Polish Press Agency

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New Graves, Old Failures: More Bodies Discovered as Nation Struggles with “Lazarus Legacy”​

Warsaw – November 10, 2006​

Almost a month after the arrest of Dawid Kaczmarek, the man believed responsible for the deaths of sixty-seven disabled individuals across Poland, new questions—and new remains—have begun to emerge from beneath the surface of a country still reckoning with its failure to protect the most vulnerable. Late last week, workers clearing ground for a housing project outside Olsztyn unearthed what forensic experts now confirm are human remains, including two skulls bearing signs of blunt-force trauma consistent with previously documented killings. The bodies were found wrapped in canvas and buried beneath concrete near a now-defunct rail line decommissioned in 1996. The Ministry of Justice released a brief statement on Friday:

“Preliminary analysis suggests the remains may be older than the 2006 murders. We are working to determine whether they are connected to the Kaczmarek case or represent unrelated historical crimes.”

But internal sources close to the investigation tell PAP that symbolic markings—including a circle drawn in lime powder—were found near the site, bearing clear resemblance to those found at Kaczmarek’s confirmed scenes. Privately, investigators now believe the first known killing may have occurred years earlier, and that the September–October murders represent only the most visible portion of a longer pattern.

“We suspect there may be victims dating back as far as 2003,” said one investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He may have stopped for a time. Or he may have gone unnoticed entirely.”

Meanwhile, debate continues over whether a national memorial should be established for the victims—most of whom were buried quietly, with no public recognition, their names often omitted from official releases. Advocacy groups have proposed turning the abandoned chapel outside Przemyśl—where Kaczmarek was arrested and three of his final victims were found—into a site of remembrance. Government officials have so far resisted, citing “respectful closure” and the need to “move forward.”

“We cannot consecrate the place of his madness,” said Minister of Infrastructure Janusz Kramek. “It would give him exactly what he wanted.”

But survivors and families disagree.

“He is not what matters,” said Maria Piekarska, mother of Jakub P., the first known victim. “What matters is that they are not forgotten. That someone remembers they were here. That someone still says their names.”

Her words echo a growing sentiment among those who have refused to let the story end with a sealed case file. In Toruń, candles still appear every Sunday beneath the mural of a tram station. In Warsaw, activists have painted the words “We Walk Among You Too” across government walls—only to have them scrubbed clean by morning. And in Przemyśl, despite the padlocked chapel doors, children have begun leaving small tokens in the snow outside: folded maps, toy trains, crumpled pages with stars drawn in marker.

 

[ManBear]

Police Resignations and Dismissals Follow National Outcry Over “Lazarus” Case​

Warsaw – November 19, 2006​

In the wake of the “Lazarus Killer” investigation, which saw sixty-seven confirmed murders across eight voivodeships in less than two months, the Ministry of the Interior has quietly confirmed a wave of personnel changes, including dismissals, reassignments, and early retirements across several levels of Polish law enforcement.

The internal review, launched in November after the arrest of Dawid Kaczmarek, has now led to the following actions:

• The resignation of Chief Inspector Waldemar Leśniak, head of the National Railway Security Directorate
• The dismissal of three municipal commanders in Toruń, Bydgoszcz, and Łódź, citing “failure to act on early patterns”
• The termination of five regional investigators for “gross negligence in pattern analysis, evidence coordination, and inter-agency communication”

Additionally, Deputy Minister of Public Safety Andrzej Zawirski has taken a medical leave of absence and is not expected to return. His departure follows sharp criticism regarding the Ministry’s refusal to acknowledge the murders as linked until the final days of October. Internal documents reviewed by PAP reveal that at least 14 warnings or connection requests between early September and mid-October were either dismissed or rerouted without action, often citing “lack of sufficient overlap” or “concerns about reputational risk.”

“There were cracks everywhere,” said one senior officer, who spoke under condition of anonymity. “None of us wanted to believe that someone was targeting these people—because believing it would mean admitting we couldn’t protect them.”

While the Ministry has framed the dismissals as “a step toward rebuilding trust,” critics see them as a symbolic purge, designed to contain public anger without addressing systemic flaws.

“They’re punishing officers at the middle tier while shielding the policymakers who ignored every red flag,” said Paweł Rosowski, legal analyst and former justice aide. “It’s theater.”

Disability rights organizations have echoed the sentiment, calling for a full parliamentary inquiry, including testimony from survivors, family members, and advocacy groups whose early warnings went unheeded.

“This wasn’t just one man with a hammer,” said Natalia Jankowska, speaking on behalf of Inclusion First. “This was years of silence, underfunding, and indifference that allowed him to walk between cities unnoticed while the dead piled up.”

As of today, no one at the ministerial level has resigned voluntarily. Meanwhile, documents from the Lazarus Task Force remain sealed by court order, and journalists attempting to access internal communication logs have been denied under national security exemptions. The state has yet to release the full list of victims.

 

[ManBear]

Parliament Opens Inquiry Into Government’s Mishandling of “Lazarus” Killings​

Warsaw – November 21, 2006​

After months of mounting pressure from opposition parties, disability rights groups, and the families of victims, the Sejm officially opened a public inquiry this morning into the state’s handling of the Lazarus Killer case, which left sixty-seven confirmed dead between September 4 and October 31, 2006.

The inquiry, formally titled the Special Commission on Systemic Failures Related to Serial Transit Killings, will investigate:

• Early breakdowns in communication between regional police departments
• The failure to recognize or act on patterns in the killings
• The lack of interjurisdictional data sharing
• Allegations of dismissed tips and ignored warnings
• The Ministry of the Interior’s delayed public acknowledgment of a serial threat
• Broader questions of bias, neglect, and ableism in public safety infrastructure

The commission will be chaired by MP Wiktoria Śliwińska (PO) and includes representatives from across the political spectrum, including both ruling coalition and opposition parties.

“We are here not only to examine the failure of protocol,” Śliwińska said in her opening remarks, “but to confront the deeper truth: that sixty-seven people were killed, and for far too long, no one with power truly saw them.”

The hearings will include testimony from:

• Senior Ministry of the Interior officials
• Municipal and regional police commanders
• Forensic investigators and crime scene analysts
• Survivors and family members of victims
• Disability advocates and NGO leaders
• Selected journalists and independent researchers

The first two hours of proceedings were dominated by heated exchanges over internal Ministry memos, some of which were leaked last month, showing that early warnings submitted by local precincts were marked “low priority” or never escalated to command channels. One such memo, submitted by officers in Bydgoszcz on September 8, reportedly flagged “potential behavioral and location overlap” between three early victims. The inquiry revealed it was never forwarded beyond district level.

“You had this in front of you four days after the first murder,” said MP Jakub Milewski (Lewica), holding the memo aloft. “And you filed it away next to a stolen bicycle report.”

Minister of the Interior Tomasz Radecki, who has thus far refused calls for resignation, was not present during the session. His office issued a brief statement indicating his willingness to “fully cooperate” when scheduled. Outside the Sejm, families of victims gathered in silent protest, holding signs that read:

“They Were Seen Too Late”
“We Don’t Want Apologies. We Want Change”
“Say Their Names”

Disability rights groups have called for the commission to result in permanent legislative reform, including:

• Mandatory national protocols for identifying and flagging inter-regional violent patterns
• Funding for inclusive transport security measures
• Annual audits of crimes against disabled individuals
• Permanent victim memorialization in Warsaw

While public trust in government handling of the case remains low, many hope the inquiry will finally give voice to those who, until their deaths, were rarely heard.

“This commission won’t bring anyone back,” said Anna Hryszko, the lead investigator who tracked Kaczmarek to his final crime scene. “But it might stop the next silence from turning into a grave.”

The inquiry is expected to last several weeks.

 

[ManBear]

Citizens Begin Building Unofficial Memorial in Defiance of Government Silence​

Kraków – November 28, 2006​

In the absence of government action, a coalition of artists, disability advocates, and grieving families have begun constructing an unofficial memorial to the victims of the Lazarus killings in an abandoned rail yard on the outskirts of Kraków—less than 300 meters from the site where one of the earliest victims, Mateusz W., was found in September.

The memorial, called “Stacja Ciszy” (The Station of Silence), currently consists of sixty-seven wooden posts, each carved with a first name and a pair of initials. A weathered bench has been placed at the center, facing an unmarked track where no trains have run in over a decade.

“It’s not sanctioned. It’s not protected. But it’s ours,” said Aleksy Orłowski, one of the organizers. “The government thinks if they say nothing, this will fade. We’re going to make sure the silence has a shape.”

The site already draws dozens of visitors each day—many leaving items associated with the victims: ticket stubs, maps, toy trains, and solar system drawings.

Local officials have so far made no attempt to dismantle or obstruct the effort. One city councilor, speaking anonymously, said:

“If we won’t build it with concrete, the people will build it from memory.”

In Warsaw, where the Ministry of Culture continues to block proposals for an official monument, protests are expected to resume ahead of the next session of the parliamentary inquiry.

 

[ManBear]

Anna Hryszko, Lead Investigator in Lazarus Case, Found Dead — Final Letter Released​

Toruń – August 19, 2007​

Anna Hryszko, the former police investigator whose work led to the capture of serial killer Dawid Kaczmarek, was found dead in her Toruń flat early Sunday morning in what officials have confirmed was a suicide.

She was 41.

A handwritten letter, left on her desk beside a folder containing the names of all 67 confirmed victims, has been released with the consent of her surviving family, who requested that “Anna’s final words be heard, not interpreted.”

The note reads:

To whoever finds this and whoever still listens:

There are too many names now. Too many faces. Too many nights that I wake up thinking I had forgotten one. And each time I hadn't. That's the part that truly hurts.

I saw where they died. I saw how. I saw what we didn’t do in time.

Some of them looked at me once, before it happened, and I didn’t know what it meant. I thought it was just the job. It wasn’t.

He said they were hollow. He said they weren’t real. But I saw them.

I saw Jakub’s hands tracing a bus map with his thumb.

I saw Zofia’s smile when she talked about planets.

I saw Patryk straighten the clocks in his group home every morning.

I saw Sylwia laugh at a bird outside the tram stop, even when no one else was watching.

They were alive in ways most of us forget to be. And we let them die for it.

You called me brave. You called me strong. But I wasn’t. I was just the last person in the room when everyone else stopped listening.

I’m tired. Not of pain, of forgetting.

Please don’t forget them.

Light one candle.
Say one name.

And let that be enough for today.

Anna

---

Authorities say no foul play is suspected. Her apartment was in perfect order. A single candle had been lit on the windowsill and burned itself out overnight. No funeral date has been announced, but a vigil is planned at Stacja Ciszy in Kraków, the grassroots memorial built by victims’ families and advocates. Early this morning, a 68th wooden post was quietly added. It bore no name. Someone had carved into the grain, simply:

“For the one who remembered.”

Small items appeared at its base before sunrise: a folded tram ticket, a police badge turned face-down, and a child’s drawing of stars. The Ministry of the Interior issued a brief statement:

“We mourn the loss of Investigator Hryszko, whose dedication cannot be measured. Her service spoke when others were silent.”

No further comment has been given. But survivors, families, and those who knew her say they don’t want silence now. They want her name spoken beside the others.

“She carried more than anyone,” said Natalia Jankowska, a victims’ advocate. “And in the end, she became what this country made all of them—a person remembered too late.”