Stranger who tried to throw woman in front of Tube train at King’s Cross jailed for 10 years

A man who tried to kill a stranger by grabbing her in a bear hug to throw her in front of an oncoming Tube train has been jailed for 10 years.

Arthur Hawrylewicz, 42, from Cardiff, pleaded guilty to attempting to murder then 22-year-old Maria Osifeso on August 29 last year, as she travelled to Notting Hill carnival in London with friends.

Prosecutor Suki Dhadda said the pharmacist was waiting at the platform of King’s Cross Underground station at about 1.15pm when “she felt arms wrap around her waist in a bear hug-style grip”.

“She was then picked up by someone, her feet left the floor and she was swung to the left, she thought in an attempt to put her on the track or in front of the train which was pulling into the station.”

Inner London Crown Court heard how she was saved by friends, including Constantinos Spyrou, who got between them and forced Hawrylewicz on to the ground, where he moved like a “fish in a bellyflop movement”, hitting his head on the train and being knocked unconscious.

In a victim impact statement read in court, Ms Osifeso said she was left “reeling” and wondering “what if?”

She said: “What if my friends hadn’t been there? What if my male friend hadn’t jumped in to grab him?

“What if I had been standing closer to the tracks?

“I would most likely be dead and my family mourning the loss of a daughter.

“It is incredibly traumatic to think how close I came to dying.”

Ms Osifeso said the effects have been “profound and long-lasting” and she now suffers “overwhelming anxiety” when travelling alone on the Tube.

In her statement she said she is “hyper-aware”, standing with her back to the wall, holding on to the railings, or standing at the top of the stairs until she can see the train coming.

Judge Benedict Kelleher sentenced Hawrylewicz, of Avondale Gardens, Cardiff, to 10 years imprisonment on Monday, telling him he will serve up to two thirds of the term in custody.

“You attempted to kill a young woman by throwing her in front of a moving train,” he said.

“You had approached your victim, Ms Osifeso, while she was standing with friends on the platform at King’s Cross Underground station.

“She was a complete stranger to you.

“You tried briefly to speak to her but she ignored you.”

Father-of-two Hawrylewicz, originally from Poland, had lived in the UK, where he worked in the construction industry, for 15 years and had been in London for work.

The court heard his young family had returned to Poland in August 2021 and messages indicated he was “depressed” about his life.

Hawrylewicz told police he had drunk up to four beers and a third of a litre of vodka before the attack, and thought of committing suicide.

The judge said: “It is clear from the available evidence you intended to kill yourself that day but there is nothing to explain why you chose to try to kill an innocent bystander.”

Alexia Nicol, defending, described her client as a “hardworking family man” and said he was in a “confused and desperate state” in a “perfect storm” caused by his “emotional position, his drinking and the busyness of the platform”.

She said he recognises the “real sorrow” he has put his victim through and wanted to “apologise to her”.

“He regrets what happened on that day, every single day,” she added.

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