensive injuries, which included defensive wounds to her hands, hemorrhagic shock, and severe brain tissue damage. She died in the hospital on 27 June 2025 after two weeks on life support.

Separate charges and prosecutorial stance

Prior to the fatal assault, Yomeykert S. had been involved in an incident during the night of 11 to 12 April 2025 in Toruń. Prosecutors charged him with threatening a man at a residence while wielding a knife, before stepping onto the sidewalk outside and making throat-slitting gestures toward the window. Court-appointed psychiatric examiners evaluated the defendant during the pre-trial investigation, concluding that he was fully sane and capable of recognizing the significance of his actions at the time of both incidents.

Throughout the proceedings, Yomeykert S. declined to present explanations or respond to charges through his court-appointed attorney, Mateusz Chudziak, and a Spanish-language interpreter. The prosecution, which had sought a life sentence citing special cruelty and sexual gratification motives, is reviewing whether to contest the ruling.

Izabela Oliver, spokesperson for the Toruń District Prosecutor's Office, detailed the state's immediate procedural steps.

He was sentenced to an aggregate term of 25 years and 1 month of imprisonment, crediting the actual period of detention towards this penalty. The court also ordered the amount of 250,000 zlotys in favour of those representing the victim's rights as partial compensation for the harm. The prosecutor intends to file a motion for the written reasoning of the verdict in terms of the sentence imposed.