Mother and her bodybuilder partner are both jailed for 39 years for murder of her 15-year-old son

A sadistic mother branded ‘the greatest evil that walks this world’ was today jailed for life with a minimum of 39 years for killing her son – as a chilling video emerged showing her ‘tortured’ teen cowering in his bedroom before his death.

Schoolboy Sebastian Kalinowski, 15, suffered months of horrific abuse at the hands of his mother Agnieszka, 36, and his step father Andrzej Latoszewski, 38, a steroid-injecting martial arts fighter.

The teenager was beaten repeatedly at his Huddersfield home with a bed slat, whipped with an extension cable and stabbed with spent hypodermic needles his step father had used.

He died after untreated multiple rib fractures caused sepsis and organ failure.

Much of the sickening abuse was captured on a CCTV camera system set up around the family home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, to ‘monitor and control’ Sebastian.

Sentencing the pair for murder and child cruelty at Leeds Crown Court, Mrs Justice Lambert, told Latoszewski: ‘You punched and kicked and kneed his body in the same way as you did your punchbag.

‘Kalinowski, you just didn’t care what happened to Sebastian one way or another and seems oblivious of the pain you were inflicting.’ 

The judge’s comments came as chilling footage was this afternoon released by police showing Sebastian before his death.

The 22-second video, captured on CCTV, shows the teen gingerly making his way across his bedroom to sit on a stool. 

Wearing shorts and a t-shirt, the youngster slowly lowers himself to the seat where he sits hunched over and facing a wall. 

Addressing the Sebastians killers in court today, Mrs Justice Lambert said: ‘Anyone who has watched even part of the CCTV footage can only be utterly horrified by what they saw and bewildered why anyone would behave this way to a teenage boy. It begs the question why anyone would behave in this way? This is a question I have myself.’ 

Watching proceedings from Poland, Sebastian’s heartbroken father Jacek described his ex-wife, who listened to his words in the dock with tears in her eyes, as ‘the greatest evil that walks this world’.

In his victim personal statement he continued: ‘You are a truly cruel tyrant.

‘How can you be such ruthless monsters?

‘Sebastian wished to make you love him. You reciprocated his love with pain.

‘You are going to have to pay for every one of his tears.’

The pair of killers, who married each other while languishing in jail after being convicted earlier this year, were both jailed for life with a minimum term of 39 years.  

During their six-week trial, jurors were forced to sit through hours of ‘horrifying’ footage showing Sebastian being abused and tormented.

So shocking was the level of violence used against the innocent teenager, jurors were discharged from jury service for life by The Honourable Mrs Justice Lambert who told them: ‘You have had to endure horrifying footage of Sebastian Kalinowski in great pain and then in death. 

‘You have discharged your duty as jurors in a truly commendable way. May I thank you for all of your dedication and patience. May I also thank you on behalf of the justice system.’ 

Kalinowska previously admitted child cruelty, while Latoszewski, a steroid-abusing martial arts fanatic, admitted manslaughter, but both had denied murder.

Sebastian moved to the UK from his native Poland, where he lived with his father, in October 2020, 10 months before his death.

But life with his mother and stepfather turned into a prolonged and miserable period of suffering.

The ‘shy’ teenager attended secondary school in Huddersfield where he was described as a ‘model pupil.’ He was small and thin and looked younger than his age.

Teachers were unaware of the horrors unfolding at home where he was viewed by the parents as a ‘hindrance.’

Prosecutor Jason Pitter, QC, told the jury the abuse became ‘increasingly more severe and violent.’

He was treated like a ‘gopher or lapdog’ and made to call Latoszewski ‘Mr’ or ‘Sir.’

Between beatings the teenager was forced to ‘humiliating drills’ such as squats and press-ups.

CCTV footage seized by police revealed a wealth of chilling evidence.

In one 30-minute clip played to the jury Latoszewski was seen hitting the boy more than 100 times, pausing at one stage to wipe the sweat from his face, while Kalinowska watched TV and ate toast.

In the weeks before his death in August last year Sebastian suffered repeated violent attacks.

In one the stepfather whipped him with a cable, with at one stage his mother grabbing him by the neck and throwing him to the ground.

Mr Pitter said punishments were ‘precipitated by things such as Sebastian dropping food on his bedroom floor or having gone to the toilet during the night.’

Three days before he died Latoszewski punched, kicked and throttled the teenager in a prolonged beating lasting more than four hours.

‘Sebastian frequently struggled to stand but was picked or held up in order that the assault could continue,’ said Mr Pitter.

The day before his death Sebastian was punched and kicked and both mother and stepfather stabbed him with a needle before assaulting him further in the bedroom.

Kalinowska tried to force a slipper into her son’s mouth towards the end of the assault. Footage from that day showed Sebastian in ‘considerable pain’ and struggling to breathe, the court heard.

As she sentenced them to life in prison, The Honourable Mrs Justice Lambert told Kalinowska: ‘You just did not care about Sebastian, you were only interested in yourself’. She branded Latoszewski a ‘bully’.

‘Like all bullies, unable to maintain respect in another way you sought to intimidate Sebastian who was weaker than you and in Sebastian you found a way.’

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Tony Nicholson of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, who led the police investigation, said: ‘This has been without doubt the most harrowing case I have experienced in my 29 years as police officer.

‘Sebastian was a child who could not have been more isolated and appears to have suffered the most appalling abuse in silence, and even come to see it as normal.

‘Latoszewski and Kalinowska abused this boy in a manner which was wicked and evil, and we may never know why they chose to act in this inhuman way.

‘We recovered overwhelming evidence of their attacks and of them discussing them in phone messages, and I can say that footage we have seen of this abuse has upset experienced detectives.

‘The injuries inflicted on poor Sebastian were carried out in a way where they would not be visible, and it is clear both parties acted in a way to hide evidence of their assaults on him.

‘They both now will have many years in prison to reflect on why they chose to inflict such pain, suffering, and eventually death, on an innocent boy.’

After the couple were arrested in connection with Sebastian’s death, police seized CCTV cameras from their house in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, which prosecutors said had been installed partly to ‘monitor and exert control over Sebastian remotely’.

On the day before his death, Latoszewski was seen on the CCTV ‘forcing food and drink into Sebastian’s mouth’ and ‘stabbing him a number of times’ with a needle in the groin and thigh, ‘apparently laughing whilst he did so’. 

Sebastian was found unconscious by paramedics at a house in West Yorkshire on Friday August 13, 2021. He did not survive having been out cold for almost three hours before help arrived.

A court heard Sebastian had suffered multiple injuries, including open wounds to his buttocks and numerous rib fractures, which the prosecution said caused the complications which led to his death.

Kalinowska previously admitted child cruelty, while Latoszewski, a body builder and martial arts fanatic, admitted manslaughter, but both had denied murder.

However, they were both today convicted of Sebastian’s murder by a jury following after a five-week trial at Leeds Crown Court. 

The jury previously heard Kalinowska has accepted a marriage proposal from Latoszewski while in prison awaiting trial.

In letters read to court Kalinowska wrote ‘Yes, yes, yes’ when her lover proposed from his jail cell. She said she would marry her partner: ‘Anywhere. Even in a tracksuit. I don’t need a wedding dress’.

Despite being in prison before being guilty of killing her own son, she said:  ‘Too many beautiful moments we’ve lived through. Too many years together to be forgotten.

‘Each night I go to sleep and I look at the sky know you are somewhere far away. Keep your head up, be strong. Remember you’ve got me. I am yours forever’.

Jason Pitter QC, prosecuting, previously told the court Sebastian suffered ‘weeks, if not months of terrible, cruel, systematic assaults and ill treatment, neglect and abuse’.

The court heard Sebastian had been in England for less than a year after moving from his home country of Poland, where he lived with his biological father.

Sebastian attended North Huddersfield Trust school, where he was described as a ‘model pupil’, the court heard.

But his mother and step-father claimed he needed punishing for lying and playing truant from school.

Speaking of Sebastian, North Huddersfield Trust School Headteacher Andrew Fell said the lad spoke very little English when he arrived in October 2020 but ‘began to build relationships and develop more confidence in his spoken English’. 

Mr Fell said Sebastian used Google Translate to communicate. His school said teen showed little sign of being a victim of abuse, was always smartly dressed and was not seen with visible injuries,

He died on 13 August last year, around three weeks into the school summer holidays.

Mr Fell said: ‘Sebastian was happy at NHTS. His spoken English improved significantly, helping him blossom from an initially shy student into one with much more confidence and a strong circle of friends.

‘Caring, intelligent and fun-loving, he will be remembered for his charming smile, his sharp sense of humour and his kindness.

‘He embodied what our school stands for in demonstrating a positive attitude to school, treating others with respect and showing a determination to make the most of his education.

‘Our close-knit school community is deeply saddened by the loss of Sebastian.’

Speaking during the trial, Prosecutor Jason Pitter QC said Sebastian’s mother appeared to enjoy her son staying with her.

‘In the very early stages it would appear that, at least for Kalinowska, she was glad that her son was here with her. She was described by a friend as being “smitten”,’ he said.

‘If that was correct, that was unfortunately to change rapidly.’

He told jurors that by New Year’s Eve the defendants’ attitude was that Sebastian was ‘something of a hindrance’ and they spoke about him being a liar and playing truant from school.

Mr Pitter told jurors: ‘You may conclude that these were attempts to justify what they would present as a need for Sebastian’s ‘punishments’.

‘The punishments, if that is an appropriate way to describe them, were by any stretch of the imagination cruel and became increasingly more severe and violent over time.’

He said: ‘It would appear that the punishments were precipitated by things such as Sebastian merely dropping food on his bedroom floor, or even just having gone to the toilet during the night.’

Jurors heard that from January 2021, ‘the disciplining of Sebastian became progressively harsh’ and that he was ‘kept deliberately out of the way of others, either as part of the system of punishment or to hide the abuse.’

Mr Pitter said emergency services were called to the defendants’ house by Latoszewski on August 13 ‘after Sebastian had been unconscious for some two and a half hours’.

He told jurors Latoszewski said he had found Sebastian in the bath with his head under water, ‘suggesting perhaps that he had drowned’.

The court heard that an examination of Sebastian revealed injuries including bruising to his buttocks, forehead, jaw, abdomen, arms and legs, and multiple rib fractures.

Mr Pitter said: ‘[The defendants’] telephones were seized and that installed CCTV system was interrogated.

‘Together, their contents document the catalogue of abuse that Sebastian had endured before his death.

‘A broad description is one of Sebastian being attacked, principally and most severely by Latoszewski, but with his mother being involved at various times.

‘It included messages and recordings of conversations which have the defendants speaking of and to Sebastian in the most derogatory and inhuman ways, in the context of a perceived need to punish him.

‘That included forcing him to undertake physical and humiliating drills, even when he was too weak to really do so.’

Footage played to jurors included Latoszewski beating Sebastian’s buttocks with what, Mr Pitter said, appears to have been a slat from a bed.

Further clips included Latoszewski making Sebastian do exercises and whipping him with an extension cable to ‘spur him on’.

Mr Pitter said video from Latoszewski phone also contained clips of him ‘verbally abusing’ a ‘visibly upset’ Sebastian.

On August 10 last year, Mr Pitter said, CCTV showed violence towards Sebastian starting at 8.15am and continuing until ‘at least’ 4.10pm.

He could be seen ‘frequently struggling to stand but [being] picked or held up in order that the assault could continue,’ jurors heard.

Mr Pitter said on the day before Sebastian’s death, Latoszewski was seen on the CCTV ‘forcing food and drink into Sebastian’s mouth’ and ‘stabbing him a number of times’ with a needle in the groin and thigh, ‘apparently laughing whilst he did so’.

He added that Kalinowska at one point ‘took over stabbing Sebastian with the needle’.

Mr Pitter said the defendants’ telephones and CCTV footage ‘document the catalogue of abuse that Sebastian had endured before his death’.

He said: ‘A broad description is one of Sebastian being attacked, principally and most severely by Latoszewski, but with his mother being involved at various times.

‘It included messages and recordings of conversations which have the defendants speaking of and to Sebastian in the most derogatory and inhuman ways, in the context of a perceived need to punish him.

‘That included forcing him to undertake physical and humiliating drills, even when he was too weak to really do so.’

The ‘model pupil’ who hid unimaginable pain: How 15-year-old Polish student Sebastian was fast learning English and making friends after less than a year at UK school… before his brutal murder at the hands of torturing mother and her partner

by MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER,  MATT POWELL and KAYA TERRY FOR MAILONLINE

A 15-year-old Polish student who tragically died after suffering a campaign of abuse at the hands of his torturing mother and her partner was today described as a ‘model pupil’ and was fast learning English and making friends after less than a year at a UK school. 

Sebastian Kalinowski was beaten, tortured and killed by his mother Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, and her partner Andrezej Latoszewski, 38. He died in August 2021 in Huddersfield from organ failure, as a result of sepsis brought on by multiple untreated broken ribs.

A jury at Leeds Crown Court heard that Sebastian was beaten with a plank of wood, whipped with an extension cable and stabbed with a needle by his mother and her partner. He was also force fed food and drink and then had to carry out extreme exercise for merely dropping crumbs on his bedroom floor, or even having gone to the toilet at night.

On Friday, July 22, his mother and her partner were both convicted of murder following a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The couple claimed they punished Sebastian for lying, failing to do his homework and not attending North Huddersfield Trust School (NHTS).

His school has paid tribute to the ‘caring’ and ‘charming’ boy, who had been in England for less than a year after moving from Poland. 

Headteacher Andrew Fell paid tribute to the teenager who joined his school in October 2020, and said staff viewed him as a ‘model student’. 

Mr Fell said he spoke very little English when he arrived, but had grown to be much more confident and had a ‘strong circle of friends’.

‘It was obvious that he was dedicated to learning and particularly excelled in quizzes that tested knowledge of different topics designed to help his integration into school in a new country,’ Mr Fell said.

The headteacher said Sebastian used Google Translate to communicate with others in his class and taught his teacher ‘good morning’ in Polish.

‘It became a daily ritual for his form tutor to greet Sebastian in Polish, to which his response would be a polite smile and a nod, followed by the correct pronunciation,’ he said. 

Sebastian was also particularly good at maths and was ‘incredibly keen to consistently improve and to show what he was capable of achieving’.

He added: ‘Caring, intelligent and fun-loving, he will be remembered for his charming smile, his sharp sense of humour and his kindness.

‘He embodied what our school stands for in demonstrating a positive attitude to school, treating others with respect and showing a determination to make the most of his education.

‘Our close-knit school community is deeply saddened by the loss of Sebastian.’ 

Sebastian’s mother and her partner were arrested in connection with his death. Police seized CCTV cameras from their house in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, which prosecutors said had been installed partly to ‘monitor and exert control over Sebastian remotely’.

On the day before his death, Latoszewski was seen on the CCTV ‘forcing food and drink into Sebastian’s mouth’ and ‘stabbing him a number of times’ with a needle in the groin and thigh, ‘apparently laughing whilst he did so’. 

Sebastian was found unconscious by paramedics at a house in West Yorkshire on Friday August 13, 2021. He did not survive having been out cold for almost three hours before help arrived.

A court heard Sebastian had suffered multiple injuries, including open wounds to his buttocks and numerous rib fractures, which the prosecution said caused the complications which led to his death.

Kalinowska previously admitted child cruelty, while Latoszewski, a body builder and martial arts fanatic, admitted manslaughter, but both had denied murder.

However, they were both today convicted of Sebastian’s murder by a jury following after a five-week trial at Leeds Crown Court. 

Jurors had previously been shown ‘horrifying’ CCTV footage from the couple’s home, which the prosecution said was installed to monitor Sebastian. 

Jurors had previously been shown ‘horrifying’ CCTV footage from the couple’s home, which the prosecution said was installed to monitor Sebastian.

Videos showed numerous incidents in which Sebastian was repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on. In one video, he was shown being whipped with a cable.

The judge, Mrs Justice Lambert DBE, took the unusual step of discharging all jurors from future jury service due to the nature of the evidence they had sat through.

Addressing the jury, she said: ‘Your commitment and your dedication to this case has been truly extraordinary, it really has.

‘You have had to endure quite horrifying footage of Sebastian suffering great pain over a period of time and then his death.

‘May I thank you personally for all of your hard work, dedication and patience over the last six or so weeks.’

Jason Pitter QC, prosecuting, previously told the court Sebastian suffered ‘weeks, if not months of terrible, cruel, systematic assaults and ill treatment, neglect and abuse’.

The judge deferred sentencing on the pair, both of Leeds Road in Huddersfield, until October at the earliest.

The court heard Sebastian came to Huddersfield in October 2020, with teaching staff describing him as ‘a pleasant and well-mannered boy’ who ‘was observed to be quiet and timid, and at times appeared sad’.

Prosecutor Jason Pitter QC said: ‘In the very early stages it would appear that, at least for Kalinowska, she was glad that her son was here with her. She was described by a friend as being ‘smitten’.

‘If that was correct, that was unfortunately to change rapidly.’

He told jurors that by New Year’s Eve the defendants’ attitude was that Sebastian was ‘something of a hindrance’ and they spoke about him being a liar and playing truant from school.

Mr Pitter told jurors: ‘You may conclude that these were attempts to justify what they would present as a need for Sebastian’s ‘punishments’.

‘The punishments, if that is an appropriate way to describe them, were by any stretch of the imagination cruel and became increasingly more severe and violent over time.’ 

He said: ‘It would appear that the punishments were precipitated by things such as Sebastian merely dropping food on his bedroom floor, or even just having gone to the toilet during the night.’

Jurors heard that from January 2021, ‘the disciplining of Sebastian became progressively harsh’ and that he was ‘kept deliberately out of the way of others, either as part of the system of punishment or to hide the abuse.’

Mr Pitter said emergency services were called to the defendants’ house by Latoszewski on August 13 ‘after Sebastian had been unconscious for some two and a half hours’.

He told jurors Latoszewski said he had found Sebastian in the bath with his head under water, ‘suggesting perhaps that he had drowned’.

The court heard that an examination of Sebastian revealed injuries including bruising to his buttocks, forehead, jaw, abdomen, arms and legs, and multiple rib fractures.

Mr Pitter said: ‘[The defendants’] telephones were seized and that installed CCTV system was interrogated.

‘Together, their contents document the catalogue of abuse that Sebastian had endured before his death.

‘A broad description is one of Sebastian being attacked, principally and most severely by Latoszewski, but with his mother being involved at various times.

‘It included messages and recordings of conversations which have the defendants speaking of and to Sebastian in the most derogatory and inhuman ways, in the context of a perceived need to punish him.

‘That included forcing him to undertake physical and humiliating drills, even when he was too weak to really do so.’

Footage played to jurors included Latoszewski beating Sebastian’s buttocks with what, Mr Pitter said, appears to have been a slat from a bed.

Further clips included Latoszewski making Sebastian do exercises and whipping him with an extension cable to ‘spur him on’.

Mr Pitter said video from Latoszewski phone also contained clips of him ‘verbally abusing’ a ‘visibly upset’ Sebastian.

On August 10 last year, Mr Pitter said, CCTV showed violence towards Sebastian starting at 8.15am and continuing until ‘at least’ 4.10pm.

He could be seen ‘frequently struggling to stand but [being] picked or held up in order that the assault could continue,’ jurors heard.

Mr Pitter said on the day before Sebastian’s death, Latoszewski was seen on the CCTV ‘forcing food and drink into Sebastian’s mouth’ and ‘stabbing him a number of times’ with a needle in the groin and thigh, ‘apparently laughing whilst he did so’.

He added that Kalinowska at one point ‘took over stabbing Sebastian with the needle’.

Mr Pitter said the defendants’ telephones and CCTV footage ‘document the catalogue of abuse that Sebastian had endured before his death’.

He said: ‘A broad description is one of Sebastian being attacked, principally and most severely by Latoszewski, but with his mother being involved at various times.

‘It included messages and recordings of conversations which have the defendants speaking of and to Sebastian in the most derogatory and inhuman ways, in the context of a perceived need to punish him.

‘That included forcing him to undertake physical and humiliating drills, even when he was too weak to really do so.’