Pawel Relowicz: who is the butcher sentenced to life for Libby Squire’s murder - and what were his other crimes?

Pawel Relowicz was convicted of the rape and murder of university student Libby Squire at Sheffield Crown Court on 11 February - after just six days of deliberation by the jury.

The Polish national attacked and killed the ‘vulnerable’ 21-year-old in Hull on 31 January 2019 before dumping her body in a river.

Relowicz, who showed no emotion as the jury read out his verdict, has now been sentenced to life with a minimum of 27 years.

The 26-year-old killer and married father of two is already serving time for a string of offences against women, which took place prior to the murder of Squire.

So, who is Relowicz, where did he live, who are his family, and what other crimes has he committed? Here’s what you need to know.

Who is Pawel Relowicz?

Relowicz is a husband and father of two young sons.

He originally grew up in the small Polish village of Warszewice, about a 45-minute drive from Warsaw.

His sister Paulina Szymanska originally stated she didn’t believe he had committed Squire’s murder and instead had attempted to help the victim when he found her in the street, having been knocked back from entering a nightclub.

His mother, Marzena, still lives in Poland and described her son as “a religious boy” who enjoyed baking cakes and is respectful of women when he was first arrested for Squire’s disappearance in 2019.

Relowicz moved to the UK in 2012 at the age of 18, settling in Hull and marrying his wife, Jagoda, in 2014. He appeared to live a relatively normal family life in Raglan Street.

At the time of Squire’s murder, he was working as a butcher at Karro Foods in Malton, North Yorkshire, having previously worked in Cranswick outside of Hull.

The newly married couple have two sons, with the youngest being born just four months prior to the murder.

Relowicz had been a keen gym-goer and member of a martial arts club in Hull.

He was described by neighbours as a quiet family man, and colleagues said he was friendly, sociable and not someone you would expect to be troubled or capable of such abhorrent crimes.

Aleksandra Jastrzębska, who runs a Hull Polish Community centre and has spoken to a number of Relowicz’s friends and colleagues said he was described as “friendly and sociable and would never cause any problems”.

She added: “If you saw him, he looked just like any normal guy and you would never know he was capable of such things.

“People who knew him say he was a nice person and always smiling.

“He seemed to care about his family and worked hard. There simply weren’t any signs suggesting he was capable of such crimes.”

Does he have previous convictions?

Relowicz had been previously tried and convicted for sexually abusing women in the area near his home over an 18-month period from July 2017 until Libby’s death in January 2019.

The butcher had wandered in the neighbourhood around Newlands Avenue, masturbating as he stood in women’s gardens and watched them through their bedroom windows.

His first known offence was when a young woman reported she had been having sex with her partner at home in July 2017 when Relowicz put his head through an open window to watch.

A used condom and pair of pants were found outside the house where he had stood.

Just six days after his initial offence, on 29 July he burgled a woman at her home and again, a used condom and knickers were found closeby.

In December 2017, he burgled another property on the same street where he lived and took sex toys.

Then, a woman had entered her bedroom after a shower when she noticed him staring through the window - he ran off when he was spotted.

In May 2018, another student caught him watching her and her flatmate through their window - this time he did not run off and instead watched for some time before leaving casually.

On Boxing Day 2018 Relowicz committed another act of voyeurism when he returned to the home of one of his previous victims and watched her without her knowledge as she danced in her home dressed in only a bra and leggings.

Just 19 days before Squire went missing he masturbated in the street in front of two women walking home at approximately 2.30am on Wellesley Avenue, the street on which Libby Squire also lived.

He followed two women home to their shared residence after masturbating in front of them in the street, before ejaculating on their front door.

Then, between 25-28 January 2019, he burgled a student residence where he stole sex toys, underwear and lubricants.

When he was arrested in connection with Libby’s disappearance in February 2019, his car was searched and two masks and a pink holdall with vibrators and personal photos were found.

He initially denied the claims made against him when he was arrested in August 2019 in relation to the sex offences, but later admitted to them when his semen provided a DNA match to those found at the crime scenes.

In a separate trial to the murder of Libby, he admitted four offences of voyeurism, two of outraging public decency, and three of stealing items including sex toys and underwear in burglaries. Relowicz is currently serving five years and eight months in prison.

Andrea Simon, director of the charity End Violence Against Women Coalition, has asked for an investigation into why students were not made aware of the string of offences that took place in the Hull area in the months and weeks running up to Libby’s murder.

She said: "We know that if action isn't taken it simply reinforces a sex offender's sense that they can get away with it and that can lead to a tragic escalation in the seriousness of their offending."

In response, Detective Superintendent Martin Smalley from Humberside Police told Sky News that an internal review into the handling of Relowicz’ previous offences had been conducted and concluded "proportionate investigations" had been carried out.

He added: "They were asked to identify whether anything more could have been done to prevent the tragic death of Libby Squire.”

What happened to Libby Squire?

The 21-year-old University of Hull student had been a “beautiful, caring and wonderful girl” her mother Lisa said, following the conviction of her murderer.

On the night of 31 January 2019, the young woman had been put into a taxi by her friends when she was knocked back from a nightclub.

When she arrived at or near her address she got out of the taxi and wandered off, refusing help from a passersby when she fell on ice.

The trial heard how Relowicz “prowled the streets” in a state of “heightened sexual arousal” on the night Libby was raped and murdered.

Relowicz admitted he had gone out that night to commit similar offences to those previously carried out - stalking women and masturbating in public.

He also said he had gone out that night to find someone to have sex with, before stumbling upon Squire.

He helped her into his car, alleging later that he was taking her home, before then stating he had consensual sex with her in playing fields a short distance from where she went missing. He said he then left her there, alive.

Relowicz said: “I didn’t do anything to Libby. I didn’t kill her, I didn’t rape her and I left her where I said I left her.”

Prosecutor Richard Wright QC instead told how Relowicz had taken advantage of her.

He said: “In Libby Squire he found the opportunity he was looking for and he went further than he had done before, driving her away, raping her and killing her.”

An investigation found that Squire may also have been suffering from hypothermia. Witnesses also reported hearing screams from the playing fields on the night she disappeared.

The 21-year-old’s body was found by a fisherman in the Humber estuary nearly seven weeks later.

Her cause of death could not be determined and it was not known whether she was dead or alive when she entered the river.

Relowicz was convicted of Squire’s rape and murder and sentenced to life with a minimum of 27 years on 12 February 2021.