Man charged with assaulting British singer Leona Lewis

Friday, October 16, 2009

A man has been arrested and charged after the assault of British singer Leona Lewis, which occurred on Wednesday. The attacker turned out to be 29-year-old Peter Kowalczyk, who suffers from a health condition called anaemia, which causes a reduction from the normal number of red blood cells. The condition also causes a decrease in oxygen-binding ability. His parents said that it “affects his state of mind”. He had also been suffering from a series of psychological problems, of which he was getting music therapy for from the National Health Service (NHS).

It was thought that he attacked Leona Lewis out of envy because she had won the third series of The X Factor UK, whereas he was turned down from the show, according to British tabloid The Sun. On Wednesday, Leona was signing copies of her autobiography “Dreams” for attending fans in a Waterstone’s book specialist store in the Piccadilly region of London, England. Kowalczyk was believed to be waiting for five hours to get an autobiography signing. When he did attack Lewis, he was immediately wrestled to the ground by security guards at the scene, while Leona was escorted away. The attack left a large bruise on her head.

Peter has been arrested and charged with assault. He was placed into a psychiatric hospital and sectioned under the Mental Health Act 2007 on Thursday. As a result of this incident, Leona Lewis has cancelled a trip to Germany, where she would have signed more copies of her autobiography. The 24-year-old singer is now being cared for in her East London home by Jo and Maria, her parents, and is also being comforted by Lou Al-Chaama, her boyfriend. It has been reported that Kowalczyk is due to appear in a court in late October 2009.