Michelina Lewandowska was bound and gagged by boyfriend Marcin Kasprzak before being dumped in a shallow grave in woodland near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. She escaped by using the engagement ring given her by Kasprzak to tear her way out.
Kasprzak had denied attempted murder, claiming he only intended to scare his victim. But after hearing how he had buried the box under layers of dirt and then placed a heavy tree branch on top of the soil, the jury at Leeds Crown Court returned a guilty verdict. He will be sentenced next month.
The court heard that Kasprzak had wanted to get rid of his girlfriend so that he could have sole custody of their three-year-old son, Jakub.
The pair met in Poland six years ago and came to live and work in England.
Detective Chief Inspector Lisa Griffin, of West Yorkshire Police’s homicide and major inquiry team, said that it had been proved the crime was not a “prank” bust instead a “a serious and determined attempt to end a young mother’s life”.
