Family of murdered graduate beg Goverment not to deport Polish killers as their sentences will be cut

The family of a murdered graduate has petitioned the Government to rule against the deportation of her three Polish killers who could have their sentences slashed.

The evil trio were each given a minimum of 32 years in jail after they carefully plotted the death of Catherine Wells-Burr, whose body was found in her burned-out car.

But the Government is now considering deporting Rafal Nowak – who posed as Catherine’s doting boyfriend – and his jealous mistress Anna Lagwinowicz to Poland.

This would mean they could be released SEVEN YEARS earlier because of more lenient Polish sentencing guidelines.

Foreign courts have approved a plea to move the pair back to their homeland – but the final decision is currently being considered by the Ministry of Justice.

Catherine’s mum Jayne, 47, has collected more than 9,000 signatures which she handed in at Downing Street on Thursday, asking the MOJ to quash the killers’ appeal.

Lagwinowicz’s uncle Tadevsz Dmytryszyn – who helped her dispose of Catherine’s body – is also in the process of negotiating a similar deal.

Callous Nowak, 31, suffocated Catherine with a pillow as she slept at the home they shared in Chard, Somerset, in September 2012.

The body of the 23-year-old was taken in her red Ford Focus to a layby in Ashill a few miles away where his lover Lagwinowicz, 32, and Dmytryszyn, 38, were waiting.

They waited until 6am to give Nowak time to get to work before they poured petrol inside the car and set it on fire with Catherine’s body strapped in the driver’s seat.

The trio all denied murdering Catherine but were found guilty in June following a seven-week trial at Bristol Crown Court.

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Speaking from London, Jayne, said: “To them it seems that Catherine is just a name on a piece of paper, but she is our daughter.

“We heard back from Jeremy Wright [the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice] and the letter basically said that as the family of a victim we don’t have any rights.

“They don’t even have to legally tell us what is happening – you would think morally they would though, but apparently not.”

Jayne, from Chard, in Somerset, added: “If they are successful they will get seven years off.

“These three are highly dangerous people who systematically plotted and planned Catherine’s murder.

“They can move on.  We feel like if they are allowed to go back to Poland they are being rewarded.

“They get less time and a fresh start – while we are left with the real life sentence of a life without Catherine.

“I feel we have been let down. The British justice system worked really hard to secure these convictions and this just makes a mockery of them.

“We knew that in 32 years time they would have to face our loss again in our victim impact statements and it made us feel reassured that Catherine and our loss would not be forgotten in the process.

“But, here they are flouting the system.”

Jayne – who has not been contacted by Polish authorities about the appeal – found out when a Polish friend read about the hearings on a website.

She says the trio would face lighter sentences in their homeland because Polish law does not take into consideration planning and means of disposal of the body when setting tariffs.

During the trial, Bristol Crown Court heard Catherine was in a deadly love triangle with two-timing Nowak and Lagwinowicz who despised her.

Nowak and Lagwinowicz decided to kill her last September in a bid to grab her six-figure life insurance and share of her house.

Before the murder they planted messages trying to suggest that business analyst Catherine, who also worked with Nowak, was having an affair.

The killers also created fake profiles for blameless Catherine on sex websites – and even left her car at a notorious ‘dogging’ spot.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “It is absolutely right that foreign offenders should, where possible, serve their sentences in their own country.

“One of the many factors taken into account when determining any application is how long the offender has left to serve.

“In this case no decision has been made on whether a repatriation request would be granted.”