Man who killed wife and kids acted like ‘pressure cooker’

A man who killed six people, including his wife and two young children, in a brutal knife attack acted like a “pressure cooker with no escape valve” as his marriage collapsed, a court heard yesterday.

Damian Rzeszowski, 31, is accused of murdering his wife, Izabela Rzeszowska, 30, their daughter, Kinga, five, and son, Kacper, two, in St Helier, Jersey, on Aug 14, 2011.

The Polish national is also accused of the murders of his wife’s father, Marek Garstka, 56, her friend, Marta De La Haye, 34, and Ms De La Haye’s daughter Julia, 5.

Solicitor Howard Sharp, for the prosecution, told the Royal Court in St Helier the attack occurred after Mrs Rzeszowska told her husband she had cheated on him.

In a bid to save their marriage, the couple took their children to Poland to visit their families

The knife attack took place in the couple’s home on the day they returned from their holiday. Mr Rzeszowski had got into a discussion with his wife after leaving the children on their own in the house.

But Mr Sharp said that, rather than flying into an instant rage, the accused had waited almost two hours before the attack.

The court heard it was likely he attacked his father-in-law first. Kacper was likely to have been stabbed 13 times while he played. The two girls were each stabbed 16 times.

As she tried to escape, Mrs Rzeszowska climbed through a window and tried to call the police. Her friend, Ms De La Haye, staggered onto the street and collapsed.

The accused pleaded guilty last April to manslaughter through diminished responsibility.

The manslaughter pleas were not accepted by the Crown, who argue he was not suffering an “abnormality of the mind” when the attacks took place.