CHICAGO — A judge this week sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for beating an acquaintance to death with a pipe inside a Northwest Side home where they sometimes went to do drugs. Lukasz Wiercioch
Lukasz Wiercioch, 31, pleaded guilty to murder on Monday in exchange for the sentence from Judge Michael Clancy, according to court records.
On September 2, 2022, Chicago police responding to a 911 call from a home in the 3300 block of North Panama found 46-year-old Marcos Castro unconscious on the basement floor.
Investigators learned that Wiercioch, Castro, and three others were at home, and they all did drugs there from time to time. At some point, Castro became angry because his girlfriend wanted to start dating other people, including one of the other men in the house, prosecutors claimed.
Wiercioch became involved and started arguing with Castro, who went downstairs.
Another group member was also downstairs and stepped behind a sheet that had been strung up as a projector screen. From behind the sheet, that man allegedly heard Castro tell Wiercioch to stop and heard a “thud” sound, prosecutors said. The man looked out from behind the sheet and saw Castro unconscious on the floor. He then saw Wiercioch hit Castro in the head with a metal object, officials claimed. A second person also witnessed the attack.
Wiercioch and the witness behind the sheet fled before police arrived. That witness later led police to a dumpster where Wiercioch dumped a shirt and socks after the alleged murder.
Police executed search warrants at the home and recovered metal pipes from the basement and the garage.
By law, Wiercioch must serve 100% of his sentence.
