Man who stabbed teenager to death before attempting to flee country on dinghy guilty of murder

A man who stabbed the 15-year-old son of his estranged partner to death before trying to flee the country across the Channel on a dinghy has been found guilty of murder.

Jakub Szymanski was killed as he heroically stepped in to stop Suleman Altaf, 45, carrying out a "frenzied knife attack" on his mother Kataryzyna Bastek.

The teenager was fatally stabbed in the neck as he tried to fend off Altaf, who then fled the scene in Miles Platting, Manchester, with blood on his face, into a taxi before attempting to cross the English Channel.

He was discovered almost 24 hours later on a dinghy by an RNLI crew, and after an hour of negotiations, eventually agreed to come onboard.

Altaf was found guilty of Jakub's murder, attempting to murder his estranged partner Ms Bastek, who suffered serious injuries, and of possessing a knife in a public place, following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Jurors were told at around 9.15pm, on 9 June 2022, Altaf was seen 'walking the streets' around Ms Bastek's house for more than three hours wearing a baseball cap, a face mask and latex gloves.

Altaf then let himself into the house, launching an attack on, and repeatedly stabbing, Ms Bastek, who desperately called out to her son for help.

Jakub ran downstairs and as he tried to fight off the attacker, he was stabbed in the neck.

The schoolboy received a catastrophic injury to the blood vessels in his neck, as well as defence wounds to his arms, and died around an hour later.

His mother received 13 stab wounds to her head and body, plus multiple facial fractures, a fractured rib and a collapsed lung.

Altaf was in the home for two minutes before fleeing, covered in blood, before taking a £350 taxi to Slough, where he was living at the time.

He then drove south to Dover, before boarding a dinghy on the English Channel, where he was spotted by an RNLI crew at about 6.45pm the following day.

After an hour of negotiations, and telling the crew he had intended to sail to France before travelling on to Portugal, he eventually agreed to leave the dinghy and was taken back to shore where he was arrested.

In interview he told police officers he had acting in self-defence after being attacked by the boy and his mother.

He also said he had used a dinghy because he wanted to get to Portugal to avoid deportation to Pakistan, as he feared arrest because he was no longer entitled to live in the UK.

But a jury rejected his claims and found him guilty on all counts. He will be sentenced at a later date.

In a statement released after Jakub's death, his family said: "Jakub was lovingly known as Kuba to his family and Jakub to his friends. He was always a popular child making friends wherever he went due to his friendly and chatty nature.

"He always spoke his mind, he was mischievous, funny and a cheeky boy. He loved his Xbox and football, supporting Manchester City.

"He was like every other teenage boy and was helpful to so many people, even those he just met. To our family, he's our hero."

Daniel David, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West: “This is a tragic case whereby Jakub Szymancki, who was just 15-years-old, died because he was protecting his mother who was being subjected to a frenzied knife attack.

“We worked closely with Greater Manchester police to build a strong case against Suleman Altaf, including CCTV and telephone evidence.

"We presented that evidence to the jury proving that Suleman Altaf loitered outside the woman’s home for several hours planning his attack.

"He was armed with a knife and disguised when he entered her home, clearly intent on extreme violence.

'Immediately afterwards he fled the house and attempted to leave the country in a dinghy. Today after considering that evidence they have found him guilty of all the charges he faced.

“Although today’s outcome can in no way bring back Jakub, we hope that all those affected by his death will feel that justice has been delivered."