A man fatally stabbed a 15-year-old boy in the neck, attacked his mother and then tried to flee the country on a dinghy, a trial heard.
Suleman Altaf, 44, allegedly murdered Jakub Szymanski at a house in Miles Platting, Manchester, during June this year.
Manchester Crown Court heard that he was seen in Tesco following the incident before heading to the South Coast where it was claimed that his intention was to sail to France and then onto Portugal.
It was also claimed that prior to the attack Mr Altaf was seen walking around the area wearing a baseball cap, a face mask and latex gloves.
Jakub Szymanski, 15, died after he and his mother named locally as Katarzyna Bastek were involved in a double stabbing attack
Later on, it is said that Mr Altaf walked into the house and stabbed Jakub’s mother, known locally as Katarzyna Bastek, in the stomach before she called her son for help.
It was heard that as Jakub Szymanski came down to confront Mr Altaf, he was stabbed to the neck and died from injuries less than an hour later.
Mr Altaf, of no fixed abode, denies offences of murder, attempted murder and possession of a knife.
Opening the case, prosecutor Alexander Leach KC told the court that Ms Bastek and Mr Altaf were in a relationship between 2012 and 2015.
She had three sons including Jakub, and they both had a son together, he said.
The relationship broke down in 2015 and Family Court proceedings began in respect of Mr Altaf having contact with their son, which concluded in May this year.
But on June 9, Mr Altaf was seen on CCTV walking the streets of Miles Platting for around three hours before he walked up to the house on Bednal Avenue at around 9.16pm.
Mr Leach said: ‘Ms Bastek could not remember what happened, but she does recall noticing a shadow moving in the corridor of her home.
‘She couldn’t see where it was coming from, but she saw it was the defendant and that he was carrying a knife.’
Ms Bastek was on a Facebook Messenger call to her friend at the time, the prosecutors alleged.
It was claimed that she said to Mr Altaf: ‘Please, I beg you, don’t do nothing wrong.’
Suleman Altaf, 44, allegedly murdered Jakub Szymanski at a house in Miles Platting, Manchester, during June this year
As she retreated back into the living room he reached forward, stabbed her and pushed her towards the sofa, jurors heard.
It is then alleged that she managed to stand up and shouted for Jakub, using the nickname she had for him, and said: ‘Kuba, Kuba, please help me.’
Mr Leach continued: ‘She told the police that Jakub went to fight with Mr Altaf and that’s when she realised that she was bleeding from her stomach and called out for her friend. She said to her: “Please phone the police because he’s going to kill me”.’
It was claimed that Ms Bastek dropped her phone as Mr Altaf allegedly stabbed her to the head.
During the struggle she bit his nose and slipped on the blood which caused her to fall to the floor, the court heard.
She continued shouting out to her friend, whilst Mr Altaf put her in the living room as she shouted at him to leave.
It was then claimed that he told her ‘I can leave you now’ and then left the house.
After Mr Altaf left, Ms Bastek crawled along the corridor downstairs and saw Jakub standing in the downstairs bathroom, the prosecutor said.
It was then that she noticed he was choking on blood and the court heard that she watched as he lost consciousness.
A post mortem report concluded that Jakub Szymanski died as a result of severe blood loss with possible contribution of blood inhalation
Ms Bastek called her adult son, who later told police that all he could hear was his mum ‘screaming’ at him to get home.
He went round, along with his girlfriend, his friend and his friend’s dad, who attempted to resuscitate Jakub.
Ms Bastek was rushed to the Manchester Royal Infirmary where she received treatment for a number of injuries including three stab wounds to her shoulder, another to her chest, as well as a wound to her temple, her stomach and her neck. She also had nerve damage to her face and a fractured rib.
Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Jakub was pronounced dead at 10.26pm that day.
A post mortem report concluded that he died as a result of severe blood loss with possible contribution of blood inhalation.
He was found to have an injury to his neck which completely divided his left artery and the left jugular vein, the court heard.
Following the incident, Mr Altaf was seen in Tesco before ordering a taxi, initially to Stoke-on-Trent, but later changed the plan and asked to be taken to Slough for a fare of £350, prosecutors allege.
After arriving at an address, he was seen getting into a silver car with two bags before driving to the South Coast.
At 6.18pm the following day, an RNLI crew were dispatched to the English Channel to reports of a dinghy with one person aboard.
They discovered it was Mr Altaf and tried to get him to board their boat, but he refused, stating it was his intention to sail to France and then onto Portugal.
After an hour he eventually boarded the boat and was arrested.
In a police interview, Mr Altaf accepted going to the house on Bednal Avenue but said he went with the intention to speak to Ms Bastek.
He told officers his visa had run out and he knew he had to leave the country.
Mr Leach said: ‘He said the door was open and so let himself in,
‘He said he was immediately attacked by Ms Bastek when he arrived and she started to punch and kick him. She then called her son Jakub who began kicking and punching him.
‘He told the police Jakub had a knife that he was able to take from him by a “stroke of luck”.’
Mr Altaf accepted that he must have struck Ms Bastek and Jakub with a knife but denied any intention to cause harm and said he was acting defensively.
He added that he wore the gloves and mask due to his concerns about Covid, jurors heard.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Altaf had made a number of internet searches prior to the incident, where he searched for ‘Rushington’ and ‘East Preston Beach’ and another French location close to the English Channel.
Mr Altaf, of no fixed address, denies murder, attempted murder and possession of a knife.
The trial continues.
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