Found Deceased UK - Roman Szalajko, 62, fatally stabbed after answering the door to his south London, February 1984 *arrest in 2022*

[AcbMurders]

An incredible cold case might have been solved: murder suspect fled abroad hiding behind a dead man’s identity for nearly 40 years!

Murder suspect hid for 39 years using dead man's identity, court told

Paul Bryan is standing trial for the murder of Roman Szalajko who was fatally stabbed in 1984.

www.bbc.co.uk

The identity of his killer remained a mystery until a cold case review in 2013 when a fingerprint was linked to Paul Bryan, the Old Bailey heard.
However, the suspect appeared to have "disappeared", jurors were told.
An officer eventually tracked him down after discovering Bryan had stolen the identity of a dead man with the same name, the court heard.
Following his arrest at Stansted Airport last year Bryan, now 62, admitted having a false identity document but denied the murder of Mr Szalajko.
Opening his trial on Tuesday, prosecutor Louis Mably KC said the Polish victim was a longstanding UK resident.

Man in court accused of stabbing 62-year-old to death after nearly 40 years

Roman Szalajko died in South London on February 7, 1984, but the cold case has remained a mystery for decades

www.mylondon.news

Prosecutor Louis Mably KC told thow divorcee and dad-of-two Roman had been stabbed in the stomach whilst on the phone to a friend who overheard him shouting 'Help, help' before the line was cut by the attacker.

He also gave some context about Roman's 'secretive' background as a financial advisor to a wealthy widower, whose son-in-law he was in a 'falling out with' over money and a power-of-attorney agreement he did not want to her to sign.

Mr Mably said this, and taking bribes to ensure another man remained her builder, were part of "slightly murky financial dealings" in the Polish community at the time. He also noted Roman kept large amounts of cash in the flat and his wallet.

 

[AcbMurders]

Man accused of stabbing Polish money lender to death was 'only there as muscle'

Paul Bryan's DNA was found on the bloodied vest of Roman Szalajko - his barrister has asked jurors to consider if this alone means he was the man holding the knife

www.mylondon.news

On Friday, November 3, Mr Ryder told jurors Mr Bryan's fingerprints were found on the mead bottle, and his DNA on Mr Szalajko's hair and bloodied white vest, because he had joined a man called Toni Strachota to settle a dispute over whether Mr Strachota's mother, Ms De-Lusignan, a widower in her 80s, should sign over power of attorney to her financial advisor Mr Szalajko. (…)
"It was a very very long time ago. He was 22 then. Somehow he got involved in this. Though I accept he's had a knife with him on a number of occasions, he never used it to injure another person before or since the incident. And he's never been involved in violence before or since this incident," Mr Ryder told jurors.

Addressing Bryan's use of a dead Welshman's identity for nearly four decades, Mr Ryder said it 'does not add up' and asked jurors to consider why his client had used his real identity at various times in the 1980s and 1990s, giving his name to police during a trial for having an offensive weapon, and in 1997 for drug possession. "The real Paul Bryan, as it were, stood up," Mr Ryder quipped.

 

[AcbMurders]

Paul Bryan: 'Fantasist' killer convicted of murder after 39 years on the run

Paul Bryan is found guilty of stabbing Roman Szalajko to death after being on the run for 39 years.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[dotr]

Fugitive who took on identity of dead Welshman jailed for life for murder

After killing a man in his twenties, Paul Bryan took on the identity of a dead Welshman with the same name and embarked on a new life in Portugal, Crete, Spain and France

www.walesonline.co.uk

Emily Pennink, Press Association, 8 DEC 2023

Roman Szalajko, who was fatally stabbed after he answered the door to his flat in south London in February 1984 (Image: PA)
''A murderer who assumed the identity of a dead man and travelled around Europe to evade justice for 39 years has been jailed for at least 24 years. Enforcer Paul Bryan was 22 when he fatally stabbed 62-year-old Roman Szalajko in the stomach at his flat in Kennington, south London, in February 1984.

Afterwards, he took on the identity of a dead Welshman with the same name and embarked on a new life in Portugal, Crete, Spain and France. The Army reject and "fantasist" became a suspect when his fingerprints were identified from a bottle at the scene during a cold case review in 2013.''

Paul Bryan (Image: PA)