Children of Executed Polish Serial Killer Seek to Clear His Name

He was hanged two years later in what became one of Poland’s most infamous criminal cases.

His three children, in their 60s, are now working with a lawyer, Klaudia Mokrzewska-Kowalczyk, to appeal to Poland’s Supreme Court. The attorney said they have new evidence that proves Marchwicki is innocent, but they will only present it in court.

“Compensation is not at issue here,” Mokrzewska-Kowalczyk said. “It’s to clear their father’s name and to stop the social stigma that has plagued them and their children for decades,” he said.

Forced Testimony and Shaky Evidence
Marchwicki's children also claimed that their mother had pressured them during the original investigation to give evidence against their father with the hope of receiving a 500,000 zÅ‚oty government reward.

Legal experts and critics have for long raised questions about how the case was prosecuted and the conviction, saying it was politically driven and the evidence against him was dubious.

Investigative journalist PrzemysÅ‚aw Semczuk, whose 2016 book prompted a re-evaluation of the case, argues that critical pieces of evidence had been either manufactured or mismanaged. Including, it eventually emerged, the watch of one of the victims, supposedly misplaced and then “pieced back together” for the trial.

The victim was a relative of Edward Gierek, the head of the ruling party at the time, which would have increased political pressure on investigators.

Other suspicious items were a coat and bag resembling victims, which were untraced. Semczuk also pointed out that an FBI psychological profile created after Marchwicki’s arrest didn’t fit his actions at all or his history of behavior too.

A Symbolic Fight for Justice
“This trial was not about truth, ever — it was about closing this case,” said Semczuk, who has worked closely with Marchwicki’s family over the years. “You can’t undo an execution. But you can admit an error and give the family their dignity.”

For Marchwicki’s children who have been burdened by the mark of being the “Vampire’s children”, there is something more at stake than righting a wrong from the past, it’s also about removing the legacy of social stigma and the clouds of judgment on their names.