The family of Kajetan Midgal - an 18-year-old who was murdered in Stevenage in 2022 - have released a victim impact statement after killer Patrick Sharp-Meade was today handed a life sentence.
Speaking on behalf of her husband and son, Kajetan's mum Gemma Migdal addressed the court ahead of Sharp-Meade's sentencing.
He was jailed for life and must serve 28 years minimum before he’ll be eligible for parole.
Excerpts from Mrs Midgal's victim impact statement read: "Kajetan was our first-born - the reason we had a second child, so that he would never have to be alone in this world, and what Fabian and Kajetan had as siblings was a closeness greater than even we ever hoped for.
"But now his brother Fabian is alone, without the reassurance of a brother to turn when we are gone.
"We were a happy household, a close family of which Kajetan was the life and soul, the beating heart.
"He was raised a Christian and we are proud that he lived out those values in his life, with an energy, a passion and a kindness unparalleled by many. Kajetan was larger than life.
"He was always smiling, always talking, always making plans. He wore his heart on his sleeve and he was sensitive to the needs of others.
"He knew how to love and care for people, and his emotional maturity was way beyond his young years.
"After his death, we lost count of the number of young people who barely knew Kajetan but who approached us wanting to share with us how grateful they were that he reached out to them when they were feeling marginalised, vulnerable and lonely.
"He had a special ability to sense when someone was feeling outcast, especially the neurodiverse. It was not in Kajetan's nature to be able to turn his back on people in need. He had the empathy and kindness of heart to include people when others might not.
"Our home is now empty, quiet. The vacuum that has been left behind is enormous. It engulfs us all, all of the time.
"Yet, this is our home, and it is where we come together at the end of each exhausting, difficult day to be together and to try to process our emotions, so that we can start again on the relentless emotional treadmill the next day.
"The joy in our lives has been put out. The laughter has gone.
"We know we are not alone in our grief. Also devastated by his loss are his grandmother Lorna, his grandmother Zofia in Poland and the rest of his extended family across the UK, the US, Poland and Spain."
"Kajetan also had an incredibly wide circle of friends from many different walks of life, all of whom have been affected in different ways by his death.
"His year group at school were at an exciting point in their lives, having all recently turned 18, in the middle of sitting their A-level exams, and all looking forward to the paths that lay ahead of them.
"Indeed, that very night they had all come together joyously to celebrate their shared schooling experience of seven years, and for some of them, a period of education shared since starting nursery at the age of four.
"In addition to the impact this had on them during their exam period, these young people have had to deal with the kind of loss which no 18-year-old should have to process.
"No doubt they will carry this loss with them throughout the rest of their lives. Especially those present with him during the last moments who witnessed the terrible and harrowing attack and who felt powerless to help. The psychological and emotional impact of this is profound and still affects them today.
"It is worse still for those of us present at the hospital, including his girlfriend, brother and grandmother, who helplessly witnessed Kajetan's life ebb away before us. I cannot describe to you what those four hours at the hospital were like - it is unbearable pain.
There were brief glimmers of hope, when the doctors and nurses fighting so hard to save him thought they may have been able to do so.
"But it soon became apparent that although they tried, and they tried and they tried, they could not repair the damage. We were asked to say goodbye to our wonderful precious boy and reassure him that he could go.
"Kajetan must have been aware because at this point we saw tears roll down his cheeks as we held his hand and stroked his hair. It replays as a harrowing video on a loop in our heads.
"Kajetan was a pacifist who hated violence and had a phobia of knives. He couldn't even bear to see us walking around the kitchen with them and would often berate us for this. We are haunted by the thought of how frightened he must have been to see the weapon.
"Haunted by how alone he must have felt when he fell to the ground bleeding, knowing he had been stabbed. Haunted by the pain he suffered during the attack, at the scene as they tried to revive him, and might have continued to suffer at the hospital.
"No parent should have to bury their child under such senseless circumstances. Yet this is the task that we faced. And Kajetan's death is not just our loss. In having to bury him, we became aware of just how many lives Kajetan had touched in his short years."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel