THE family of a Chard woman who was murdered by her boyfriend in a “cold-blooded” life-insurance scam have slammed a decision to allow him to serve the rest of his sentence in Poland.
Rafal Nowak, Anna Lagwinowicz and Tadeusz Dmytryszyn were all sentenced to 32 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering Catherine Wells-Burr, 23, at her home in Chard in September 2012.
During a six week trial at Bristol Crown Court in June 2013, the jury heard Nowak had smothered Miss Wells-Burr with a pillow as she lay in bed, before Lagwinowicz and Dmytryszyn dumped her body in a car at a local beauty spot, before setting the vehicle alight.
Nowak had applied to be moved to Poland to serve his sentence in his national country, and it is now reported he has been granted permission, meaning he will serve more than 30 years of his sentence in his homeland.
This, however, could be reduced due to different sentencing guidelines in Poland.
Miss Wells-Burr's family launched The Catherine Wells-Burr Foundation (TCWBF) following her death, and organised a long-running campaign to stop the extradition, with more than 6,000 people signing a petition calling on the government to keep Nowak in the UK.
At the launch of the petition, the family described the move as a “slap in the face.”
Now, friends and family who run the TCWBF have hit out at the authorities that granted the move.
A statement on the foundation’s Facebook page said: “It is with great sadness and regret to have to say to you all that the British government – Minister Of Justice has made his decision on Rafal Nowak who has been granted his wish to go back to Poland to serve his sentence, this country has relinquished all rights to make sure ‘justice is served’.
“Anna Lagwinowicz will remain in the United Kingdom to serve her sentence and Tadeusz Dmytrysyzn has now applied to go back to Poland and we are now waiting on a decision on him.
“We would like to thank everyone who signed our petition and for all your messages of love and support for us.”
Miss Wells-Burr’s murder rocked the community and during the trial, the jury heard the trio, all from Poland, had murdered Miss Wells-Burr in order to claim a six-figure life insurance policy.
On sentencing them, judge Mrs Justice Sharp told the three the murder was a “dreadful, pitiless crime” that had been committed in “cold blood.”
The foundation’s statement added: “Our last thought Money Matters More Than Morals - a beautiful life has been taken and her murderer gets rewarded.”
A spokesman for The Ministry of Justice refused to comment on Nowak and the family’s campaign, saying the Government department “does not comment on individual cases”.
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