Katarzyna Zowada was born in Kracow, Poland. In 1998, Katarzyna was a 23-year-old student studying Religion at Jagiellonian University.
She was quite indecisive and didn’t have a clear path set out for herself, in fact during her first trimester at University, she had been studying psychology before deciding to switch to History before finally changing her mind once again to settle on Religion.
Jagiellonian University
She was described as a nice but fragile soul. She didn’t mix with other people on her course, preferring to keep herself to herself.
She had been particularly sad and withdrawn since the death of her father two years prior. Katarzyna had been particularly close to her father and this sudden loss had left her reeling with depression. So much so, that she had begun seeing a psychiatrist to treat this and try and get her illness under control.
Around October 1998, Katarzyna began attending University less and less until she eventually stopped attending classes altogether. The reason for this is not known however it can be speculated that it was more than likely due to her ill mental health.
Nowa Huta Psychiatric Clinic
On 12 November 1998, Katarzyna was due to meet her mother at the Psychiatric Clinic, Nowa Huta, where she had been treated for her depression.
Her appointment had been scheduled for 6pm and when 6pm rolled around, Katarzyna had not shown up at the clinic.
Her mother, who was waiting for her was growing more and more concerned as the time ticked on. Twenty minutes passed, then 45, then an hour. Katarzyna’s mother had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. It wasn’t like her daughter to miss her appointment and she certainly wouldn’t have left her mother waiting for her at the clinic without telling her she wouldn’t be showing up.
For the following months, Katarzyna seemingly vanished into thin air. Nobody knew what became of her until one grisly day on 6th January 1999.
The Elk
A crew member on board the Elk pusher tug travelling on the Vistula River heard something get caught in the ship’s propeller. Tree limbs were the usual culprit, which could be pulled out in a matter of minutes.
The crew removed the latch and was immediately hit with a putrid smell that was unfamiliar to them.
They reached into the propeller and began to pull out a piece of foreign matter jammed in the ship’s propeller. This “foreign matter” was a thick, weird rubbery type of material, unlike anything they had seen before.
Nobody could at first identify what exactly it was. It was only when the crew began tugging on the foreign object that the human ear was spotted and the ‘matter’ was discovered to be a big slab of human skin.
Fragments of the body became entangled in the propeller and immobilised the ship. The crew informed the police of their discovery and when the police arrived they managed to find more fragments of her body.
The skin had become entangled in the propeller
Initially, it was assumed that a corpse was destroyed by the ship floating on the river, but during the examination of the fragments of the body, it was found that the torso skin was deliberately removed and the limbs and head were cut off.
The skin was prepared in such a way as if the killer wanted to form a skin suit, one that could be worn.
Investigators determined that the skin had been floating in the Vistula River for a few weeks at this point. After carrying out an extensive search of the river, which is the longest and largest river in Poland, on 14th January, a right leg was also recovered from the river.
Later, they also found pieces of clothing, but the rest of the remains, including the head and limbs, were never found.
The skin found on the boat
Polish law enforcement worked with Portuguese and American 3D analysis teams and DNA experts to determine that the skin belonged to that of missing Katarzyna.
They referred to the case name as ‘Leather’. A reference to the acts of Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
‘Leatherface’
Detectives determined Katarzyna was beaten, tortured, and then skinned alive.
She had apparently been kept in captivity for a while, as there were signs that her right leg (one of the body parts that was found) had been tied to something. During her captivity, it seemed that she had been drugged.
The skin suit of Katarzyna Zowada
Upon further examination, it was determined that Katarzyna’s death had not been quick. Her killer had prolonged her death, first carrying out torturous acts. The 23-year-old student was beaten first, then her neck, armpits and groin were cut with a knife and she died from blood loss. Then her skin was flayed.
The experts determined Katarzyna died of blood loss and the killer ripped her organs out of her body while she was still alive.
Her official cause of death was blood loss, and there were multiple stab wounds, chop wounds, and lacerations found on the parts of her body that were discovered.
It was determined that the killer cut the skin with extreme precision.
Initially, the police had no leads in Katarzyna’s murder case. And for a while, it appeared that it would be yet another cold case. But that didn’t stop the police from trying to investigate.
One strategy was to investigate unrelated crimes that showed similarities to the killer who had murdered Katarzyna. One such case was when a man killed and then scalped his father. The police thoroughly investigated that man for Katarzyna’s murder because skin fetishes are rare. But unfortunately, that lead didn’t pan out.
The case was closed for a while, but it was reopened later on, and it was then that the first big breakthrough was made.
This time, the FBI was called in and helped by providing a psych profile on a potential killer.
The psych profile showed that the killer “was a sadist, enjoying the harassment of women” and may likely be a prior convict. Also, judging by the brutal beating Katarzyna received, the killer most likely studied martial arts.
It would not be long, before an arrest was made…
In late 2017, the police received a letter naming the killer as 52-year-old Robert Janczewski.
Arrested: Robert Janczewski
Janczewski had been a person of interest in the initial investigation but not enough evidence was found to convict him.
The police had focused on him for a while, but this gave them the proof they needed. And when they searched his house, they found Zowada’s blood still on his bathroom mirror. He was arrested on October 4th, 2017.
Janczewski fit the psychological profile of someone who would commit an atrocious murder such as this one. He was highly trained in martial arts, and had a history of harassing women.
Beaten by his father from a young age, he was known as a sadistic boy and had been caught abusing cats and dogs when he was young.
Robert Janczewski
Janczewski had previously worked at the Institute of Zoology but had been fired after many of the animals he looked after were found killed. He never gave any explanation for what happened to them. But while he did work there, he learned how to peel away mammal skin in the institute’s very own lab.
He also displayed suspicious behaviour for a very long time before his arrest, including spying on neighbours and visiting Zowada’s grave regularly. Later, journal entries were found in his personal journal that described the murder of Zowada.
Janczewski was charged with aggravated murder with particular cruelty. He maintains that he did not know Katarzyna Zowada. Because of how high-profile the case was in Poland, the trial was a closed one. It is known however, that it began in September 2019.
As of 2023, Robert Janczewski remains incarcerated.
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