A man who attempted to murder a stranger at King’s Cross tube station is now facing jail time.
On August 29th of last year, Arthur Hawrylewicz, a 41-year-old man, pulled Maria Osifeso into a bear hug and swung her around as the Hammersmith and City train approached.
Ms Osifeso, who was on her way to the Notting Hill carnival in west London with friends, was left traumatized by the incident and now experiences anxiety while waiting for trains.
Hawrylewicz, Polish-born, previously denied attempted murder but later pleaded guilty on the first day of trial.
Inner London Crown Court heard that he was “heavily intoxicated” and suicidal at the time of the incident.
Although the CCTV did not capture the incident, it did show Hawrylewicz on the platform 20 minutes before he tried to push Ms Osifeso onto the tracks at 1 pm.
Prosecutor Sukwinder Dhadda stated that Ms Osifaso was on the platform with a few friends when Hawrylewicz approached her and said something she could not comprehend due to the language barrier.
She thought he was slightly intoxicated and asked him to leave her alone.
Ms Dhadda added that Ms Osifaso continued talking to her friends and noticed that Hawrylewicz was staring at them.
One of her friends alerted them that the train was coming, and Ms Osifaso started moving closer to the platform’s edge.
That’s when Hawrylewicz wrapped his arms around her waist in a bear hug and lifted her off the floor. Fortunately, her male friends intervened and released his grip.
Alexia Nicol, who is defending Hawrylewicz, claimed that he was “seriously contemplating taking his own life that day” and had “no recollection” of the incident.
The court learned that Hawrylewicz took a 17-second video of himself on his phone shortly before the incident, in which he said: “I want to say sorry to all of you. F****** hell I have to do it. Goodbye.”
Hawrylewicz also sent messages to friends and partners suggesting he was about to take his own life, according to Ms Nicol. Ms Dhadda said that his blood alcohol reading was “in the likely region of 298 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml blood” – around three and a half times the drink-drive limit of 80mcg.
Ms Osifeso is still suffering significantly. The incident has left her hyper-aware, with flashbacks of the event, and standing with her back against the wall while holding the railings until she sees a train arrive. Judge Benedict Kelleher told Hawrylewicz that a long custodial sentence was “inevitable.”
He was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on April 24th.
»Attempted murderer faces jail time«
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