Two lovers behind a gruesome gangland murder were photographed locked in a passionate embrace before committing a horrific crime.
A community was rocked by the brutal killing of Marcin Stolarek in an execution-style murder by a gang of five, according to Hull Live.
Couple Sylwia Strek, 20, and Lukasz Ferenc, 28, were involved in the gruesome crime and cover-up just months after the photograph was taken.
The murder led to a police manhunt stretching from the fields of eastern Lincolnshire, to Ireland and Poland.
Strek, a former Boston College student, had been drawn into the murky world of drug dealing as a teenager and blinded by the love of drug dealer Ferenc, it was a route that would soon escalate into violence and murder.
In contrast to the romantic photographs with Ferenc she would post on social media, police pictures taken after her arrest show a stunned young woman with tear-filled eyes.
The murder of Marcin, 42, was particularly sadistic and triggered one of the biggest murder inquiries in Lincolnshire Police history.
The killing had taken place on the night of November 26 and 27 at a house in Union Court in Boston. Ringleader Ferenc and associate Adam Kaminski bound Marcin’s hands and attacked him so violently he suffered serious head injuries, cuts, a broken leg and cheek bone.
They then bundled his lifeless body into a Vauxhall Astra, driven by a third man, Artur Klosowski, before he was thrown into a canal outside Boston.
It would be six weeks before Marcin’s decomposing corpse was found at the Chain Bridge pumping station on the outskirts of the town on January 12, 2020.
Initially police could not identify the victim but after help from the local community issued public appeals in Poland.
Marcin’s distinctive clothing and shoulder tattoo were recognised by friends and family in Poland, and the identity was confirmed.
As Lincolnshire Police closed in on the killers, the gang tried to cover their tracks.
CCTV footage showed Kaminski and Justina Swaitek in local DIY shops buying paint, tape, brushes, sandpaper, disinfectant, tiles, superglue and dust sheets to clear up the scene of the murder.
Meanwhile Klosowski fled by ferry to Ireland.
As the police started to raid their homes Ferenc was found hiding in his attic while girlfriend Strek desperately tried to protect him.
She lied about their role in the killing in a desperate attempt to escape justice.
At the scene of the killing police found freshly painted walls and new flooring. But forensics officers discovered three ‘attack sites’ and splatters of Marcin’s blood on the walls and curtains.
Klosowski was found and arrested in Ireland and more of Marcin’s blood was found in the boot.
At Lincoln Crown Court on Friday, Judge John Pini said the murder of Marcin was of "shocking brutality, akin to an execution".
Ferenc was convicted of Marcin's murder and Kaminski had admitted the killing. Strek was found guilty of perverting the course of justice for lying to police about her and Ferenc’s knowledge and involvement in the murder.
Swaitek, 28, who had gone on the shopping expedition for cleaning products, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender and Klosowski, who had dumped the body, was initially charged with murder but found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Speaking after the case Det Supt Karl Whiffen, of East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), which led the investigation, said: “I cannot begin to imagine the pain suffered by Marcin’s family who continue to grieve the loss of a son, and a father. Our thoughts are with them today.
“This was a painstaking investigation that lasted 16 months, and it’s thanks to the tireless efforts from my team that Ferenc and Kaminski will now spend years in prison.
“There were a number of challenging elements: Initially we did not have an identity for the victim, but thanks to the support of people locally and in Poland, we began to build our case.
"Given the many weeks between the murder and discovery of Marcin’s body there were other challenges too, but the team remained resolute.
“Our goal has always been to provide answers for Marcin’s family, and to make sure his killers were brought to justice.”
In a victim impact statement read at court, Marcin’s father said: “The murder of my son caused my heart to break in to a thousand pieces, which will never mend again.”
he who was supposed to bury me, not I him, although I actually died with him.”
Another victim impact statement, from Marcin’s mother, read: “I do not know how to put into words my heart-breaking pain…It was
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