John Sarawanskyj was sentenced to life for savagely murdering his father after claiming he saw a dog’s ghost

In a case as chilling as it is surreal, a Merseyside man has been jailed for life after murdering his elderly father in a drunken rage — spurred, prosecutors said, by paranoia, lifelong resentment, and the belief he had seen his dead dog’s ghost.

John Sarawanskyj, 52, showed little remorse as a jury found him guilty of murdering his 73-year-old father, Ivan Sarawanskyj, at their Southport home just days before Christmas last year. The court heard the bizarre and disturbing tale that preceded the brutal attack — a story involving canine spirits, a spiralling family feud, and a home drenched in blood.

Sarawanskyj’s descent into obsession reportedly began after the death of his American bulldog, Zeus. Convinced the dog had been poisoned, he began accusing neighbours, veterinarians, friends — and ultimately, his own father — of being responsible. Fuelled by alcohol and a toxic history of alleged abuse, the tension between father and son turned deadly.

In the hours leading up to the killing, Sarawanskyj was seen using a ghost-hunting phone app in the garden, claiming he was searching for Zeus’s spirit. At one point, he told a neighbour he believed his father had confessed to poisoning the dog — a taunt reportedly delivered with cruel precision by Ivan, who had a reputation for sharp and cutting remarks.

That night, after a day of drinking and escalating paranoia, John snapped. He used his father’s bank card to buy alcohol — calling it a “Christmas present” — and later chillingly told neighbours, “He will do when I get home. He’s gonna kill me.”

When he arrived at the bungalow, he launched a frenzied attack. Ivan was left with 51 fractures across his body and was found wedged between his bed and bedside table in a pool of blood. During the trial, the jury heard how John boasted to paramedics that he had “jumped all over his head” — and, disturbingly, said he didn’t regret it.

Judge Brian Cummings KC, delivering a sentence, branded the murder “a senseless and savage act.” He told the court that Sarawanskyj’s actions stemmed not from financial motive, but “an underlying grievance” — a grudge built up over decades of familial dysfunction and unresolved trauma.

“You demonstrated an utter lack of remorse,” the judge told the defendant. “This was a horrifying attack on a defenceless man who should have been able to rely on your care, not your cruelty.”

Sarawanskyj sobbed in the dock, offering up confused and inconsistent explanations, claiming he didn’t intend to cause such harm. But jurors were unmoved, reaching a unanimous guilty verdict after hearing weeks of testimony from neighbours, medical experts, and police.

The case has sent shockwaves through Southport, with locals struggling to make sense of the horrific events. The murder has been described as one of the most disturbing killings in recent memory — a cocktail of obsession, grief, and unhealed generational wounds exploding into fatal violence.

Now sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 15 years, John Sarawanskyj will spend much of the rest of his life reflecting on the deadly consequences of his actions.

Meanwhile, families across the country are left asking: how do relationships sour to this degree — and how can we spot the signs before tragedy strikes?