A man charged with murdering his father in Farmington last month allegedly confessed to the killing and said he had no remorse after years of alleged abuse.
Joshua Popielarczyk, 31, of Avon allegedly told police the killing of his father, 62-year-old David Popielarczyk, was premeditated and that he “would do it again,” according to the arrest warrant affidavit obtained by investigators with the Farmington Police Department. He allegedly said he had thought about killing him since he was 9 years old, the warrant affidavit said.
Joshua Popielarczyk faces one count of murder and remains held in lieu of $3 million bond, according to court records. He did not enter a plea during a previous court hearing and was scheduled to face a judge again on Tuesday, records show.
The warrant affidavit supporting the murder charge had been ordered sealed by a judge when Joshua Popielarczyk was arrested on Nov. 15, a day after his father was found dead in his Birch Street home. Officers responded to the home just after 4 p.m. when David Popielarczyk’s wife called 911 and said she found him on the floor with “blood everywhere,” the warrant affidavit said. She told a dispatcher he was dead and that she believed he had been shot.
Emergency crews who responded found David Popielarczyk lying face-down in the living room area with a wound on his back that was first suspected to have been caused by buckshot or birdshot from a shotgun, according to the warrant affidavit. There was blood around his head, which was coming out of his ears and blood spatter on the wall, police wrote.
Medics pronounced David Popielarczyk dead at 4:15 p.m., the warrant affidavit said. Police searched the home and found that no one else was inside.
According to the warrant affidavit, David Popielarczyk’s wife told police she had left their home around 10:30 a.m. and that he was still undecided at that time whether he wanted to go hunting with a friend. She said their son had come to the home around 8 a.m. and the pair tried to go for a walk but it was too cold.
The wife said she later went to Joshua Popielarczyk’s apartment in Avon where she helped him with some chores, the warrant affidavit said. She said they then went to a store to get his phone fixed but realized on the way that they had forgotten the device, so they turned around, according to the warrant affidavit.
After that, the wife said she went home and found David Popielarczyk injured, believing he had had been shot, the warrant affidavit said. She agreed to speak more with investigators at the police department.
Meanwhile, officers went to Joshua Popielarczyk’s apartment to notify him about the death. He appeared upset and cried briefly and declined to go to the department where officers said his mother was waiting and wanted to meet him, the warrant affidavit said. He reportedly told police he wanted to sleep.
The mother later requested a ride to her son’s apartment. While on the way, police asked her if anyone had been driving her green Mercedes Benz and she told them no, the warrant affidavit said. When told that a FLOCK automated license plate reader had picked up the vehicle three times on the day of the killing between 12:18 p.m. and 3:37 p.m., she told police her son had used the car but did not why, according to the warrant affidavit.
Once they arrived at the apartment, the wife was “adamant” that she did not want police to accompany her inside, the warrant affidavit said. Officers said they wanted to ensure she got inside the locked building and escorted her to the apartment. She was unable to get ahold of her son and told officer she would wait in the lobby area where police left her.
Investigators ran a search of the family’s prior history with police, which turned up a domestic violence incident in September 2023 when Joshua Popielarczyk allegedly violated a protective order, according to the warrant affidavit. Another incident reported the same year involved him allegedly showing up to a residence intoxicated and causing a disturbance, the warrant affidavit said.
A neighbor who lived near David Popielarczyk and his wife spoke to police during a canvass of the area and he alleged that had seen the wife’s Mercedes being driven very fast on Jefferson Street sometime between 12:45 p.m. and 1 p.m., the warrant affidavit said. He said he could not tell who was driving but noted that it was odd to him because she would generally drive “slowly,” according to the warrant affidavit.
When police returned to the apartment building in Avon, they could not find the wife in the common area where they left her. They approached Joshua Popielarczyk’s apartment and allegedly overheard a woman believed to be the mother say “if you can’t step up to the plate, you’re going to jail,” the warrant affidavit said. The woman then allegedly said something along the lines of “you were the last one to see him” and then asked the man she was speaking with to “get away from her,” according to the warrant affidavit.
Joshua Popielarczyk then left the unit and noticed police before going back inside, the warrant affidavit said. He allegedly told them they were not allowed inside.
During the investigation, police obtained a search warrant for David Popielarczyk’s home. Investigators allegedly found two bloody kitchen knives in the kitchen sink and blood in the area of the sink.
They also spoke to a family friend who described Joshua Popielarczyk as “very troubled” and urged investigators to take him into custody, alleging he was a “danger to society,” according to the warrant affidavit.
The day after the killing, an autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that David Popielarczyk had suffered at least 20 stab wounds to his back and torso. The death was ruled a homicide.
Later in the day, investigators arranged to meet with David Popielarczyk’s wife at her parents’ home when she contacted police and asked about the investigation, the warrant affidavit said. Investigators found her at the home along with the parents and Joshua Popielarczyk.
When confronted about the license plate reader hits on the day of the killing, Joshua Popielarczyk chimed in and said he had used his mother’s car to visit a friend, the warrant affidavit said. He would not give the friend’s name, saying he did not want them involved.
Police then asked about the Mercedes being seen in the area around the time they believe David Popielarczyk was killed, and his son admitted he was the one driving, the warrant affidavit said. When asked what happened, Joshua Popielarczyk allegedly asked “What do you want me to say?”
Police allege that he then confessed to the killing and gave a detailed statement about how he did it during an interview at the home and and once he was transported to the police department after being taken into custody, according to the warrant affidavit. Joshua Popielarczyk told police he arrived at the home and was let in by his father, who sat down in a chair shortly thereafter they had an argument, the warrant affidavit said.
Joshua Popielarczyk said he approached his father from behind and put him in a chokehold before pulling him up from the chair and bringing him down onto the floor, holding him in place with his legs, according to the warrant affidavit. He tried to fight him off, but Joshua Popielarczyk said he was able to overpower him until he heard a “pop,” which he believed was his father’s neck breaking, the warrant affidavit said. He allegedly said he could hear him gasping for air and wanted to ensure that he died.
Joshua Popielarczyk then allegedly said he stomped on his head and neck before he went to the kitchen and returned with a knife, the warrant affidavit said. He allegedly said the blade was too dull to slit his father’s throat, so he grabbed a second knife from the kitchen but it was also too dull, police wrote. He allegedly confessed to using one of the knives to stab his father about 20 times, according to the warrant affidavit.
Investigators said he blamed the motive for the killing on his father’s alleged verbal and physical abuse of him, one of his siblings and their mother, the warrant affidavit said.
According to the warrant affidavit, Joshua Popielarczyk allegedly admitted he wished he had killed his father “a long time ago” and that he had been thinking about it since he was 9 years old. He also allegedly told investigators he “felt better” now that his father was dead, the warrant affidavit said.
“Joshua ended the interview by stating the murder of (his father) was premeditated, he would do it again, and he has no remorse for killing,” police wrote in the warrant affidavit.
