The Criminal Court of Appeal's Stale Approach to Fresh Evidence
| Author | Jessica Ritchie |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00220183221139807 |
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
The Criminal Court of Appeal’s
Stale Approach to Fresh Evidence
Szal and Pacheka v The Queen [2021] EWCA Crim 37
Keywords
Fresh evidence, criminal appeals, miscarriages of justice, wrongful conviction, factual innocence
The Facts
On 23 August 2016, Mr Grzegorz Pietrycki was murdered in his flat in London (at [5]). The deceased
shared a flat (Flat 10B) with the three co-accused jointly charged; they were Patryk Pachecka,
Grzegorz Szal and Mr G (at [5–7]). The third co-defendant is referred to as Mr G in the interest of not
influencing any future criminal charges that may be brought. On 29 December 2017, Pachecka and
Szal were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum 18-year sentence
on majority verdict (10-2) (at [1]). The jury could not agree on a verdict for Mr G, and on retrial on
July 2018, the second jury again failed to agree upon a verdict (at [2]).
The victim was stabbed in his bedroom in Flat 10B, he exited through the window at the front of the prop-
erty, climbed onto the front stairs (at [7]), and then made his way 61 m down the road to another house. The
victim was shouting in a foreign language and banging on a house door. While the home occupier called the
emergency services, the victim died (at [6]). Blood was found in the bedroom of Flat 10B, and a trail fol-
lowed the victim’s path to where he had died at the front door stop at the home occupier’s front door,
where a substantial amount of blood was found (at [7]). The post-mortem examination showed that the
deceased had several injuries (at [9]). The fatal injury was a stab wound to the left side of the neck which
had passed through the neck muscles and bisected the trachea and the right carotid artery (at [9]). The
police investigation focused exclusively on Flat 10B. The street of travel which the deceas ed took and
was later found was excluded as the scene of another attack (Applicant Grounds of Appeal at [199]).
Pachecka and Szal appealed against their conviction at the Court of Appeal Criminal Division
(CACD). They were granted a retrial because the evidence submitted to the jury was incorrect and
could significantly impact the verdict (at [94]). Pachecka and Szal were acquitted unanimously of
murder and manslaughter at the retrial in January 2021. Both defendants had spent five years in prison
for a murder they did not commit.
Grounds of Appeal
For Pachecka, there were three grounds for appeal. Ground 1 related to the character evidence of Mr G
(at [44]). Ground 2 related to hearsay evidence which will not be discussed (at [47]). Ground 3 related to
fresh evidence from pathologists relating to how the injuries occured (at [50]).
Ground 1: The Character of Mr G
At the original trial, enquiries had been made to the Polish authorities regarding the criminal history of
Mr G. ‘Under Polish Law, documentation cannot be disclosed to the lawyers on behalf of another
Case Note
The Journal of Criminal Law
2023, Vol. 87(1) 53–56
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/00220183221139807
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