“Who conducted these proceedings? Who dealt the cards in the courtroom?”
Photo: Art Service 2/PAP
It is not known where, it is not known how, it is not known when Robert J. was to kill 23-year-old Katarzyna Z. and remove her skin. Despite this, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment. Incriminating evidence? A pheasant feather, two degenerate hairs and the testimony of anonymous witnesses that no one but the judge saw or heard.
- The appeals process in one of the most mysterious but terrifying criminal cases in history is coming to an end.
- In the first instance, the proceedings were held behind closed doors, only the Court of Appeal in Kraków decided to allow the public, including journalists, into the courtroom.
- Thanks to this, previously unknown information came to light. According to the defendant's lawyer, his client was deprived of the right to defend himself.
- The prosecutor's office is conducting a second, parallel investigation into the murder of Katarzyna Z., where, according to the defense, there may be evidence proving Robert J.'s innocence.
Robert J. was sentenced in September 2022. by the court of first instance to life imprisonment for killing and skinning 23-year-old student Katarzyna Z. The public had not previously known what evidence was the basis for this verdict, because the District Court in Kraków, at the request of the prosecutor, classified the entire trial from the very first hearing.
When the case was brought to the Court of Appeal in Kraków, there was a sudden turn. The appeals court declassified the trial and allowed the public, including the media, to hear speeches from both the prosecutor and the defense. Thanks to this decision, we can reconstruct what happened behind closed doors during the first trial and even earlier – at the stage of the prosecutor's investigation.
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