Killer who punched man to death put him in a taxi claiming he was unconscious through intoxication
Serhiy Pelykh, 24, of North Road, Brentford, was convicted of the manslaughter of Stepan Suslyk, 40, of Greenford at the conclusion of the trial at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, 17 June.
He was sentenced at the same court on Friday, 18 June to five years' imprisonment, after an initial trial in February 2020 failed to reach a verdict.
An investigation was launched after police were called on Sunday, 16 June 2019 to a north London hospital where Stepan Suslyk had been taken by London Ambulance Service suffering from a head injury. He sadly died two days later having never regained consciousness.
A post-mortem examination on 21 June at Fulham Mortuary confirmed the cause of death was as a result of blunt trauma to the head.
An investigation was launched and established that both Serhiy Pelykh and Stepan had spent the evening of 16 June at the Ukranian Social Club on Holland Park Avenue. They did not know each other prior to that night.
Witness accounts state that the two, who were both Ukrainian, left together in the early hours of the morning after Pelykh had agreed to help Stepan find a way to get to his home in Greenford.
As they walked to find a taxi in Holland Park Avenue, W10, a disagreement started that escalated with the defendant punching Stepan in the face at least once, causing him to fall to the ground.
Pelykh did not call an ambulance and as passers-by began to gather, he claimed that Stepan had fallen over having drunk too much and was intoxicated. He maintained this pretence for about an hour before a taxi was called to take Stepan home.
Pelykh also travelled in the taxi with Stepan before leaving him with Stepan’s housemate. When police spoke to Pelykh during the early stages of the investigation he denied all knowledge of the events that had caused the fatal bleed to the brain.
Pelykh was subsequently arrested on Thursday, 20 June on suspicion of murder. He answered no comment to questions in interview before providing a prepared statement indicated that he acted in self-defence.
However, he was charged and subsequently convicted of Stepan’s manslaughter.
Detective Inspector Maria Green, a homicide detective from the Met’s Specialist Crime, said: “The death of Stepan Suslyk was tragic, unnecessary and wholly avoidable. All he wanted to do was get home after spending the evening socialising with friends.
“Instead Serhiy Pelykh’s violent actions have robbed a wife of her husband and two children of their father. I hope that this conviction has brought some justice for Stepan and his family, but of course it will never bring him back.”
