Court told man was murdered so his home and savings could be taken
A court in Leicester, England, has heard the prosecution's claim that retiree Gary Piatek, 60, was murdered in April 2024. The accused allegedly then moved his family into the victim's home and used his savings.
A 60-year-old retiree who vanished more than two years ago was murdered so that his home and money could be taken, a prosecutor has told Leicester Crown Court in England. The trial of eight defendants over the disappearance of Gary Piatek began on Wednesday.
Piatek went missing on 18 April 2024 after visiting a couple of pubs in Leicester. He has not been seen or heard from since.
The prosecution case
Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC (King's Counsel, a senior barrister) said Ibrahim Yosif, 44, killed Piatek, then took his life savings and renovated his house. Yosif is then said to have moved his family into the property.
Sandhu told the jury that Yosif and his relatives drained the missing man's bank accounts because they were confident Piatek would never say a thing.
The man who disappeared
According to the prosecutor, Piatek led an unassuming life in the Evington area of Leicester, in the Broad Avenue home where he had lived almost all his life. By April 2024 he had in effect retired, and his pension was more than enough to cover his modest lifestyle.
On the day he disappeared, Sandhu said, Piatek did what he normally did: he left home, took a bus towards the city centre and went to a couple of pubs.
The defendants
Yosif, of Broad Avenue, Leicester, and Omed Firuzmand, 25, of Ashley Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, both deny murder and preventing a lawful burial. Six other defendants face charges connected to the disappearance.
The trial continues, and the jury will weigh the prosecution's claims.
