BUILDER Arthur Hawrylewicz, originally from Poland and living in Cardiff, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder after he tried to throw pharmacist Maria Osifeso in front of a train at King’s Cross underground station.
The incident occurred in August last year, when Hawrylewicz, who was drunk and suicidal, approached Osifeso from behind, grabbed her in a powerful “bear hug” and swung her towards the oncoming train.
Osifeso’s friends shouted at Hawrylewicz and grabbed him and Osifeso, and she managed to get free.
Hawrylewicz, who had sent a series of messages to his partner expressing suicidal thoughts that morning, said he had no memory of speaking to or grabbing his victim. In court, Hawrylewicz pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
The court heard that Hawrylewicz was in a “confused and desperate” state at the time of the incident and his emotional state, alcohol intake, and the busy platform were “the perfect storm”.
Hawrylewicz was breath-tested and found to have just under 300mg of alcohol per litre of blood, while the drink-drive limit is 80mg.
In her victim impact statement, Osifeso described the “profound and long-lasting” effects of the incident.
She said she had to take time off work and suffers from “almost overwhelming anxiety” when using the Tube and is “hyper-aware” of her surroundings. She said she continues to think about “what if?” and said it was “incredibly traumatic to think about how close I had come to dying” that day.
Judge Benedict Kelleher told Hawrylewicz he had attempted to kill a young woman who was a stranger to him by throwing her in front of a moving train, and it was only the fast reactions of Osifeso’s friends which had stopped him.
He said it was clear from the evidence in the case that the defendant had intended to kill himself in the “shocking” incident, and he noted Hawrylewicz was still not able to explain why he had tried to kill an innocent stranger.
The appropriate sentence after trial would have been one of 11 and a half years in prison, but with a discount for his guilty plea, Hawrylewicz was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He will serve up to two-thirds of that sentence before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
