Nine years for man who used "kill floor" knife in manslaughter of poker opponent

A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court for the manslaughter of his housemate in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan on New Year's Day 2018. Tomasz Paszkiewicz was convicted by jury of fatally stabbing Marek Swider, aged 40, with a boning knife following a dispute over money lost in a poker game. The defendant was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter. Justice Tara Burns noted Paszkiewicz's expertise with the blade from his employment at a meat factory and identified the killing as falling within the serious category of such offences. She imposed a headline sentence of thirteen years, reducing it to nine years in consideration of his guilty plea, remorse, cooperation with gardaí, and personal circumstances. Paszkiewicz expressed sincere apology to the deceased's family and his own. The victim died from two stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.