A Venezuelan migrant accused of the brutal rape and murder of a Polish doctoral student has gone on trial behind closed doors in Toruń, one year after the attack that shocked the city.
Yomeykert Josue R.-S. is charged with murdering 24-year-old Klaudia K., a doctoral student at Nicolaus Copernicus University who also worked as a bartender at a student club.
The assault took place around 1:00 a.m. on the night of June 11-12, 2025, in Glazja Park, located in the Jakubskie Przedmieście district.
According to local police, a bystander heard the woman’s screams and quickly intervened, scaring off the attacker and calling the authorities. Police patrols were immediately dispatched, including units from outside the city.
Klaudia was found with multiple stab wounds to the head, neck, and back, and she had been sexually assaulted.
The suspect was tracked down and arrested shortly after attempting to flee the scene.
He was later charged with murder after Klaudia succumbed to her injuries, passing away in hospital on June 27.
The first hearing opened on Thursday at the District Court in Toruń. The defendant was brought into the court building on Piekary Street under heavy police escort and placed in a glass-enclosed dock, with a Spanish interpreter seated beside him. He was represented by a court-appointed lawyer.
The Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported that Judge Grzegorz Waloch, who is presiding over the six-member panel, ordered the trial to be held without the public or media present. He cited the welfare of the victim’s family, the need to ensure the proceedings ran properly, and the risk of “potential disruption of order and security.”
According to the indictment, the defendant intended to kill the young woman and inflicted multiple wounds to her head, neck, and hands. Prosecutors say she lost consciousness and was left helpless before being sexually assaulted.
One of the stab wounds caused irreversible brain damage, according to the prosecution. Klaudia K. was taken to Toruń City Hospital but never regained consciousness.
Yomeykert R.-S. has been charged with murder with particular cruelty, an offense that carries a possible life sentence. Prosecutors said the evidence gathered during the investigation justified the charge.
When questioned as a suspect, he refused to answer the charges and exercised his right to remain silent.
He was later placed under forensic psychiatric observation. Experts concluded unanimously that he was sane at the time of the alleged offenses and was capable of understanding the meaning of his actions and controlling his behavior.
The indictment also accuses him of threatening another Toruń resident in April 2025. Prosecutors say he brandished a knife at the man inside an apartment, then later stood outside and made a throat-slitting gesture after seeing him at a window.
The killing of Klaudia K. caused widespread public outrage in Toruń. After her death, around 20,000 people took part in a silent march through the city streets in her memory.
