Prosecutors considering an appeal over sentences in Piotr Krowka killing case

Piotr Krowka, 37, who was originally from Poland, was severely beaten at a derelict parochial house in Maghera’s Glen Road on Saturday, March 31, 2018.

His body was not discovered until April 3.

At Belfast Crown Court earlier this week, Adrian Kozak, 22, from Garvey Wood, Ballymena, and Caolan Michael Johnston, 21, from The Fort, Maghera, were told they will serve four and three years in prison respectively, with the same again on licence, having pleaded guilty to manslaughter at a previous hearing.

Kozak was 17 at the time of the killing, while Johnston was aged 16 at the time and described as being easily led.

Following the sentencing, Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie described the jail terms as “unbelievable”.

In a tweet, the Upper Bann MLA said: “I have raised lenient sentencing on multiple occasions but I have to say this is just unbelievable. 3 & 4 years for beating a vulnerable man to death, how is that acceptable.”

In the initial PSNI appeal for information about the killing back in 2018, a senior detective said Mr Krowka “suffered serious injuries to his head and body” while sleeping rough in the building.

Also reacting to the sentences handed to the pair, Mid Ulster DUP MLA Keith Buchanan said they had acted as “judge, jury and executioner,” and said the sentences would “not sit easy” with many in the community.

“When a life is taken, victims deserve justice and expect a sentence to fit the crime.

“The idea that these men who launched a brutal attack could be on our streets within three or four years will not sit easy with many,” Mr Buchanan added.

A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said: “While sentencing is a matter for the judiciary, the Director of Public Prosecutions does have the power to refer particular sentences to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that they may be unduly lenient. We are considering whether there is a legal basis to refer this sentence to the Court of Appeal.”