5 people jailed over brutal killing of Middlesbrough dad

Tomasz Dembler was found dead in Flatts Lane Country Park last year

Author: Ellie KumarPublished 8th Apr 2022
Last updated 8th Apr 2022

Two men will spend more than 15 years in prison - after admitting to the manslaughter of a Middlesbrough dad of 1.

The body of Tomasz Dembler was found in Flatts Lane Country Park, last year by two teenage girls.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Rafal Chmielewski and Zbigniew Pawlowski killed Mr Dembler in a brutal and unprovoked attack at his house share in North Ormesby.

A judge said they were "dangerous" and posed a risk to the public as she passed 17-and-a-half year extended jail terms to the pair.

Mr Dembler was kicked, punched and stamped on in his bedroom on March 21, last year.

His body was dismembered and dumped in a shallow grave in woodland near Flatts Lane Country Park in Normanby.

Monika Solerska, Tomasz Reczycki and Adam Czerwinski, also pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice whilst helping cover up the crime.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Dimelow said: "This case has been extremely complex and the Homicide Major Enquiry Team has worked diligently alongside the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that the people responsible for the killing of Tomasz Dembler are behind bars.

"The team scoured CCTV and used other techniques to prove the movements of the criminals and built a strong case against them to prove that they were responsible for the killing and hiding his body.

"Tomasz’s death has had a significant impact on his family, we have provided support to them throughout the case and our thoughts remain with them."

Chris Atkinson, Head of the Crown Court Unit at CPS North East, said: “We have worked closely with Cleveland Police to build a robust case against all of those sentenced today in what has been a particularly challenging case, due to the significant passage of time between the killing of Tomasz Dembler and his eventual discovery a month later.

“Using CCTV, phone analysis and ANPR data we have been able to clearly show the movement of the defendants, as they travelled between Tomasz’s home in North Ormesby and the site of his discovery in Flatt’s Lane Country Park.

“In the face of that evidence, Rafael Chmielewski and Zbigniew Pawlowski have now accepted that they unlawfully killed Tomasz, with their co-accused also accepting their part in hiding his body.

“We hope that their sentences today provides some measure of comfort to Tomasz’s family, at what must remain a difficult time for them.”

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