EXCLUSIVE: ‘Incest house of horror’ father accused of killing three babies in his basement ‘deliberately starved his St Bernard dog and had it permanently chained up’ animal charity claims
- Piotr Gierasik, 54, allegedly deliberately starved his elderly dog Bethowen
- Piotr and daughter Paulina face life in prison for incest and murder of babies
The father who lived in Poland’s incest house of horrors where the remains of three babies were found in the basement has also been accused of cruelty to his St Bernard dog.
An animal charity which is now looking after the elderly dog called Bethowen believe he was deliberately starved and spent his entire life chained up.
The underweight dog was hardly able to walk when he was recovered last Friday after police raided the home of Piotr Gierasik, 54, in the village of Czerniki, northern Poland.
He is now recovering, along with two cats from the property, at the ‘Animalsi’ Foundation Animal Shelter in the nearby town Kocierzyna.
Police found the remains of three babies in the basement of the cottage where widowed Piotr lived with his daughter Paulina, 20, and her 24-year-old mentally disabled brother.
One baby is said to have been born from Piotr’s rape of an older daughter while the last two came from an alleged consensual relationship with cake shop worker Paulina.
He has now been charged with three counts of murder, one count of incest with Paulina, and the rape of his older daughter.
An animal charity which is now looking after the elderly dog called Bethowen believe he was deliberately starved and spent his entire life chained up
The underweight dog was hardly able to walk when he was recovered last Friday after police raided the home of Piotr Gierasik, 54, in the village of Czerniki, northern Poland
The spot where Bethowen, the St Bernard dog, was chained next to a hole in a barn wall acting as a makeshift kennel at the home of Piotr Gierasik
The spot where Bethowen, the St Bernard dog, was chained next to a hole in a barn wall
Depraved Piotr Gierasik, 54, is pictured after he was charged with incest and murder
Paulina who had tried to conceal her latest pregnancy from work colleagues is also charged with incest and two counts of murder of her infants.
‘Incest house of horrors’ father ‘beat and chased his mentally disabled son out of the home when he wanted to have sex with his daughter’
Staff at the Animalsi shelter which looks after 230 dogs and more than 50 homeless cats posted pictures of Bethowen showing his shocking condition on their Facebook page.
The post said: ‘The whole of Poland is reeling from the drama that took place in one of the towns in the Stara Kiszewa commune.
‘We are receiving more and more blood-curdling information from everywhere.
‘We were there to secure the animals staying there – Bethowen, a nice senior citizen Róa, and two cats are already here in the shelter.
‘But we are shocked that the big St Bernard weighs only 28kg and has spent his entire life on a chain.
‘The dog needs more thorough examination and certainly treatment (you can immediately see his sick eyes).
‘Currently he can barely stand, so we will provide him with good quality meals several times a day. Thankfully he does have a good appetite.’
The post said that Bethowen who is believed to be around ten-years-old had been due to visit a vet this week.
It added: ‘We are convinced that in a few months Bethowen will be a beautiful and strong dog. Pets will no longer return to their previous owners.’
The post concluded with a plea for donations to help the running of the shelter, saying: ‘If you want to help Bethowen, we will be grateful for even the smallest donation.’
Staff at the shelter have since insisted that they had no knowledge of the condition the dog was kept in before they were alerted by police.
The underweight dog was hardly able to walk when he was recovered last Friday after police raided the home of Piotr Gierasik, 54, in the village of Czerniki, northern Poland
The chain used to secure Bethowen, the St Bernard dog, outside
The chain used to secure Bethowen, the St Bernard dog, outside
The Animalsi dog shelter in Poland where Bethowen, the St Bernard dog, is recovering after being neglected by Piotr Gierasik
Paulina (right in handcuffs) who had tried to conceal her latest pregnancy from work colleagues is also charged with incest and two counts of murder of her infants
Polish animal lovers have flooded Animalsi’s Facebook page with messages sending warm wishes to Bethowen and praying for his recovery.
Hanka Bromirska wrote: ‘Good luck dog. You deserve love and a warm home.’
Karolina Stawiarska-Kocent added: ‘Further proof some people don’t deserve to own animals. They treat them like slaves rather than family members. Disgusting!’
The authorities in Poland revealed this week that Piotr had faced five previous investigations into alleged incest and family abuse before the bodies of the babies were found.
Grayna Wawryniuk, a spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Gdansk told MailOnline that Piotr first faced an allegation of incest 12-years-ago, and then another about ‘two or three years later’.
The other three investigations centred on alleged abuse of members of his family in more recent years.
Ms Wawryniuk said all the investigations were ‘discontinued’ with no charges bought due to a lack of evidence.
Jobless Piotr had 12 children with his late wife Hanna who died aged just 38 in 2008, leading villagers to openly voice their suspicions that Piotr had abused her.
The poverty-stricken family first came to the attention of social services many years ago and first put under supervision by a judge in Gdansk to December, 1997.
The family later moved to the Czerniki area, and the supervision order was transferred with them.
Views of basement at the home of Paulina Gierasik and her father Piotr in Czerniki, Poland, where three dead babies were found
The pair are being held in custody while prosecutors probe their relationship and the discovery of the remains of three babies in the basement of their isolated home
Babies were found buried in shallow graves in the basement
Piotr Gierasik, 54, would allegedly force his 24-year-old son to leave the house (pictured) in the village of Czerniki, northern Poland, whenever he and his daughter Paulina Gierasik, 20, wanted to sleep together during their four-year relationship
Local media reported today that the District Court in Kocierzyna limited Piotr’s parental authority over his remaining children in March, 2015. He was also ordered to complete parenting lessons.
The probation officer’s supervision gradually ended when his children became adults, and was finally completed in May last year due to the youngest child coming of age, it was reported.
Villagers have claimed that they alerted authorities over the years after hearing the sounds of ‘moaning and screaming’ from Piotr’s detached home on the outskirts of Czerniki.
Others became suspicious after seeing shaven-headed Piotr walking hand in hand with Paulina, and appearing to treat her more as wife than a daughter.
The father and daughter are also said to have been seen choosing perfumes together on rare outings to a local shop and calling each other, ‘Darling’.
Piotr’s alleged reign of terror was only finally exposed last week after staff at the Cukiernia cake shop in Stara Kiszewa where Paulina worked suspected that she was wearing baggy clothes to conceal her latest pregnancy.
One colleague told social services that Paulina may have secretly given birth after she seemed to have lost weight when she returned from ‘holiday’.
The tip off led to a social worker visiting Paulina and coaxing her into confessing what had happened after persuading her domineering father to leave the room.
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