Man jumped head first out 6m-high window, inquest hears

A man accused of killing his wife jumped head first through a courthouse window more than 6m above street level, an inquest has heard.

Marius Daniel Sarzynski, of Bective House, Beaufort Place, Navan, Co Meath, was being held at Cloverhill Prison over the killing of wife Aleksandra Sarzynski.

He was attending Navan Courthouse in connection with a family law matter when he bolted across the courtroom and through the window on August 18, 2014.

Mr Sarzynski’s was the only case to be heard before Judge Conal Gibbons that morning. Prison officers removed two sets of handcuffs from his wrists before the case began as was normal practice, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard.

The courtroom in Navan is located up two flights of stairs and Mr Sarzynksi had been there before, the inquest heard.

During a break in the hearing Mr Sarzynski, from Poland, spoke briefly with his solicitor before jumping up and running across the courtroom to the window.

“He jumped up and bolted towards myself and Officer Farrell. I was knocked down. When I got up I saw his two feet stuck in the window frame,” said prison officer Siobhan Byrne.

The man’s feet had caught on the window frame but he had dislodged himself before the prison officers could prevent him falling out.

“His feet dislodged. We ran downstairs and found him on the pavement screaming in pain,” said Ms Byrne.

He was rushed to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda where he was treated for a broken hip and other injuries.

“I thought he was trying to escape. That was my automatic reaction,” said Ms Byrne.

“He went head first through the window. It’s a big drop, about 20ft onto concrete below. He was screaming in pain.”

The former chaplain at Cloverhill Prison, Sr Margaret O’Donovan, told the court

his mood began to deteriorate from early 2014.

“He would say things like, ‘I’ve nothing to live for, I’ve done a terrible thing,’” said Sr O’Donovan.

The court heard that Mr Sarzynski had asked for a razor to shave the day before he died. He was returned to Cloverhill Prison on August 26. He was found injured in his cell shortly after midnight.

Sr O’Donovan received a call from Cloverhill Prison. She was told he had cut himself badly and that ‘it didn’t look good’.

The inquest, which is due to hear evidence from a total of 20 witnesses, was adjourned to May.