The schoolboy, 15, who suffered unspeakable horror in silence

2022-11-04

The schoolboy who suffered unspeakable horror in silence: How 15-year-old Sebastian kept quiet about his ordeal at the hands of his stepfather and mother… who was more worried about the welfare of her CAT than the son

Sebastian Kalinowski, 15, suffered in silence and told a teacher he was fine when they asked about his safety
Teacher became worried about ‘shy’ Sebastian after his stepfather became ‘aggressive’ at the school gates
Agnieszka Kalinowska and Andrzej Latoszewski were jailed yesterday for murder and torture of the teenager
The heartless pair of killers used wooden boards and cables to torture and ‘humiliate’ defenceless Sebastian
The ‘model pupil’ from Poland died in August 2021 from sepsis caused by multiple untreated broken ribs
Yesterday, a judge slammed his mother for caring more about the welfare of her cat than the death of her son
WARNING: Contains details which readers may find upsetting

Murdered Sebastian Kalinowski suffered vile abuse and torture in silence and told teachers he was fine when asked about his safety as yesterday a judge slammed his mother for caring more about the welfare of her cat than the death of her son.

The Polish schoolboy, 15, suffered months of horrific abuse at the hands of his mother Agnieszka Kalinowski, 35, and his stepfather Andrzej Latoszewski, 38, a steroid-injecting martial arts fighter.

The pair of killers, who married each other while languishing in jail after being convicted earlier this year, were both jailed for life with a minimum term of 39 years for the torture and murder of Sebastian.

During the trial, it emerged that the teenager had been subjected to horrific abuse, beaten repeatedly at his Huddersfield home with a bed slat, whipped with an extension cable and stabbed with spent hypodermic needles his stepfather had used.

He was also force fed food and drink and then had to carry out extreme exercise for merely dropping crumbs on his bedroom floor, or having gone to the toilet at night.

He died in August 2021 after untreated multiple rib fractures caused sepsis and organ failure.

During the trial, the court heard that ‘quiet and shy’ Sebastian suffered unspeakable horror in silence and did not tell teachers about the abuse he was subjected to at home, meaning that despite having suspicions one worried teacher was unable to raise the alarm.

Sebastian, pictured in his school uniform, suffered a campaign of ‘torture’ that ended his murder by his sadistic mother and step father

Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, and Andrzej Latoszewski, 38, have been found guilty of murdering 15-year-old Sebastian Kalinowski, who died after a campaign of torture. They have both been jailed for life

Sebastian’s English language teacher told Leeds Crown Court that she became concerned for his safety months after his stepfather became ‘really aggressive’ at the school gates, but was not able to raise the alarm because she had nothing concrete to go on.

‘If there had been bruises, I could have reported it or if [Sebastian] had said something, I could have reported,’ Ros Djordjevic, English language teacher at North Huddersfield Trust School, told the trial.

‘Without anything like that it was just my impressions and feelings.’

She became concerned after an incident at the school gates at Easter, during which she said Latoszewski became ‘really aggressive’ towards her, shouting and waving his hands in front of her.

He claimed Sebastian was ‘lazy’ and ‘a liar’, leaving Ms Djordjevic feeling upset and ‘threatened’.

Ms Djordjevic asked Sebastian if he was okay and if he ‘felt safe’, which he replied that he was fine, however the court heard that she was left with ‘real cause for concern over Seb’ after the incident despite no physical signs the boy was abused.

As his mother was sentenced yesterday, the judge Mrs Justice Lambert, told Kalinowski: ‘You just did not care about Sebastian, you were only interested in yourself.’

She said in a letter she wrote to Latoszewski she wrote about herself ‘and your continued love for him. You told him you would marry him.

‘Your only real worry about what had happened to your cat after your arrest. In this very long letter there was not one word about your son Sebastian, his death and the loss of his life.’

Agnieszka Kalinowski regularly posted pictures of her cat on her Facebook page. Yesterday, she was slammed by a judge for showing more interest in the pet following her arrest than the death of her son, as she was jailed for life with a minimum term of 39 years

The judge’s comments came as chilling footage was released by police showing Sebastian before his death.

A 22-second video, captured on CCTV, shows the teen gingerly making his way across his bedroom to sit on a stool. Wearing shorts and a t-shirt, the youngster slowly lowers himself to the seat where he sits hunched over and facing a wall.

Addressing the Sebastians killers in court, Mrs Justice Lambert said: ‘Anyone who has watched even part of the CCTV footage can only be utterly horrified by what they saw and bewildered why anyone would behave this way to a teenage boy. It begs the question why anyone would behave in this way? This is a question I have myself.’

Teen’s heartbroken father labels his son’s killers ‘ruthless monsters’ and says: ‘The wound you have inflicted will never heal… I hate you’

Sebastian’s father Jacek Kalinowski, who watched proceedings by video link from Poland, said: ‘You turned every day in his life into a nightmare and committed monstrosities that are truly mindboggling.

‘I will never comprehend how much hatred it takes to do such thing. The question is why?

‘On 13th August 2021, my whole world came tumbling on me. The news of his death made part of me die with him.

‘The wound you’ve inflicted will never heal and the pain will never go away. The knowledge his life was taken in such a brutal way is such a blow for me and my family.

‘Nothing is ever going to be the same every again and it is not the truth that time heals all wounds.

‘This nightmare comes to haunt me every single day. Sebastian was craving your love, attention. How can you be such ruthless monsters, without an ounce of humane feeling.

‘The crime you committed on my son, the crime you did to him. I hate you, I hate you. I hope justice pays you. For you there will be no forgiveness and I hope every time you close your eyes you see his face when he is in excruciating pain, and this stays with you forever.

‘All those punishments of yours – the fact you had been humiliating him so much only testifies how ruthless you are, how much monsters you are.’

During a six-week trial, jurors were forced to sit through hours of ‘horrifying’ footage showing Sebastian being abused and tormented.

So shocking was the level of violence used against the innocent teenager, the judge Mrs Justice Lambert DBE, took the unusual step of discharging all jurors from future jury service due to the nature of the evidence they had sat through.

Addressing the jury, she said: ‘Your commitment and your dedication to this case has been truly extraordinary, it really has.

‘You have had to endure quite horrifying footage of Sebastian suffering great pain over a period of time and then his death.

‘May I thank you personally for all of your hard work, dedication and patience over the last six or so weeks.’

Kalinowska previously admitted child cruelty, while Latoszewski, a steroid-abusing martial arts fanatic, admitted manslaughter, but both had denied murder.

Sebastian moved to the UK from his native Poland, where he lived with his father, in October 2020, 10 months before his death.

But life with his mother and stepfather turned into a prolonged and miserable period of suffering.

The judge said that between the start of the school holidays in July and Sebastian’s death in August, there was ‘scarcely a day that went by that Sebastian was not subjected to some form of physical abuse’.

She told the defendants: ‘Sebastian was a young teenage boy who spoke little if any English, had neither friends nor allies in this country and was wholly dependent on you both for his wellbeing.’

Kalinowska sobbed as she was led out of the dock, while Latoszewski showed little emotion but had his head in his hands for most of the hearing.

Most of the trial jurors returned to court for the sentencing, while sobs could be heard from the public gallery as the judge described some of the abuse.

Sebastian’s father Jacek Kalinowski watched proceedings by video link from Poland, and in a victim impact statement branded Kalinowska ‘the greatest evil that walks this Earth’.

The court heard that ‘shy’ teenager attended secondary school in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, where he was described as a ‘model pupil.’

Teachers, who said he was ‘pleasant and well-mannered’ but ‘at times appeared sad’, were unaware of the horrors unfolding at home where he was viewed by the parents as a ‘hindrance’. Prosecutor Jason Pitter, QC, told the jury the abuse became ‘increasingly more severe and violent.’

He was treated like a ‘gopher or lapdog’ and made to call Latoszewski ‘Mr’ or ‘Sir.’

Sebastian Kalinowski, 15, (pictured) was a ‘model student’ who was fast learning English and making friends after less than a year at a UK school before his brutal murder at the hands of his torturing mother and her partner

When Sebastian joined school in the UK, his spoken English wasn’t very strong – but his headteacher described how the 15-year-old grew in confidence over the school year

His mother and her partner claimed they punished Sebastian for lying and failing to do his homework, however he was described as a ‘model pupil’ by teachers

Between beatings the teenager was forced to ‘humiliating drills’ such as squats and press-ups.

After the couple were arrested in connection with Sebastian’s death, police seized CCTV cameras from their house, which prosecutors said had been installed partly to ‘monitor and exert control over Sebastian remotely’.

‘Too many beautiful moments we’ve lived through’: Vile love letters shared by killer mother and partner reveal pair got ENGAGED while awaiting trial for torture and murder her 15-year-old son

The jury previously heard Kalinowska has accepted a marriage proposal from Latoszewski while in prison awaiting trial.

In letters read to court Kalinowska wrote ‘Yes, yes, yes’ when her lover proposed from his jail cell. She said she would marry her partner: ‘Anywhere. Even in a tracksuit. I don’t need a wedding dress’.

Despite being in prison before being guilty of killing her own son, she said: ‘Too many beautiful moments we’ve lived through. Too many years together to be forgotten.

‘Each night I go to sleep and I look at the sky know you are somewhere far away. Keep your head up, be strong. Remember you’ve got me. I am yours forever’.

In one 30-minute clip played to the jury Latoszewski was seen hitting the boy more than 100 times, pausing at one stage to wipe the sweat from his face, while Kalinowska watched TV and ate toast.

In the weeks before his death, Sebastian suffered repeated violent attacks.

In one the stepfather whipped him with a cable, with at one stage his mother grabbing him by the neck and throwing him to the ground.

Mr Pitter said punishments were ‘precipitated by things such as Sebastian dropping food on his bedroom floor or having gone to the toilet during the night.’

Three days before he died Latoszewski punched, kicked and throttled the teenager in a prolonged beating lasting more than four hours.

‘Sebastian frequently struggled to stand but was picked or held up in order that the assault could continue,’ said Mr Pitter.

On the day before Sebastian’s death, Latoszewski was seen on CCTV forcing food and drink into the boy’s mouth and stabbing him a number of times with a needle in the groin and thigh.

Mr Pitter told the trial that Latoszeski was ‘apparently laughing whilst he did so’, and that Kalinowska at one point ‘took over stabbing Sebastian with the needle’.

Jurors heard that, on the morning of Sebastian’s final day, August 13, 2021, he went through ‘the routine of being assaulted by both defendants’.

The court heard CCTV showed Latoszewski taking Sebastian out of the bedroom at 8.25am, before carrying him back around 15 minutes later, ‘naked, clearly wet and unconscious’.

Mr Pitter said emergency services were called to the defendants’ house by Latoszewski after Sebastian had been unconscious for around two and a half hours.

A court heard Sebastian had suffered multiple injuries, including open wounds to his buttocks and numerous rib fractures, which the prosecution said caused the complications which led to his death.

Sebastian Kalinowski (pictured) was beaten, tortured and killed by his mother Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, and her partner Andrezej Latoszewski, 38. He died in August 2021 in Huddersfield from organ failure, as a result of sepsis brought on by multiple untreated broken ribs

Sebastian Kalinowski was described by his headteacher at North Huddersfield Trust School as ‘caring’, ‘intelligent’ and ‘fun-loving’ (pictured with his classmates)

Their crimes were revealed by ‘horrifying’ CCTV footage from the couple’s home in Huddersfield (pictured), which the prosecution said was installed to monitor Sebastian

Pictures have been released showing the weapons used to torture Sebastian, including this extension lead

The day before his death Sebastian was punched and kicked and both mother and stepfather stabbed him with a needle before assaulting him further in the bedroom. Pictured is one of the weapons used to abuse Sebastian

As well as being beaten with a chair leg and whipped with a cable, Sebastian was also hit with this wooden bed slat

As she sentenced them to life in prison, The Honourable Mrs Justice Lambert told Kalinowska: ‘You just did not care about Sebastian, you were only interested in yourself’. She branded Latoszewski a ‘bully’.

Cruelty of sadistic couple who should have cared for and loved Sebastian, 15

Kalinowska and Latoszewski inflicted mental abuse by shouting derogatory insults at Sebastian in an effort to control and humiliate him.

Latoszewski insisted Sebastian address him as ‘Mr’ or ‘Sir’.

When emergency services were eventually called to the house, Sebastian had been unconscious for two and a half hours, the CPS said.

He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Latoszewski suggested variously that Sebastian had drowned in the bath, had fallen from a tree, and had been in a fight.

Sebastian, who had just turned 15, had been in the UK for less than a year. He was described by his teachers as a model pupil, meticulous, punctual and well-mannered.

Daniel Lee, Senior Crown Prosecutor, from the CPS said: ‘Agniewska Kalinowska and Andresz Latoszewski were the two people Sebastian should have been able to trust the most in the world. But instead of loving, protecting and caring for Sebastian, they subjected him to an utterly horrific and prolonged campaign of extreme physical and mental abuse.

‘In short, they tortured him. After suffering many months of mental and physical torment, Sebastian died of the multiple injuries he sustained at their hands. Both defendants lied and offered cowardly and implausible explanations for the extent of Sebastian’s injuries, and attempted to pass it off as ‘appropriate discipline’.

‘It is impossible to contemplate the agony and fear this young boy experienced, inflicted in his own home, by his supposed care-givers.

‘The defendants are now facing very many years in prison. Our thoughts remain with Sebastian’s other relatives and we sincerely hope the successful outcome of this case will bring them some comfort.’

‘Like all bullies, unable to maintain respect in another way you sought to intimidate Sebastian who was weaker than you and in Sebastian you found a way.’

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Tony Nicholson of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, who led the police investigation, said: ‘This has been without doubt the most harrowing case I have experienced in my 29 years as police officer.

‘Sebastian was a child who could not have been more isolated and appears to have suffered the most appalling abuse in silence, and even come to see it as normal.

‘Latoszewski and Kalinowska abused this boy in a manner which was wicked and evil, and we may never know why they chose to act in this inhuman way.

‘We recovered overwhelming evidence of their attacks and of them discussing them in phone messages, and I can say that footage we have seen of this abuse has upset experienced detectives.

‘The injuries inflicted on poor Sebastian were carried out in a way where they would not be visible, and it is clear both parties acted in a way to hide evidence of their assaults on him.

‘They both now will have many years in prison to reflect on why they chose to inflict such pain, suffering, and eventually death, on an innocent boy.’

The jury previously heard Kalinowska has accepted a marriage proposal from Latoszewski while in prison awaiting trial.

Despite being in prison before being found guilty of killing her own son, she said: ‘Too many beautiful moments we’ve lived through. Too many years together to be forgotten.

‘Each night I go to sleep and I look at the sky know you are somewhere far away. Keep your head up, be strong. Remember you’ve got me. I am yours forever’.

Mr Pitter, prosecuting, had previously told the court Sebastian suffered ‘weeks, if not months of terrible, cruel, systematic assaults and ill treatment, neglect and abuse’.

The court heard Sebastian had been in the UK for less than a year after moving from his home country of Poland, where he lived with his biological father.

Sebastian attended North Huddersfield Trust school, where he was described as a ‘model pupil’, the court heard.

But his mother and stepfather claimed he needed punishing for lying and playing truant from school.

Speaking of Sebastian, North Huddersfield Trust School Headteacher Andrew Fell said the lad spoke very little English when he arrived in October 2020 but ‘began to build relationships and develop more confidence in his spoken English’.

Mr Fell said Sebastian used Google Translate to communicate. His school said teen showed little sign of being a victim of abuse, was always smartly dressed and not seen with visible injuries.

Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, denied manslaughter but admitted she ‘failed as a mother’. The court heard Andrzej Latoszewski, 38, was ‘controlling’ and abusive, and that he violently attacked Sebastian multiple times. Both face jail

The couple initially claimed their victim had accidentally drowned in the bath. Kalinowska then blamed her gym bunny lover

He died on 13 August last year, around three weeks into the school summer holidays.

Mr Fell said: ‘Sebastian was happy at NHTS. His spoken English improved significantly, helping him blossom from an initially shy student into one with much more confidence and a strong circle of friends.

‘He will be remembered for his charming smile, his sharp sense of humour and his kindness’: Headteacher pays tribute to murdered Sebastian Kalinowski

Sebastian Kalinowski ‘will be remembered for his charming smile, his sharp sense of humour and his kindness’, his headteacher said.

Andrew Fell, headteacher of North Huddersfield Trust School (NHTS), issued a statement following the murder conviction of Sebastian’s mother Agnieszka Kalinowska and her partner Andrzej Latoszewski at Leeds Crown Court.

Mr Fell said: ‘Sebastian was happy at NHTS.

‘His spoken English improved significantly, helping him blossom from an initially shy student into one with much more confidence and a strong circle of friends.

‘Caring, intelligent and fun-loving, he will be remembered for his charming smile, his sharp sense of humour and his kindness.’

The head said: ‘He embodied what our school stands for in demonstrating a positive attitude to school, treating others with respect and showing a determination to make the most of his education.

‘Our close-knit school community is deeply saddened by the loss of Sebastian.’

Sebastian Kalinowski (pictured) ‘will be remembered for his charming smile, his sharp sense of humour and his kindness’, his headteacher said

Mr Fell said that when Sebastian joined NHTS in October 2020 he spoke very little English but he worked closely with the school’s Aspire (English as an additional language) team who helped him build relationships and develop more confidence.

He said it was ‘obvious that he was dedicated to learning and particularly excelled in quizzes that tested knowledge of different topics designed to help his integration into school in a new country’.

The headteacher said Sebastian used Google Translate to communicate with others in his tutor group.

Mr Fell recalled how he taught his form tutor the Polish for ‘good morning’.

He said: ‘It became a daily ritual for his form tutor to greet Sebastian in Polish, to which his response would be a polite smile and a nod, followed by the correct pronunciation.’

And he added: ‘Sebastian particularly enjoyed maths where he stood out amongst his peers and managed to make a huge impression on his teacher.

‘He was incredibly keen to consistently improve and to show what he was capable of achieving; his efficient grasp of new concepts saw him regularly giving support to other students.’

Mr Fell said Sebastian will be ‘fondly remembered, greatly missed’.

‘Caring, intelligent and fun-loving, he will be remembered for his charming smile, his sharp sense of humour and his kindness.

‘He embodied what our school stands for in demonstrating a positive attitude to school, treating others with respect and showing a determination to make the most of his education.

‘Our close-knit school community is deeply saddened by the loss of Sebastian.’

Speaking during the trial, Mr Pitter said Sebastian’s mother appeared to enjoy her son staying with her.

‘In the very early stages it would appear that, at least for Kalinowska, she was glad that her son was here with her. She was described by a friend as being ‘smitten’,’ he said.

‘If that was correct, that was unfortunately to change rapidly.’

He told jurors that by New Year’s Eve the defendants’ attitude was that Sebastian was ‘something of a hindrance’ and they spoke about him being a liar and playing truant from school.

Mr Pitter told jurors: ‘You may conclude that these were attempts to justify what they would present as a need for Sebastian’s ‘punishments’.

‘The punishments, if that is an appropriate way to describe them, were by any stretch of the imagination cruel and became increasingly more severe and violent over time.’

Jurors heard that from January 2021, ‘the disciplining of Sebastian became progressively harsh’ and that he was ‘kept deliberately out of the way of others, either as part of the system of punishment or to hide the abuse.’

Emergency services were called to the defendants’ house by Latoszewski on August 13 ‘after Sebastian had been unconscious for some two and a half hours’.

Mr Pitter told jurors Latoszewski said he had found Sebastian in the bath with his head under water, ‘suggesting perhaps that he had drowned’.

The court heard that an examination of Sebastian revealed injuries including bruising to his buttocks, forehead, jaw, abdomen, arms and legs, and multiple rib fractures.

Mr Pitter said: ‘[The defendants’] telephones were seized and that installed CCTV system was interrogated.

‘Together, their contents document the catalogue of abuse that Sebastian had endured before his death.

‘A broad description is one of Sebastian being attacked, principally and most severely by Latoszewski, but with his mother being involved at various times.

‘It included messages and recordings of conversations which have the defendants speaking of and to Sebastian in the most derogatory and inhuman ways, in the context of a perceived need to punish him.

‘That included forcing him to undertake physical and humiliating drills, even when he was too weak to really do so.’

Footage played to jurors included Latoszewski beating Sebastian’s buttocks with what, Mr Pitter said, appears to have been a slat from a bed.

Further clips included Latoszewski making Sebastian do exercises and whipping him with an extension cable to ‘spur him on’.

Mr Pitter said video from Latoszewski phone also contained clips of him ‘verbally abusing’ a ‘visibly upset’ Sebastian.

On August 10 last year, Mr Pitter said, CCTV showed violence towards Sebastian starting at 8.15am and continuing until ‘at least’ 4.10pm.

He could be seen ‘frequently struggling to stand but [being] picked or held up in order that the assault could continue,’ jurors heard.

Mr Pitter said on the day before Sebastian’s death, Latoszewski was seen on the CCTV ‘forcing food and drink into Sebastian’s mouth’ and ‘stabbing him a number of times’ with a needle in the groin and thigh, ‘apparently laughing whilst he did so’.

He added that Kalinowska at one point ‘took over stabbing Sebastian with the needle’.

Mr Pitter said the defendants’ telephones and CCTV footage ‘document the catalogue of abuse that Sebastian had endured before his death’.

He said: ‘A broad description is one of Sebastian being attacked, principally and most severely by Latoszewski, but with his mother being involved at various times.

‘That included forcing him to undertake physical and humiliating drills, even when he was too weak to really do so.’

In mitigation for Latoszewski, Geraldine Kelly said: ‘However unreasonable it seems, and distorted a way of thinking, there is evidence to suggest what motivated this appalling conduct was them seeking to discipline (Sebastian).’

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