Family of man killed at Peterborough party speak of heartbreaking loss at losing ‘son, baby brother and uncle’

Daniel Szalasny (22) died after he was stabbed through the heart by Bradley Plavecz at the party in Crown Street, Peterborough in May last year.

Today (Tuesday) Plavecz was convicted of murder following a trial at Peterborough Crown Court.

MORE: Peterborough man guilty of murdering fellow party goer after stabbing him through the heart

Plavecz had admitted stabbing Daniel - but said his ADHD caused him to lose self control, with his legal team calling for the jury to return a not guilty verdict to murder - but a guilty verdict to manslaughter.

A post-mortem examination concluded Daniel suffered six stab wounds and died of a single stab wound to his chest, which pierced his heart. He also had a broken nose and cheekbone, abrasions to his face and defence wounds to his arms.

In a statement following the verdict, Daniel’s family said: “Daniel was a very cheerful person, no matter what, he had a smile on his face. He had a good heart and would help anyone in need.

“He had his whole life ahead of him and was taken from us – our son, baby brother and uncle – changing our lives forever, leaving emptiness that can’t be filled. There is not a day that we don’t think about Daniel and the pain after losing him doesn’t get any weaker, there is no way to describe how devastated we are.

“It tears us apart that we will never see him starting his own family, enjoying his life, and sharing that with us. Without a reason we have been sentenced to a lifetime of emptiness.”

DCI Emma Pitts, from the Beds, Cambs and Herts Major Crime Unit, said: “This is another tragic case where a young life has been lost to knife crime.

“Plavecz, a young man himself, has previous criminal convictions which have included a number for possession of an offensive weapon and violence.

“Something happened that morning, that trigger of being punched, at which point he lost it. He chose to carry a knife and the question has to be asked what his intent was.

“I urge our communities to help us prevent other lives being lost and report information to us about people who carry knives or weapons. This can be done anonymously and could be a couple of minutes out of your day which saves someone’s life.”