Man 'stabbed ex's 15-year-old son to death then tried to cross English Channel on a dinghy'

A jury at Manchester Crown Court has been told a man stabbed the 15-year-old son of his estranged partner to death then fled and tried to cross the English Channel to France on a dinghy.

Suleman Altaf was tracked down on the waters by a lifeboat crew responding to reports of a 'drifting dinghy' - who 'persuaded' him after more than an hour to come on board, a court heard.

He told the RNLI crew that he intended to sail to France then travel on to Portugal, the jury was told.

Altaf, 45, is standing trial at Manchester Crown Court accused of the murder in Miles Platting on 9 June 2022, of Jakub Szymanski and the attempted murder of Jakub's mother, his former partner Katarzyna Bastek.

He is also charged with possessing a knife in a public place. Altaf, of no fixed abode, denies all three charges he faces.

The jury was told Jakub came to his mother's 'aid', but was stabbed in the neck by Altaf at the family home on Bednal Avenue.

Beforehand, he was seen 'walking the streets' around the house for more than three hours wearing a baseball cap, a face mask and latex gloves, the court heard.

Opening the case to the jury on Monday 11 July, Alexander Leach KC said: "The prosecution case is that on that day, Suleman Altaf went uninvited to the home of his estranged former partner, Katarzyna Bastek.

"At the time that he went there, he was intent on violence."

Mr Leach said armed with a knife, Altaf 'launched an attack' on Ms Bastek, stabbing her in the stomach, and it was during the course of a 'fight that followed' that he stabbed Jakub to throat, causing a 'catastrophic injury'.

The court heard details of what Ms Bastek went on to tell police. The jury heard she was on a Facebook Messenger call to a friend in the living room when she noticed a 'moving shadow' on floor.

Mr Leach said: "She looked to see where the shadow was coming from and saw Suleman Altaf. Katarzyna Bastek asked Suleman Altaf what he was doing there and she asked him to leave her house.

"He did not leave and, increasingly scared by his presence and by the knife, Katarzyna Bastek said 'please, I beg you, don't do nothing wrong'.

"Katarzyna Bastek stepped back into the living room as Suleman Altaf walked towards her."

She told police, the jury heard, that Altaf stabbed her as she retreated then pushed her down onto a sofa.

She managed to stand and call her son by his nickname, 'Kuba', the court was told, shouting: "Kuba, Kuba, please help me."

Mr Leach said: "Jakub came downstairs where he found Suleman Altaf. Katarzyna Bastek told the police that Jakub Szymanski went to fight Suleman Altaf.

"She realised that she was bleeding from her stomach. She called out to her friend, who was still on an open Facebook Messenger call on her telephone 'please phone to the police because he's gonna kill me'."

The prosecutor said Altaf knocked the phone from her hand then stabbed her in the head.

Mr Leach said: "Katarzyna Bastek crawled into the downstairs corridor area and it was from there that she saw her son Jakub Szymanski.

He was standing in the downstairs bathroom. He turned to look at his mother and then sat down on the floor. He then lay down, very slowly, and she noticed that he was choking blood.

"She saw that he had a very deep wound and she watched as he spat blood out. She saw his skin turn white and he lost consciousness."

CCTV footage was played to the jury, which the prosecution allege shows Altaf running away with his face smeared with blood.

The court was told the friend Ms Bastek was talking to on Facebook called police and she, herself, managed to call her adult son, who alerted a friend and returned.

The friend's parents subsequently found Jakub and attempted CPR, jurors were told. Ms Bastek was taken to hospital with a 'significant number of injuries' after paramedics attended and worked on her son.

Jakub was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary but sadly pronounced dead. It's alleged Altaf was in the house for just over two minutes and then took a taxi to his then home in Slough and drove to the coast.

Mr Leach said: "At 6.18pm on June 10, 2022, an RNLI crew deployed into the English Chanel, in response to a report of a dingy drifting with one person aboard. When the crew found the dingy, they discovered Suleman Altaf was aboard.

"They tried to persuade him to leave the dinghy and come onto their boat but, for more than an hour, he refused. He told the RNLI crew that he intended to sail to France before travelling on to Portugal.

"Ultimately, he was persuaded to leave the dinghy, whereupon he was taken back to shore and into police custody. He was arrested and cautioned and taken back to Manchester."

The court heard their relationship broke down in 2015. Ms Bastek, said Mr Leach, had three sons and a son with Altaf. He said Family Court proceedings began in respect of Altaf having contact with their son, which concluded in May 2022.

Mr Leach said Altaf was interviewed by police and claimed he went to Ms Bastek's home 'in the hope of persuading her to let him see his son one last time'. He alleges she 'attacked' him and Jakub, who had a knife, kicked and punched him. "He said that he was acting defensively throughout," added the prosecutor.

The trial continues.

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