A jury has retired to consider its verdicts in the trial of four men accused of murdering a father-of-two who was allegedly set on fire by a crime gang. The trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard that Tomasz Samel was kidnapped in 2019 in Birmingham by three men claiming to be from Interpol, before being driven to the Liverpool area and attacked.
Alleged kidnapping and attack
Prosecutors allege the 45-year-old was taken from his home in Raleigh Close, Handsworth, at about 8.35am on March 27, 2019. It is alleged he was then tortured, doused in petrol and set ablaze, following the loss of 10 million cigarettes worth £1m which had been seized by HM Revenue and Customs.
Opening the crown's case in June, prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC said Mr Samel was dumped in a remote location near Bickerstaffe in Lancashire, and died in hospital almost three months later.
Defendants and charges
Neil Jones, Kevin Wooden, Kye Arthur and Tobiasz Kozlowski all deny murder. Wooden, 46, of Alma Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire; Arthur, 35, of Copley Gardens, Bristol; Jones, 48, of no fixed address; and Kozlowski, 38, of Crosland Road, Kirkby, further deny a charge of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
Kozlowski's wife Sandra Kozlowska, 38, also of Crosland Road, Kirkby, denies assisting an offender by helping him to avoid detection. Jones has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to falsely imprison. Wooden, Arthur and Kozlowski all deny manslaughter. Kozlowski further denies conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to falsely imprison. Jones, Wooden and Arthur have admitted conspiracy to falsely imprison and conspiracy to kidnap.
Judge's instructions
Sending jurors out to start their deliberations on Wednesday, High Court Judge Mr Justice Wall instructed them to take as much time as they need to reach unanimous verdicts. The judge said: "There is no pressure of time on you – there is no right amount of time for a jury to take to reach verdicts. It will take you the amount of time you need in order to reach verdicts upon which you are all agreed."
