Man guilty of brothers' murders

The brothers were last seen alive at the Luton Carnival

A Polish man has been found guilty of the murders of two of his fellow countrymen in Luton.

Marek Miazga, 41, of Brook Street, Luton, had denied killing brothers Waldemar Markuszewski, 43, and Andrzej Markuszewski, 46.

Their bodies were found at their Luton home in June 2005 - two days after they were bludgeoned to death with bar bells, Luton Crown Court heard.

Miazga was given a life sentence and told he would serve at least 25 years.

As well as the two counts of murder, Miazga was found guilty by majority verdict of eight counts of theft or attempted theft at Luton Crown Court.

Best friend

During the four-week trial, the court heard how the brothers - Waldemar known as Waldeck and Andrzej known as Andreaus - were found dead in their home two days after they had last been seen at Luton's carnival.

The court had heard on the 30 May the pair met to talk about a building job and had drunk several bottles of vodka in a Luton park. They later met another Polish man, Remigiusz Piotrowski, who is being held in Poland on unrelated matters, and continued drinking.

CCTV pictures show the men walking through Luton town centre that day.

The prosecution said Miazga killed the men in a row over money, and then stole a bank card belonging to Waldeck Markuszewski.

'Unplanned attacks'

Sentencing, Mr Justice Keith said: "I think it's overwhelmingly likely that Waldeck and Andreaus were killed by two men, you and Remigiusz Piotrowski, and that Waldeck was killed first.

"There's no reason to think that Waldeck's murder was planned and I deal with you on that basis, that something flared up between the three of you which ended with Waldeck being killed in an unpremeditated attack.

"Nor is there any reason to suppose that Andreaus' murder was planned.

"He just stumbled on to the crime scene and had to be silenced."

The judge said he had referred Miazga's case to the Home Office to decide whether he should be deported once he had served his sentence.

Temporary Det Ch Supt Andrew Richer, of Bedfordshire Police, said he was pleased with the outcome of the trial but the case would remain open until Remigiusz Piotrowski was returned from Poland and brought to justice.