WOMAN FEARED SHE WOULD DIE AS BUTCHER EX THREATENED TO KILL HER IN SERIES OF CHILLING MESSAGES
A woman feared she would end up dead after her ex partner threatened to kill her in a barrage of chilling text messages.Jaroslaw Guzic, a butcher, said he would "put a machete into motion" and "do it in the way terrorists do" in a five month campaign of abuse against his ex.
He turned up at her house, waited outside her work, and sent a vindictive email to her employer claiming she was wanted by the police in Poland and calling her a fraud and a thief.
Preston Crown Court heard the woman had ended her relationship with Guzic in September 2020.
But in the months that followed, he bombarded her with sinister messages on WhatsApp, putting her in fear for her life.
He told her: "I wish you all the worse.
I wish you to die.
Watch what will happen soon...
the end of whoredom." "You won't gain anything by getting me locked up again.
They won't catch me before I come round for you." In another message he said: "I'm going to catch a bus to Burnley in no time.
I'll do it in the way terrorists do.
They will kill me but I will take a few people with me." "Something has snapped in my head.
I f***** want to kill and I am not joking." He told her: "Get me locked up in a hospital because I am really dangerous for myself.
I am sleeping with knives." He also expressed a desire for revenge: "Even if I sit 10 years in jail, revenge will be sweet.
Even a life sentence.
Do you not know how much blood I have on my hands already?
I will have more.
I will kill all of you." The woman was so terrified of what he would do her employer had to arrange transport for her to travel between home and work.
She changed her route and would go in and out through different entrances to evade him.
On February 12 2021, officers attended his home and found a large curved knife in a sheath in his room.
Guzic was not there but was later found hiding in a wardrobe at a friend's house.
He was arrested on March 3 and released on bail with conditions not to contact his victim or go near her.
Nevertheless, he contacted her again, threatening to get others to help him "sort it out." The woman expressed her fears, stating: "I fear that his behaviour, him coming to my work, coming to my house, is going to end up getting me killed.
I believe if nothing is done I will end up in a situation where he feels he can do anything, and I will end up dead.
He has no fear of the law.
No fear of anything.
He has nothing to lose but his freedom and he is choosing to take my freedom." She described how her mental health had deteriorated since the harassment started, including issues with eating, sleeping, body image, and anxiety, and being on medication since 2018.
The court noted Guzic had a prior conviction for battery in 2018, where he held a knife to the same woman's throat.
He also had numerous convictions in Poland for robbery, threats, and criminal damage.
During sentencing, Recorder Blakey stated Guzic's conduct was meant to incite extreme fear and distress, and it was a persistent threat over a long period.
Guzic pleaded guilty to harassment and causing fear of violence, which spared the victim the ordeal of court testimony.
The court sentenced him to 41 months in prison.
The defense argued Guzic has shown remorse, started medication, and engaged with mental health support since his remand.
The judge emphasized the severity of his actions, stating it was an extreme attempt to threaten and terrorize her, and that he had no regard for the law or her safety.
