Scrap metal row murder pair jailed

Two men were jailed for life today for killing an unemployed plumber who was beaten to death after cashing in stolen scrap metal for £105.

Marcin Porczek, 37, was accused of short-changing others who had helped him strip the staircase of a disused office building where they were squatting.

One man was given just £10 and a row broke out. Mr Porczek was beaten, kicked and stamped on, said Bobbie Cheema, prosecuting.

Mr Porczek, a Polish national who was unable to work following an injury, died from brain damage and his ribs were found to have been fractured.

Miss Cheema said: "It appears Marcin Porczek was condemned to die for no better reason than he failed to pay out the appropriate share of money some of them had made from stealing metal from the place where they were squatting.

"It was a terrible way for an entirely innocent man to lose his life."

Mr Porczek's body was found at the squat in Neasden, north London, on December 13 2010.

Piotr Kulik, 30, and Krzysztof Szafisz, 34, were found guilty of murder and told to serve minimum terms of 16 years each.

Andrzej Mikolajek, 56, also of no fixed address, was cleared of murder following the trial at the Old Bailey.

Mr Porczek's nephew Lukasz Adrychowski said in a statement: "None of us knew how Marcin was living. He was living like a tramp in a disused building.

"He was a skilled man. His life became a mess. It's just so sad my uncle's life should end this way in a dirty, derelict building."

PA