A man died from stab wounds after 'falling onto his own knife' during a row with a housemate, an inquest has heard. Hubert Kacperek sadly passed away on April 12, 2021 at a house in Eccles.
The opening day of an inquest into his death at Bolton Coroners Court today heard how the 41-year-old was said to be holding the kitchen knife during a ‘coming together’ with a housemate, Aderman Laban, on the day of his death. Mr Laban told police that as Hubert came at him with the knife in his right hand, he ‘twisted’ Hubert’s hand and pushed him away, the inquest heard.
Mr Laban went on to tell police that his housemate fell and the knife went into Hubert’s chest, the hearing was told. Mr Laban said he attempted CPR on Hubert before calling police and claiming that he had stabbed someone.
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Dr Charles Wilson, a Home Office pathologist, recommended that the cause of death for Hubert should be recorded as a stab wound to the chest.
Dr Wilson’s said that Hubert was found with a stab wound near his armpit of his left arm, a collapsed lung and severe bruises and cuts to his elbow, palm and thumb. However, he added that there was no signs Hubert was involved in a fist fight.
In relation to Mr Laban’s recount of Hubert holding the knife at the time of the incident, Dr Wilson said that ‘accidentally caused stab wounds are very rare’ but ‘the specific circumstances of this case do sit very well with the account given by Mr Laban.’ Hubert's direct family members were not in court, however his close friends, Krzystof Glydziak and Dagmara Dag, attended on behalf of his family, who are originally from Poland.
The inquest heard how the pair ‘doubted’ the witness report that Hubert was holding the knife. The inquest is set to go on for another two days, with evidence from 12 people to be heard. Mr Laban was set to be one of the witnesses, however did not attend the first day of the inquest.
At the time of his death, Hubert was staying in a shared property in Liverpool Road that was an eight bedroom, three storey home and occupied by people from a number of different countries. The court heard how only a few people living there were classed as ‘vulnerable’ and that they had been moved to the property after losing their home at a block of flats in Rusholme.
'Someone has been killed here, do you know that?'
One of the witnesses who spoke at the inquest was cleaner, Sahra Noor, who was hired to clean the apartment on the day of the incident. During her evidence, the court heard how Sahra said she had seen ‘two men chasing each other’ while she was hoovering one of the two kitchens in the home.
She described the two men as ‘one black man and one white man' but said she did not know where they came from, or hear what they were saying as she was ‘focused’ on her work. She said: “While I was doing my job cleaning a male came to me and said, someone has been killed here, do you know that?"
The court also heard written evidence from Hubert’s son, Bartosz Kacperek, who detailed his father’s love for nature, gardening and cooking. The court heard how Hubert had a number of jobs before moving to the UK to start a new life when his relationship ended with Bartosz’s mother.
Hubert’s childhood friend Krzystof also gave evidence. He described Hubert as ‘kind man’ who was against ‘violence and racism’ and was working two jobs to support his son and former partner back in Poland. During the inquest, an emotional Krzystof said: "He was a really nice guy, he didn’t want to hurt any one and I don’t believe he can put a knife on anyone. It’s just not true, he was a really nice and trustful guy.”
Coroner Rachel Syed commended Kyrzstof for how ‘dignified’ he remained throughout the day and said she was sure Hubert would be ‘proud’ of him.
Greater Manchester Police had launched a murder investigation following Hubert's death. Two men were initially arrested, however nobody has been charged over his death.
The inquest resumes tomorrow (August 25).
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