In a murder trial, a jury at Manchester Crown Court was told that a father stabbed to death the 15-year-old son of his estranged partner before attempting to flee by crossing the English Channel on a dinghy.
An RNLI crew responded to a report of a drifting dinghy and found Altaf on board.
He was eventually located on the water by a lifeboat crew who persuaded him to come on board.
Altaf revealed his intention to sail to France and then travel to Portugal.
After more than an hour of persuasion, he agreed to leave the dinghy and was taken into custody.
According to media reports, Suleman Altaf, 45, faces charges of murder, attempted murder, and possessing a knife in a public place.
However, Altaf, who does not have a permanent address, pleads not guilty to all three charges against him.
He stands trial for the murder of Jakub Szymanski (the boy) and the attempted murder of Jakub’s mother (his estranged partner) Katarzyna Bastek, in Miles Platting on June 9, 2022.
The court heard that Altaf had been observed walking the streets around the house for over three hours prior to the incident, wearing a baseball cap, face mask, and latex gloves.
Opening the case, the prosecution said that Altaf went uninvited to the home of his former partner, Bastek, with violent intentions.
Bastek, who was on a Facebook Messenger call with a friend, confronted Altaf and pleaded with him to leave. But Altaf approached her, stabbed her in the stomach, and pushed her onto a sofa.
She managed to stand and called out for her son’s help. Jakub responded and went downstairs to confront Altaf, leading to a fight.
During the ensuing fight, Altaf stabbed Jakub in the throat, causing a catastrophic injury. The incident occurred at the family home on Bednal Avenue.
Bastek managed to call the police for assistance while Jakub suffered a severe wound and lost consciousness.
CCTV footage presented during the trial showed Altaf fleeing with blood on his face.
The friend Bastek was speaking to on Facebook also called the police, and Bastek herself contacted her adult son, who alerted a friend.
The friend’s parents discovered Jakub and attempted CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Altaf allegedly spent just over two minutes in the house before leaving, taking a taxi to his former home in Slough and then driving to the coast.
During the trial, it was revealed that the relationship between Bastek and Altaf had deteriorated in 2015.
According to Alexander Leach KC who opened the case to the jury on Monday (10) Bastek had three sons, including one with Altaf.
Family Court proceedings were initiated to address Altaf’s access to their shared child, and these proceedings concluded in May 2022.
During his interview with the police, Altaf claimed that he had gone to Bastek’s home to see his son one last time.
He alleged that Bastek and Jakub attacked him, and he acted in self-defense.
The trial is ongoing.
