Murder Investigation Launched Following Clapham Junction Death
Police believe Piotr Woroneicki died in violent circumstances
Victim Piotr Woroneicki was from Poland
Police investigating an unexplained death in Clapham Junction last year have now launched a murder investigation and believe the attack may be linked to an organised crime syndicate.
A reward of up to £10,000 is being offered by the independent charity Crimestoppers following the murder of 32-year-old Piotr Woroneicki, from Poland.
Police were called at 5.20am on 23 November 2017 to reports of a man found unresponsive on Parma Crescent. Detectives believe the man died some hours before and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Piotr was last seen alive at 11.32pm on Wednesday 22 November at New Covent Garden Market.
The death was originally investigated by Wandsworth CID as an unexplained death. However following a special post-mortem the cause of death was given as compression to the neck, consistent with the victim being held in a headlock for a prolonged period of time.
Following the final post-mortem result being established in July 2018, the case was handed to the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Commands and the investigation is being led by Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell. DCI Cranwell said, "We have recently taken responsibility for this investigation and I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who may have known Piotr or have heard anything about his death.
"Any information that you may have could really help this case and we urge you to contact police as soon as possible."
On the night of Mr Woroneicki's death, police were called by a neighbour to reports of an attempted burglary at his address on Clapham Common Northside.
Neighbours told police that at three minutes to midnight, two males gained entry to the communal area of the house. CCTV footage unfortunately didn't show whether the two men entered the victim's apartment or not, but showed them leaving the communal area shortly after entering.
At 3.23am the next day (Thursday 23 November and the day Piotr's body was discovered), two suspects with a set of keys tried to gain entry to the communal area of the house. However, following the attempted break-in from the night before, the locks had been changed and the suspects could not get into the building. It is unknown if they are the same people who tried to enter the building at late at night on 22 November.
Three more attempts were made to break into the building on Friday November 24th and two men got into the flat just before 2am. Shortly after 7.30am the two suspects returned and gain entry to the communal area of the building only. At about 11.15pm the two men returned and once again gained entry to the communal area of the building.
On all occasions, the suspects appear to differ in descriptions and police are keeping an open mind as to whether different people tried to enter the property.
DCI Cranwell adds, "For some reason or another, these people were intent on gaining entry into Piotr's apartment, but the motive as to why remains unclear to us.
"We are releasing CCTV footage of two suspects we want to speak to in connection with the attempted burglary. I'm sure that someone watching and listening to the CCTV videos will recognise their voices or maybe their mannerisms or the way they walk. If you think you do know or recognise them, we'd urge you to call us as soon as possible.
"What makes it even more peculiar is that we know that when officers entered the flat after the actual break in, nearly £100,000 in cash was in the living room along with a significant amount of Class A drugs. Why would someone break into a property and leave that big an amount of cash untouched?
"We are still trying to work out the answer to this question and that is why we think Piotr might have been involved in gangs or organised crime.
"For this reason, we are working alongside our colleagues from the Organised Crime Command to look into whether this murder was a targeted hit."
DCI Cranwell and his team are also working to establish a timeline of events that led up to Piotr Woroneicki's death.
-Through CCTV, investigative work and speaking to witnesses, officers have established that:
-Piotr left his home address at 9.16pm on the evening of 22 November 2017
-He was seen with 'persons known to him' in New Covent Garden Market at 10.46pm
-He was last seen in the market at 11.33pm
-He was found by a member of the public at 5am on 23 November, some hours later, in Parma Crescent which is approximately three miles from New Covent Garden Market.
DCI Cranwell said, "There are about five and a half hours that Piotr is unaccounted for where we don't know who he may have met with or spoken to and it's crucial that we fill in these missing hours to help solve his murder and convict the person or persons responsible for his death.
"The night Piotr died there was torrential rain that some could describe as 'biblical proportion'. I'm hoping that by mentioning this, it might jog somebody's memory.
"Although I have said that we believe this murder is linked to organised crime, I want to assure anyone with any information that whatever you tell us will be treated with the upmost confidence. You will be helping to take a murderer off the streets and giving Piotr's family and friends some closure in what has been a very tough period."
Anyone with any information is asked to call the incident room number on 020 8721 4054.
A reward of up to £10,000 is being offered by the independent charity Crimestoppers for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Piotr Woroneicki's murder. To give information and qualify, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through the online form
October 12, 2018