Jersey Father Jailed For Killing Family

A man has been sentenced to 30 years in jail for the manslaughter of six people, including his wife and two children.

Damian Rzeszowski, 31, used two kitchen knives in a series of unprovoked and brutal attacks to kill his wife Izabela Rzeszowska, 30, their daughter Kinga, five, and their son Kacper, two, at the family home in St Helier, Jersey, on August 14, 2011.

He also killed his father-in-law Marek Garstka, 56, his wife's friend, Marta De La Haye, 34, and her five-year-old daughter Julia.

The court in Jersey recommended that the Polish national be deported after serving his sentence.

Rzeszowski was convicted of six counts of manslaughter but cleared of murder following a trial at the Royal Court in St Helier, Jersey, in August.

Judge Michael Birt, who is the Bailiff of Jersey, sentenced him to 30 years for each victim, which are to run concurrently.

According to States of Jersey Police, Judge Birt, told the court: "The horror and brutality of these killings is hard to believe.

"Within a quarter of an hour all six people had died, their lives cruelly cut short at the hand of this defendant.

"The court is in no doubt from the nature of the attacks that you intended to kill all six victims.

"This was not a case of murder - the court found you guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility - but you still pose a risk of harm to anyone you are in a relationship with."

The court was told that Rzeszowski was still not fully aware of what he did on the day of the killings.

It also heard he had sent letters to the loved ones of some of his victims but had not been able to bring himself to write to his wife's mother.