SA murderer Pawel Klosowski sentenced to at least 34 years behind bars for shooting dead his son Lukasz and Chelsea Ireland

After watching Chelsea Ireland and Lukasz Klosowski’s murderer receive one of the longest sentences in SA history, their families spoke powerfully outside court. 

Pawel Klosowski – the man who hunted down and shot dead his son Lukasz Klosowski and Lukasz’s girlfriend Chelsea Ireland in a moment of inexplicable rage – will spend at least 34 years behind bars.

In sentencing on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Anne Bampton said she would have imposed a non-parole period of 40 years for the “deliberate and purposeful” murders but reduced that term to 34 years, allowing a 15 per cent discount for Klosowski’s early pleas of guilty.

She said his pleas were “the only mitigating factors” in the murders, as she handed down a mandatory head sentence of life in prison.

“You will be 80 years of age before you will be eligible for parole,” she said.

Klosowski, 46, shot the two 19-year-olds dead at his Mt McIntyre property, between Millicent and Kalangadoo in the South-East, while fuelled with alcohol and rage after an argument broke out on August 22, 2020.

He had ordered the pair to leave the property before retrieving his gun from a locked safe and chasing them upstairs as they went to grab their belongings.

He shot Lukasz and then went after Chelsea, who had locked herself in the bathroom and called triple-0 to alert authorities. He shot them both at close range.

Family members of the victims shouted furious abuse at Klosowski, yelling that he was “finished”, as he was led to the cells to begin his sentence – one of the longest in SA legal history.

Lukasz Klosowski and Chelsea Ireland were murdered by Pawel Klosowski. Picture: Supplied by family

Chelsea Ireland’s sister Maddie, mother Debra and father Greg enter court with supporters ahead of Pawel Klosowski’s sentencing. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier

Speaking outside court, Chelsea’s father Greg Ireland, said Klosowski’s lengthy sentence would not bring back his daughter, or Lukasz.

“We will never understand why this happened and we will spend the rest of our lives grieving and asking why,” he said.

“Today marks the end of one incredibly difficult chapter. Tomorrow we continue with the much more difficult task of learning to live without Chelsea and Lukasz.”

He also thanked the family, police, prosecutors and Chelsea and Lukasz’s friends, who he said had shown “outstanding resilience and compassion” which provided a source of strength.

Lukasz’s mother, Magda Pearce, said nothing could compensate for their loss.

“They were just beautiful kids, they were loving, happy, so smart. They were so good together,” she said.

“This is not the end for us, this is just a progression. We just want them back.”

While listening to the sentence, Mrs Pearce was overcome and left the courtroom for a few minutes. Justice Bampton, whose voice wavered as she sentenced Klosowski, waited for her return before continuing.

She said Klosowski’s actions had inflicted gut-wrenching pain upon Lukasz and Chelsea’s families.

“The anguish and heart-wrenching pain your offending has wrought on Lukasz’s mother, stepfather and little brother; Chelsea’s mother, father and sister; their extended families and their friends is profound,” she said.

She said she was unable to do justice to the victim impact statements which were read out at a hearing last month, where the young couple’s families described their insurmountable grief at the loss of the much-loved teenagers. They had also described Klosowski as “evil”.

“It is clear that Lukasz and Chelsea’s legacy is that they made the world a better place for their families and those whose lives they touched,” Justice Bampton said.

“It is to be hoped that the love and joy for life they had, as so eloquently spoken about in the statements, will give their families and friends the strength they need to find solace and peace.”

Lukasz Klosowski and Chelsea Ireland’s families described their insurmountable grief. Picture: Supplied by family

Justice Bampton said Klosowski was fuelled by alcohol and rage after arguing with Lukasz and Chelsea while the family was outside after having dinner.

She said he “badgered” Lukasz into talking about his plans to move out of his mother’s house to live with friends, causing Lukasz to become upset.

About half an hour before the murders, Chelsea had texted a friend saying the evening had “turned to shit”, with both Lukasz and Chelsea brought to tears.

She said Klosowski’s wife, who remains supportive of him, had tried to defuse the situation.

The group had moved inside the garage, but Klosowski remained angry and continued to argue.

At about 11pm Lukasz had sent a video to a friend during the arguments, where Klosowski is heard yelling. In a second recording Klosowski sounded “angry, agitated and intoxicated”.

“You told Lukasz and Chelsea to pack their bags and get off the property. Your wife said they could not leave as everyone had been drinking,” Justice Bampton said.

Pawel Klosowski was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 34 years.

Lukasz and Chelsea then went inside and upstairs to pack their belongings, but Klosowski stormed after the pair. Chelsea had tried to block Klosowski from following Lukasz but he pushed past.

Klosowski then pushed Lukasz on to the bed in the spare room, telling him to pack his things and leave.

“You said something to Lukasz which caused him to respond ‘does that make you feel tough? Is that going to make you feel better?’

“Lukasz was crying and you said to him ‘cry, cry little baby’.”

Klosowski then turned to Chelsea and pushed her on to the bed and held himself over her while yelling after she swore at him.

“You then got off the bed stating ‘f*** this, where’s my gun’,” Justice Bampton said.

“You pushed past your wife, went into your bedroom and collected your gun safe keys before going downstairs.”

Lukasz and Chelsea on holiday.

Chelsea and Lukasz at a celebration.

Klosowski’s wife then got her two children to hide outside, while Chelsea and Lukasz packed their bags.

“You unlocked the gun safe and retrieved a firearm. You put a round of ammunition in each barrel and put further rounds in your pocket,” Justice Bampton said.

Klosowski then fired twice at Lukasz, the second shot striking him in the chest.

Chelsea had dialled triple-0 from inside the locked bathroom, telling the operator her location, that shots had been fired and that “her boyfriend’s dad was really angry”.

“She said she was locked in the bathroom and you were trying to shoot them.

“You reloaded the firearm and fired at the locked door gaining entry into the bathroom where Chelsea was in the bathtub on the phone to emergency services.”

Pawel Klosowski committed the murders after angry words insulted his pride, the court heard.

After the murders, Klosowski went outside to his wife and said: “I think I shot my son … Can you go and have a look?”

Police arrived soon after midnight, finding Klosowski’s wife and children crouched in small alcove at the rear of the property and Klosowski sitting on a couch in the loungeroom with the loaded gun.

At a hearing last month, Mrs Pearce said her “incredible” son was “kind, generous, funny, creative, loyal, brilliant and so, so incredibly young and hopeful”.

She said despite years of ridicule and bullying at the hands of his father, Lukasz had forgiven and reconciled with him. That tragically cost not only his life, but the life of the young woman he loved.

Chelsea’s parents had described their grief as “every parent’s darkest nightmare”, with the loss of their daughter leaving “a gaping hole” in the hearts of many.

“My heart has been shattered, my soul has been ripped apart,” Chelsea’s father, Greg Ireland, said.

They had asked the court to impose the harshest sentence possible upon Klosowski and refused to listen to his apology, leaving the court before he read it aloud.

Klosowski tearfully said he had “acted like a monster” and killed “two wonderful young people”.

“The world would be a better place if I had shot myself instead,” he said.

He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.22 at about the time of the murders.

The only murderers to receive a longer sentence than Klosowski in SA are Snowtown killers John Bunting and Robert Wagner and sex predator Mark Errin Rust (life without parole); child murderer Dieter Pfennig (60 years non-parole); Hillier triple murderer Steven Peet (36 years non-parole); and Kapunda triple murderer Jason Downie (35 years).

Originally published as SA murderer Pawel Klosowski sentenced to at least 34 years behind bars for shooting dead his son Lukasz and Chelsea Ireland