A Polish man who shot his partner with a Taser stun gun and then buried her alive in a cardboard box has been found guilty of attempted murder by an English court.
Marcin Kasprzak, 25, attacked Michelina Lewandowska, 27, the mother of his child, at their home in Huddersfield, northern England, on May 28, then bound and gagged her with tape.
Lewandowska, also Polish, was placed in a box and buried in nearby woodland.
She managed to cut her way out of the box using her engagement ring, and dug herself out of the shallow grave, which was covered with earth and a tree branch, before flagging down a passing motorist.
Kasprzak denied attempted murder but was found guilty by a jury at Leeds Crown Court on Monday.
Fellow Pole Patryk Borys, 18, was cleared of the same charge.
Both men have admitted kidnap and Kasprzak also admitted possessing a prohibited weapon. They will be sentenced on January 13.
The jury were told Kasprzak attacked Lewandowska because their relationship had broken down and he wanted custody of their three-year-old son.
Kasprzak told the court he only meant to scare Lewandowska and did not intend to kill her.
In a statement after the verdict, Lewandowska said she now hated her former lover.
“During my time inside my shallow grave where I was buried alive, I feared that my life was at an end and I was going to die,” she said.
“I prayed to God to help me to survive so that I could look after my young son.
“The thought of my son gave me the strength to fight my way out of the box and save myself.
“For many years I loved Marcin Kasprzak very much. But after his horrific attack upon me, my feelings towards him have turned to hatred.
“I still have nightmares that Marcin will come back to find me and kill me. My only hope is that he can accept that what he did to me was very wrong.
“I really hope that no one will ever experience what I went through on that day in May, at the hands of a man whom I loved and trusted.”
Detective Chief Inspector Lisa Griffin of the West Yorkshire Police said Kasprzak’s crime was not a “prank” but “a serious and determined attempt to end a young mother’s life”.
“The victim in this terrifying ordeal demonstrated tremendous bravery and undoubtedly saved her own life by freeing herself from the box that Kasprzak had buried her in,” she said.
“I am pleased that he is now behind bars where he belongs.”
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