An ‘evil’ dad who murdered his two-year-old son to spite his ex-partner has been jailed for life.
Lukasz Czapla’s fury towards former partner Patrycja Szczesniak drove him to kill their son Julius at his home address in Muirhouse, Edinburgh, in November 2020.
The toddler was shot in the head with a BB gun, stabbed with a skewer-like instrument and smothered with a pillow.
During the two-week trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, jurors saw text messages between the two parents hours before Julius was killed where Ms Szczesniak had mentioned a new partner.
When asked by Czapla for more details about him, she declined to comment further.
A final message Czapla sent to her before he killed their son included: ‘You’re raising him with another guy, soon enough I’ll have to pay alimony.’
Czapla, 41, was found guilty of murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years.
The judge, Lord Beckett, concluded Czapla ‘acted out of spite to kill the child to get back at his mother’.
In a statement released though police, Ms Szczesniak said: ‘I only wanted the best for you. If only I could only turn back time to have you in my arms again my child.
‘Despite the breakup with Juliusz’s dad, I wanted him to have contact with our son. I never stopped him seeing Juliusz.
‘Julek loved him like every child loves their dad. He trusted him, he trusted him completely.
‘Juliusz was murdered only for revenge. His dad wanted me to suffer, he succeeded and achieved his goal, at the cost of my beloved little boy’s life.
‘If only I knew what was going to happen. I would have never thought he could do this to my child. He was only two and a half.
‘Every day I think about Juliusz. I can’t imagine what his little, helpless heart felt that night and I feel his fear and pain every day.
‘He was part of me, part of my heart and soul. I wish I could hug him, play with him and watch him grow.
‘Every day I ask myself why there is so much evil in this world, why the innocent have to suffer. He not only took Juliusz life but my life too.’
Czapla had previously admitted of nine other charges on the indictment, including dangerous driving offences and possession of an air gun.
