NEWRY: MAN TO SERVE 20 YEARS FOR GIRLFRIEND'S MURDER
A 25-year-old man named Dawid Lukasz Mietus, responsible for the murder of his girlfriend Patrycja Wyrebek in August 2020, will be required to serve a minimum of 20 years in prison before he becomes eligible for parole.Mietus was found guilty of assaulting and strangling 20-year-old Wyrebek at their residence in Drumalane Park.
The fatal incident took place in the early hours of August 2, 2020.
Following a police raid, Mietus was subdued with a taser in a neighbor’s garden while he was holding a knife to his own neck.
In April 2022, he pleaded guilty to her murder.
Court proceedings revealed that Mietus initially claimed her death resulted from a consensual erotic game that went wrong, but this explanation was dismissed as an attack on her reputation, with Mr Justice O'Hara commenting, "He tried to be cute and clever but instead was stupid." Mietus, also originally from Poland and having experienced a difficult upbringing, moved to Northern Ireland in February 2019.
Patrycja Wyrebek, who arrived in Northern Ireland from Poland in 2006, was described as a cheerful and happy young woman who was loved by many.
She was the eldest of five siblings and had previously reported Mietus to authorities for violence.
Descriptions painted Mietus as jealous and immature, with some suspicion that arguments may have stemmed from Wyrebek’s suggestion that Mietus had a previous homosexual relationship.
Mr Justice O'Hara highlighted that Mietus is the only person who knows the full details surrounding her death and remarked that he did not believe Mietus had shown genuine remorse.
Mietus was sentenced to serve at least 20 years before he can seek parole.
Following the verdict, members of Wyrebek’s family expressed profound grief, with Det Insp Mark Gibson stating, "We will never understand why Patrycja was taken from us.
We will carry her memory forever.
Our children are the only reason we continue.
Our hearts are broken and forever changed."
