A woman convicted of fatally stabbing a man who was sexually assaulting her has lost her appeal to reduce a 17-year minimum jail term.
Martyna Ogonowska, now in her mid-twenties, was just 18 when she was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for the murder of Filip Jaskiewicz, 23, whom she stabbed in a Peterborough car park in 2018.
Ogonowska admitted to carrying the knife for self-defence, but the trial judge ruled the killing did not meet the legal threshold for self-defence.
Presiding over her trial at Cambridge Crown Court, Judge Farrell QC acknowledged that Jaskiewicz had “undoubtedly touched [her] sexually and was violent” shortly before the fatal incident.
However, the court concluded that her decision to bring a knife to the scene meant it could not be classed as lawful self-defence.
Appeal Court Upholds Original Sentence
On Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed Ogonowska’s latest challenge, having previously rejected her appeal against conviction in 2023.
Her legal team had argued that her minimum term should be reduced to between 12 and 13 years due to her youth, history of trauma, and mental health vulnerabilities.
But Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, delivering the ruling, said: “However we approach it, this was still a heavy sentence for a young person with the applicant’s attributes to bear; but… this was a serious crime even after all allowances and mitigation are taken into account.”
The court concluded the sentence was not “manifestly excessive”.
Background of Trauma and Controversial Ruling on Past Abuse
The court previously heard that Ogonowska had been diagnosed with PTSD following an alleged rape at the age of 14.
Her alleged attacker was never prosecuted. During her murder trial, the prosecution – supported by Facebook messages – claimed the encounter was consensual, a position accepted by Judge Farrell, despite her being under the age of consent.
The case has drawn criticism from women’s rights advocates. Justice for Women described Ogonowska as a “double victim of a misogynist justice system”, while Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, questioned whether prosecutors followed guidance on rape myths when the alleged victim later became a defendant.
However, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith backed the original judge’s findings, stating: “It was a tough decision for the judge to take… but this court is neither entitled nor in a position to overturn his finding.”
Sentence Considered Trauma, but Not Diminished Responsibility
Judge Farrell had acknowledged Ogonowska’s troubled past, citing multiple personal difficulties, including her migration from Poland at age 12, school bullying, postnatal depression, and challenges in adapting to life in the UK.
He reduced the minimum term from the standard 25 years to 17, taking into account these mitigating factors.
While he recognised her trauma reduced her culpability, the judge concluded it did not reach the threshold for a partial defence such as diminished responsibility.
