LI Man Gets 22 Years For Murdering Wife In Front Of Teenage Son: DA

LINDENHURST, NY — A Lindenhurst man was sentenced to 22 years in prison for murdering his wife in front of their teen son, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced.

Ryszard Murawski, 44, of Lindenhurst, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in September for fatally stabbing his wife, Wioleta Murawski, in front of their teenage son in her backyard in January, the DA said.

According to the investigation, the couple's 15-year-old son called Suffolk County police and reported that his father had stabbed his mother before fleeing the scene in a black GMC pickup truck on January 3 around 8:30 p.m., the DA said.

Police said the teen was distraught and begged for help as he desperately tried to save his mother’s life, according to the DA.

The young man told police that when he got home from a friend’s house he heard his mother screaming for help in the backyard, the DA said. He then ran to the backyard and found his father stabbing his mother with a large, serrated knife, the DA said.

According to the DA, the boy jumped on his father and helped his mother break free. She then "stumbled across the street before collapsing with her son by her side" and was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital where she was pronounced dead, the DA said.

The DA said Murawski’s home surveillance system captured the brutal murder.

Police tracked Murawski fleeing in his SUV and when he refused to pull over they chased him for over seven miles with lights and sirens on, the DA said. Murawski eventually lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the side of a building, the DA said.

"Domestic violence is a scourge that tears families apart and leaves immeasurable trauma in its
wake," Tierney said. "When abusers use violence to exert power and control, it destroys lives and shatters communities. No one should ever have to experience the pain and loss that comes from such senseless acts."

He was represented by Lindsay Henry.