Dashcam footage has captured the moment a murder victim desperately drives away from his knife-wielding killer after being stabbed.
Jegir Asaad, 24, knifed Tomasz Stankiewicz, 39, in Filton Avenue, Bristol during an altercation in the early hours of August 21 last year.
Asaad had been at his home address in Filton Avenue with a man and two women.
Mr Stankiewicz picked up one of the women and went back to Filton Avenue to collect the second woman a few hours later.
He then took a wrench out of his car and a fight ensued.
After being stabbed, Mr Stankiewicz got back into his vehicle and drove a short distance before stopping due to his injuries. He later died in hospital.
Dashcam footage, captured on a passing taxi, showed Asaad with a knife that was later recovered by detectives and linked to the murder by forensic evidence.
He claimed to be acting in self-defence but the prosecution argued the act of grabbing a knife then attacking his victim went far beyond that.
Jegir Asaad (pictured), 24, stabbed Tomasz Stankiewicz in Filton Avenue, Bristol, during an altercation in the early hours of August 21 last year
Mr Stankiewicz (pictured), 39, picked up one of the women at Asaad’s home and went back to to collect the second woman a few hours later
Asaad was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison with a minimum of 23 years.
A second man, 29, who had been in the property with Asaad that night, was found not guilty of murder.
Mr Stankiewicz’s mother told Bristol Crown Court of the devastating impact of her son’s death.
‘We would like to express the horrible pain and void that we have had in our hearts since the moment my son Tomasz was so brutally taken away from us in the most inhumane way,’ she said.
‘For us, every minute of this case is a reminder that the life of our family has been changed forever.
‘We are left with the feeling of void and incomprehensible shock and pain.’
Senior Investigating Officer DI Neil Meade said: ‘It is impossible to fully explain the pain that Tomasz Stankiewicz’s family have experienced and continue to feel since his death in August.
‘Sadly, no sentence can bring him back to them and while the legal proceedings may have concluded today, their grief does not.’
Pictured: Dashcam footage, captured on a passing taxi, showed Asaad with a knife that was later recovered by detectives and linked to the murder by forensic evidence
Asaad (pictured) claimed to be acting in self-defence but the prosecution argued the act of grabbing a knife then attacking Mr Stankiewicz went far beyond that
Mr Stankiewicz’s mother told the court that he was a father to two little girls.
‘My grandchildren have lost their daddy and there won’t be a single day in their lives when they will not have to cope with the fact that they will never see him again. They will never again be able to spend time together,’ she said.
‘As a mother, I have lost a part of me. My heart has been torn to little pieces and there are simply no words that could describe how much I miss my only son.
‘How much I would like to hear his voice saying “I love you, mum”, how much I long to be able to feel him next to me again.
‘It does not matter how old my son was when his life was taken from him. For a mother, a child always remains her child, regardless of their age.
‘The murder that took place means not just taking someone’s life physically. It also means taking away dreams, hope and future.
‘It means taking away the happiness that was ahead of my son, the father of my grandchildren. It means destruction of all our family, a family whose life has been changed forever.
‘And there is nothing that could take away this pain, nothing that could bring back what has been so brutally taken away from us.
Pictured: Asaad waves the knife as Mr Stankiewicz drives off after being stabbed
Pictured: Asaad appears to address Mr Stankiewicz while he is in his car before he drives off
‘We will never be able to get back what we have lost. Nothing will ever be the same. We can’t go back in time to undo what has happened.
‘Now we just have to carry on living, suffering this enormous pain, and the void in our hearts will remain with us forever.’
DI Meade pointed to the fatal consequences that picking up or carrying a knife can cause.
‘The simple truth is that when someone has a knife with them in an altercation, the risk of serious injury or a fatality is massively increased. Quite simply, no good can come from possessing a knife; it puts that person and others in much greater danger.
‘Jegir Asaad made a conscious decision to grab a knife that day. It’s a decision that has cost Tomasz his life, it caused a family to lose their much-loved son and it cost Asaad his freedom.’
