Jury retires to consider verdict in Telford murder trial
The jury in the trial of the man accused of murdering Dawid Kurdziel at a play area in Ketley has retired to consider its verdict after the final day of evidence at Stafford Crown Court.
Robert Wieczorkowski, 32, of Hurleybrook Way, Leegomery, Telford, is accused of the murder of Dawid Kurdziel, 23, between midnight and 1am on Saturday, July 3 last year.
Earlier, Wieczorkowski, speaking through an interpreter, told defence barrister David Mason he acted in self defence to push away one of three men he became involved in an argument with inside the children's play area at Ketley Recreation Ground in the early hours of a Saturday morning.
He had gone there to meet his girlfriend and a male friend and there was a generally 'happy' mood after they had been told they were to get new contracts from their employers, he said.
Wieczorkowski said the three were drinking beers brought from a Polish shop when they were approached by a man to provide a light, a request which was refused.
The man came over again about half an hour later and was told to go away, but took offence and came back with two other males, one of whom was Mr Kurdziel he told the court..
Wieczorkowski said he thought the three were going to attack him and acted in self defence when one of them approached him, with the bottle of beer he was holding in his hands accidentally being smashed as he tried to avoid a blow.
In his earlier defence statement he claimed shards of the bottle had ended up in Mr Kurdziel's neck but he wasn't aware of how badly injured he was and left to go back to his flat.
Mr Kurdziel collapsed outside the Blue Elephant, in Holyhead Road, Ketley. He was taken away by ambulance but pronounced dead on the way to hospital.
Wieczorkowski told the jury he was worried by rumours and reports of the fight and the injuries the next day and went to Aberdeen to see a friend where he spent around five weeks.
He was arrested on his way back to the Midlands, in Birmingham, on August 14. The jury earlier heard a flight had been booked from Birmingham Airport to Poland.
Michelle Heeley, summing up for the prosecution suggested to Wieczorkowski that he was the one being aggressive on the evening, a claim he denied.
She said: "We have already heard from a pathologist that the bottle had entered the neck to a measurement of around six centimetres and that it couldn't have been done without someone thrusting forward with the force of a punch."
The court has heard Wieczorkowski has seven previous convictions for various offences of robbery, threats and the use of violence ranging from January 25, 2001, to May 15, 2008.
The trial is expected to conclude on Monday.
