Butcher found guilty of rape and murder of student Libby Squire in Hull

11 February 2021, 15:32 | Updated: 13 February 2021, 14:11

Libby Squire was murdered as she made her way home from a night out
Libby Squire was murdered as she made her way home from a night out. Picture: PA

By Patrick Grafton-Green

A butcher has been found guilty of raping and murdering university student Libby Squire after he picked her up as she walked home from a night out in Hull.

Pawel Relowicz, 26, showed no emotion as he was convicted by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court after 28 hours of deliberations.

Ms Squire's parents, Lisa and Russ, attended the whole of the four-week trial, hearing how Relowicz raped their daughter on a playing field before dumping her in the River Hull on February 1, 2019.

Mr and Mrs Squire cried and held hands in the public gallery after waiting a week for the jury to return its verdicts.

Speaking outside court on Thursday, with her husband by her side, Mrs Squire said: "As a family, today's verdict changes nothing for us.

"There is no closure. We don't get to have Libby back. Our lives don't revert back to normal.

"Libby will always be with us and we are all so proud of our beautiful, caring, wonderful girl.

"And although she has been physically taken from us, the memories we have and the love we share will never be taken."

Libby Squire&squot;s family said she was in "the best place of her life"
Libby Squire's family said she was in "the best place of her life". Picture: PA

Ms Squire, 21, had gone out with friends on the night of January 31, 2019, but was refused entry to a club because she was drunk.

She returned to her street in a taxi but, instead of going home, the philosophy student went to Beverley Road where a number of people tried to help her in the freezing conditions before she got into Relowicz's car.

The court heard Relowicz, who worked for Karro Foods in Malton, North Yorkshire, picked her up when she was drunk, upset and hypothermic before driving her to Oak Road playing fields.

He raped her and put her into the River Hull, either alive, dead or dying, the prosecution previously said.

Her body was found in the Humber estuary around seven weeks after she went missing and a post-mortem examination could not determine the cause of death.

Polish-born Relowicz, of Raglan Street, Hull, denied raping and murdering Ms Squire, who was originally from High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire.

Pawel Relowicz was convicted of rape and murder
Pawel Relowicz was convicted of rape and murder. Picture: PA

But prosecutor Richard Wright QC previously told the jury the married father-of-two's insistence that he had consensual sex with Ms Squire was a “nonsense proposition”.

Mr Wright asked the jury to consider whether a young woman who had been crying, shivering uncontrollably and begging to go home to her mother would say: "I'll lie here on this scrap of grass and I'll have unprotected sex with you here and now."

He told the jury the defendant had been out for three hours that night looking to "satisfy his insatiable sexual urges".

Relowicz admitted he "wanted an opportunity for easy sex", Mr Wright said.

The prosecutor rejected alternative possible explanations for the student's death.

He said it was true she had had mental health problems as a teenager but all signs were that this was improving and friends and family said she was not suicidal.

Mr Wright said it was not credible to argue she had accidentally fallen in the river, as she would have had to walk across the playing fields from where Relowicz had left her and was terrified of water.

And he told the jury the idea she was killed by someone other than the defendant would have been an "unholy coincidence".

Relowicz had previously admitted committing a series of sexually motivated offences in the 18 months before Ms Squire disappeared.

They included voyeurism, masturbating in the street and stealing sex toys and underwear from women's homes.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Police officer

70-year-old man dies after car crashes on to railway track

A gloved hand puts a needle into a woman's face

Health warning issued after UK cases of life-threatening condition linked to Botox

Kate Shemirani, conspiracy theorist, anti-vaxxer and former nurse

Doctor's concerns that a conspiracy theorist influenced her daughter's refusal of cancer treatment, an inquest heard

Lightning in the sky

Amber weather warning comes into place as thunderstorms bring threat of flooding

Soham monster murderer Ian Huntley has sparked outrage by wearing a number 10 Man Utd-style football shirt in an apparent reference to his victims - 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Soham monster Ian Huntley 'wears Man Utd-style top' in apparent sick reference to 10-year-old victims

Dozens of Russian spies have been sanctioned by the Government - including 18 military intelligence officers who the Foreign Office says are responsible for malicious cyber-attacks on Britain.

Revealed: Russian spies sanctioned for cyber attacks including on Salisbury Novichok victim Yulia Skripal

Demonstration on the eve of parliament voting to proscribe Palestine Action.

Five charged over break-in at weapons firm Elbit Systems UK during Palestine Action protest

A fund has been launched in memory of the two men who were found dead in the holiday pool

Sister pays tribute to drowned Briton who ‘died trying to save his friend’ in Portugal

The tech firm whose CEO was caught seemingly having an affair with his colleague on the kisscam at a Coldplay gig has broken its silence after a fake statement from the CEO went viral.

Tech firm launches investigation into CEO caught 'having an affair' on kisscam with HR chief at Coldplay gig

Distressing footage Body worn footage shows PC Lydia Ward being comforted by colleagues as she is bleeding from the nose after she tried to arrest an assault suspect at Manchester Airport.

Student tells court he 'did not know' police officers he hit at Manchester Airport were women

Sandie Peggie is the claimant in the tribunal case against NHS Fife.

NHS Fife calls in cops over threats to staff in controversial tribunal case

Arsenal unveil new signing Noni Madueke at Sobha Realty Training Centre on July 18, 2025 in London Colney, England.

Arsenal complete £50m transfer of Chelsea forward amid ‘bullying’ by section of fans

Appearing in Woolwich Crown Court, each member of the group of eight were jailed for their involvement in supplying nearly a tonne of cocaine over seven months.

Drug dealing ‘gangster granny’ who led family in lucrative £1k-a-day cocaine operation jailed for 20 years

Patrick Howlett, 58

Man who sent £56,000 to Philippines for livestreamed sexual abuse of children jailed for 30 years

The chancellor seems likely to freeze fuel duty once again in the autumn Budget, easing a burden on thousands of households amid an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Major cost of living boost as fuel duty to be frozen once again

The explosion happened at Biscailuz Center Academy Training.

At least three people killed in 'horrific incident' at Los Angeles sheriff training facility