A mother and her partner have been jailed for life for torturing her teenage son to death in Huddersfield.
Agnieszka Kalinowska, 36, and Andrzej Latoszewski, 38, were convicted in July of murdering 15-year-old Sebastian Kalinowski at their Leeds Road home.
Sebastian died on August 13, 2021, from complications resulting from untreated rib fractures caused by repeated beatings over several months.
A trial at Leeds Crown Court heard he had been repeatedly kicked, punched and stamped on, as well as assaulted with weapons including a bed rail and an extension cord.
Sebastian, who moved from Poland to live with his mother and stepfather in the UK, was also forced to carry out punishment exercises between attacks. Much of the abuse was caught on CCTV installed in the family’s home. Footage of the abuse was shown in court during the six-week trial.
The prosecution described Sebastian’s treatment as “torture”.
The sentencing was one of the first in the UK to be broadcast live following a law change that allowed cameras into court in the most serious cases.
The court heard Sebastian’s natural father, Jacek Kalinowski, said in a victim impact statement that he would never forgive the couple for what they had done.
He called Latoszewski a “brutal tyrant” and asked Sebastian’s mother: “What kind of mother are you?” “You turned every day of his life into a nightmare and committed atrocities that are truly shocking,” she said.
Agnieszka Kalinowska and Andrzej Latoszewski. Credit: Facebook
“I will never understand how much hate it takes to do something like this. The question is why? Why did you hate him so much that you let this psychopath treat him like this?” How could you let your child get hurt?”
Addressing the two defendants, Her Honors Mrs Justice Lambert said: “Anyone who has watched even part of the CCTV footage of what happened in that house last summer could only be completely horrified by what they saw and baffled that someone would treat a teenage boy this way, let alone one who should be a much-loved child or stepchild.
“It begs the question of why someone would behave that way.”
He said Latoszewski had punched the same way he had trained on a punching bag in the garden. Agnieszka had participated in the abuse as well as encouraged her partner’s attacks.
Both Kalinowska and Latoszewski had denied murder, but were found guilty after a trial that lasted nearly six weeks.
Kalinowska cried throughout the sentencing hearing. Latosevsky sat with his head in his hands.
The pair were told they would serve a minimum of 39 years in prison before being considered for parole.
Both were sentenced to nine years for cruelty to a child, to run concurrently.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Tony Nicholson of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Investigation Squad, said: “This was without doubt the most distressing case I have experienced in my 29 years as a police officer.
“Sebastian was a child who couldn’t be more isolated and seems to have suffered the most horrific abuse in silence, and even saw it as normal.
“Latoszewski and Kalinowska abused this boy in a mean and evil way, and we may never know why they chose to act in this inhumane way.”
An NSPCC spokesman said Sebastian’s life had been “full of cruelty and pain” at the hands of “the very people who should have supported his development into a happy and healthy young man”.
In a statement they added: “Today’s sentence will offer little comfort to anyone who knew and cared for Sebastian and his tragic death will leave many wondering how he could have suffered so much abuse without anyone intervening.
“We hope that the review of the circumstances surrounding Sebastian’s death can identify any missed opportunities or areas for improvement that could help prevent any other child from suffering in this way.”
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