The disturbing case of Vladimir W. 

Vladimir W. A 26-year-old man from Caucasus, living in Poland, stabbed his father to death with a screwdriver before skinning his entire face. He lured his father into the cellar at a their home. Before stabbing him, he tried in vain to electrocute him using a stun gun.  After his death he hung his Father upside down by his legs and decapitated him using a surgical scalpel and shovel. He bled his Father’s corpse out into an old bucket. He then took his father’s decapitated head and neck to his room and scalped it. Afterwards, he threw the head into the garden, then using a needle and thread he sutured together the soft tissues of the scalp and neck together, additionally trying to repair them with a prosthetic plastic mass. He then dried it out with salt, preventing putrefaction. He proceeded to place the scalp-mask over his own head. He put on his father’s clothes and a hat, glasses, and a scarf. He then left home and sat on a bench where he was met with his Grandfather. He pretending to be the Father. His Grandfather who was visually impaired didn’t recognise him and was sure that he was talking with his son. After a while they even went and had breakfast together. Finally the Grandfather noticed how unnatural his “Son’s” voice was. His Grandfather got suspicious and went down to the cellar where he found his son’s headless body. He went to the neighbours house to call the police. Realising that the crime had come to light, Vladimir fled, taking the clothes his father wore on the day of his death and hid them in a place nearby. He then sat on a bus stop bench, where he was later arrested. Motive for the murder was reported as a revenge killing. At the trial, Vladimir testified that the murder was meant to be a work of art, illustrating extreme human meanness and an act with no holds barred. His crime was inspired by a killer in the movie Seven. He wore the scalp-mask on his head to see whether his grandfather could recognise him. Psychiatrists diagnosed Vladimir with “borderline” Schizoid personality disorder. He was sentenced  to 25 years in prison. 

the murder of Katarzyna Zowada

Vladimir W. was later falsely accused of the murder, of Katarzyna Zowada, 23-year-old female university student. On 12 November 1998, Katarzyna was due to meet her mother at the Psychiatric Clinic in Nowa Huta, where she had been treated for depression. She never made it to the appointment. Later that day, Katarzyna's mother attempted to file a missing person's report at the local police station but was told to wait. On 6 January 1999, while on the Vistula, the crew of the Elk pusher tug found a piece of foreign matter on the ship. After examination, it was discovered to be human skin. DNA tests indicated it belonged to Katarzyna. On 14 January, Katarzyna's right leg was also recovered from the river. In May 1999, the Forensic Medicine Unit in Kraków received a corpse of a man with a severed and scalped head. The killer, Vladimir W. originally from the Caucasus. Prior to the arrest, he was seen in a mask made of skin pulled from the head of his own father. Initially, investigators suspected that Vladimir committed Katarzyna's murder, however, no evidence was found to support it. In 2012, thanks to advances in the field of forensic research and cooperation with experts, the prosecutor's office resumed the investigation. The exhumation and additional autopsy of Katarzyna's remains were ordered. Experts from the 3D Expertise Laboratory of the Wrocław Medical University created a model of injuries inflicted on the victim. They concluded that the attacker had used a sharp tool to wound his victim on her neck, armpit and groin, to inflict pain and cause her to bleed to death.  In 2016, investigators consulted with University of Coimbra professor Duarte Nuno Vieira, a Portuguese specialist in forensics and UN expert in the field of signs of torture on the human body, confirmed that Katarzyna was tortured before her death and that the perpetrator was probably trained in martial arts, specifically one particular, undisclosed variation. On 4 October 2017, 19 years after the murder, police arrested 52-year old Robert J. Investigators searched his apartment and found blood in the bathroom. As a result, the bath and frame were secured for further testing. He was a person of interest in 1999 but had not been arrested. Robert J. fit the psychological profile as he was trained in martial arts, knew the victim, visited the victim's grave and had a history of harassing women. He had previously worked in a dissecting lab, where he dealt with human corpses. He also worked at the Cracow Institute of Zoology, where he could observe the process of preparing animal skins. His employment was terminated the day after he killed all of the institute's rabbits during his shift. Robert J. couldn't explain his actions. The police detained him after a letter from the suspect's friend. The contents of the letter are a closely guarded secret of the investigation. Robert J. was charged with aggravated murder with particular cruelty. He maintains that he did not know Katarzyna Zowada. The Court of Appeal agreed to extend his detention until 6 September 2018 while investigators gathered evidence.

As of September 2019, Robert J. has not yet been released. Investigators requested a closed trial.