An Adelaide court has heard a “brave and smart” 19-year-old woman ran into the bathroom to ring triple zero before she and her boyfriend were shot dead by her boyfriend’s father in “an act of twisted evil” in the state’s south-east.
Key points:
- Pawel Klosowski pleaded guilty to murdering his son and his son’s girlfriend
- More than 20 victim impact statements were read to the court ahead of his sentencing
- Prosecutors have called for him not to receive the maximum sentencing discount for pleading guilty
Pawel Klosowski pleaded guilty to murdering Lukasz Klosowski and Chelsea Ireland, who were described in court as “two innocent and loving angels”, at a property at Mount McIntyre, near Millicent, in August 2020.
Prosecutor Kos Lesses told the Supreme Court the murders followed a family barbecue where Klosowski had drunk at least one carton of beer.
He told the court, Klosowski and his son got into an argument, “angry and insulting words” were exchanged before an intoxicated Pawel Klosowski “called out for his gun” with the “plain intention of killing both his victims”.
He said Klosowski then went to his bedroom, got the keys to his gun safe, loaded his shotgun and placed more ammunition in his pocket before shooting dead his son Lukasz and then firing through a locked bathroom door, killing Chelsea Ireland.
Chelsea’s mother: ‘I feel like I’m living in some horror story’
More than 60 family and friends of Lukasz and Chelsea packed a Supreme Court room for sentencing submissions which included 22 victim impact statements.
The court heard Lukasz was widely loved and appreciated and “made the world a better place”.
Chelsea Ireland was described as a “beautiful, compassionate” environmentalist who was changing the world.
Chelsea Ireland’s mother Deborah told the court she was living a nightmare and the grief of losing her youngest daughter was eroding her family away bit by bit.
“Our house is so quiet and empty, it is unbearable,” she said.
“There is not a time when I’m not brutally reminded of our loss.
“I feel like I’m living in some horror story.
“I feel so fragile, so broken, constantly teetering on the edge.”
She told the court her “brave and smart” daughter was in the bathroom ringing triple zero in a desperate attempt for help.
“I just cannot understand, or fathom, how anyone could do what you did, let alone a father.”
Chelsea’s sister Maddie told the court she would never forgive “the living piece of trash” for what he had done to her sister and the impact it had had on her family.
“He also killed me too, now I have a life sentence of confusion, sadness and loneliness,” she said.
“I lost my brother and sister and now I’m an only child in my household.”
Klosowski bullied Lukasz for years
Lukasz Klosowski’s mother Magda Pearce said in her victim impact statement that the defendant had “bullied and ridiculed” her son for years.
“You have proved that your jealousy and lust for revenge knows no bounds,” she said
“You no longer deserve to be named as his father.
“Lukasz and Chelsea leave a bright legacy of talent and love, they are sorely missed and fondly remembered.
Ms Pearce told the court she would receive her son’s associate degree in art posthumously in April.
“How can I describe the feeling of so much pride and so much pain at the same time?” she said.
“What torments me is that one act of twisted evil could erode two beautiful souls of the future and their destiny.”
Klosowski’s lawyer Nick Vadasz said his client accepted the prosecution’s case and that his actions were deliberate, but he did not understand why he had committed the crime.
He said Klosowski did not have a history of violence.
Prosecutors argued against Klosowski receiving a 40 per cent discount on his sentence for his early guilty plea, saying it would result in a low and disproportionate sentence and send the wrong message to the community.
The law has changed since Klosowski entered his plea, reducing the maximum possible discount to 25 per cent.
Klosowski will be sentenced at a later date.
