Swindon man found guilty of manslaughter of Grzegorz Beyer

A man has today (16 March) been found guilty of the manslaughter of Grzegorz Beyer.

Marcin Koscielniak, aged 28, of Westlea, Swindon, was found guilty by a jury at Bristol Crown Court today.

He is due to be sentenced on 7 April 2017 at Bristol Crown Court.

Detective Sergeant Don Pocock, of the Brunel Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Grzegorz Beyer was a family man who had recently moved to Swindon from his home country of Poland. He lived with his wife and three young daughters.

“On Sunday 1 May 2016, Grzegorz was on a night out in Swindon with friends when what should have been an enjoyable evening turned into tragedy. In the early hours of Monday 2 May, Grzegorz and his friends were approached by another group of Polish nationals who they had come into contact with briefly earlier that night – Koscielniak was part of this group.

“A disagreement took place and Koscielniak landed a fatal blow to Grzegorz – one punch which caused him to fall to the floor and hit his head on the ground. He never recovered from his injuries tragically dying in hospital two days later.

“Although Koscielniak may not have intended to kill Grzegorz that night, there is no denying that he died as a direct result of his actions. Following the punch, Koschielniak fled from the scene with his friends, and only handed himself in after Wiltshire Police launched appeals in the media and social media which clearly played on his conscience.

“This tragic case should serve as a reminder to members of our local community who may see ‘one punch’ as innocuous. This man’s actions have had a devastating impact - not only has he taken someone’s life and had a devastating impact on the lives of his family and friends, he has hugely affected his own life.

“I would like to take this opportunity to praise the hugely dedicated team of officers that worked on this case, trawling through CCTV footage and carrying out extensive enquiries in the area to ensure the offender was brought to justice.

“Finally, I would like to say that my thoughts remain with the family and friends of Grzegorz at this extremely difficult time.”