The ex-partner of a “brutally murdered’ man says their 12-year-old daughter “will never be the same”. Sufian Choudry was found guilty of the murder of 40-year-old Krzysztof Baran in Hayes earlier today (July 19), despite lying about what happened.
Choudhry claimed he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed Mr Baran on August 12 last year, but this was disproved by CCTV and forensic scene examination.
Police raced to the scene of a multi-occupancy address on Nine Acres Close, Hayes, at around 11am that day, to reports of a man suffering cardiac-arrest. Upon arrival, the emergency services found Krzysztof was in his room, but he was not in cardiac arrest and had been dead for some time.
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There was also a lot of blood in the room. Choudry had dialled 999 and was speaking with officers at the scene who noticed small specs of blood on him. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and was taken to a West London police station where he was charged with murder the next day.
Choudry claimed he had gone to the victim’s room that morning to check on him and to ask for a cigarette, and said he didn’t know what had happened to Krzysztof.
He would later provide a prepared statement to police via his solicitor that claimed he had acted in self-defence. But CCTV recovered by officers at the address showed Choudry was seen in the communal area of the address threatening Krzysztof with a bottle.
He followed Krzysztof into his room, and arguing and banging can be heard on the CCTV before a scream is heard as Choudry was seen leaving Krzysztof’s room with a knife in his right hand.
He left the house shortly after and officers viewing CCTV footage could see that he had a knife wrapped in a t-shirt. He returned to the address a short while later where he no longer had the knife which was never recovered.
Analysis showed that Krzysztof was standing when he was stabbed, and that he had his back to his attacker which disproved Choudry’s claim of self-defence. There were also footprints in the blood inside the room which matched the trainers worn by Choudry.
A post-mortem examination carried out on Sunday, August 13, last year found the cause of Krzysztof’s death as a stab wound. He was also found to have suffered bruising to his face.
‘My daughter blames herself for what happened’
Krzysztof’s former partner said: “Despite the fact that I was not in a relationship with Krzysztof at the time of the incident, his murder is still an immense sadness, not only to me, but especially to our daughter.
“At just 12 years old, her father was murdered. After months of help and support, my daughter is often still upset. Struggling to understand why someone would kill her father, she often blames herself for what had happened, thinking that had she done or said something different, her father would still be alive. No child should have to deal with the death of their parent in such a circumstance, and they should not blame themselves for their death.
“As a family we are slowly coming to terms with Krzysztof’s death, my daughter will never be the same happy girl with a huge smile on her face.
“No verdict or sentence will be able to bring my daughter’s father back to life. Not only will my daughter have to grow up and go through her life without a father figure, but also knowing that her father was murdered. Despite this, we are aware that justice has prevailed in him being found guilty.”
‘A needles, brutal murder’
Detective Sergeant Andy Sheppard of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said: “This was a needless, brutal murder that Sufian Choudry initially tried to cover up, and then later tried to blame on the victim saying that he had acted in self-defence.
“I am pleased that the jury saw through the string of untruths that he told in a bid to get away with murder.”
He added: “My thoughts are with Krzysztof’s family. Though nothing can bring him back, I hope that the end of the trial and the guilty verdict brings them a measure of comfort.”
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