Solved case · 1990
Also known as Skin Hunters · Łowcy skór
The short answer
Four staff members of a hospital casualty department in Łódź, Poland were convicted of murdering at least five elderly patients and taking bribes to tip off funeral homes about patient deaths, in a scandal publicly dubbed the "Skin Hunters" case.
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Suggest coverage for this caseBetween 2002 and 2009, an investigation and prosecution centered on a hospital casualty department in the Polish city of Łódź, where staff members took bribes from local funeral homes in exchange for advance information about patient deaths, and where at least five elderly patients were killed to generate additional cases. The bribes, which ranged from 12,000 to over 70,000 złoty per patient, were passed on to bereaved families as an added charge on their funeral bills.
The scheme became public on January 23, 2002, when journalists Tomasz Patora, Marcin Stelmasiak, and Przemysław Witkowski published an investigative article in the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. The article described hospital workers and paramedics contacting funeral homes about patient deaths in exchange for payment, and in some cases killing patients outright. Because staff reportedly referred to deceased patients using a slang term, the press dubbed the scheme "Skin Hunters" (Łowcy skór), the name by which the case has since become known.
Four hospital employees were convicted and sentenced on January 20, 2007. Paramedic Andrzej Nowocień received a life sentence for murdering four patients and for helping fellow paramedic Karol Banaś kill a further patient; he was reported to have confessed to a cellmate to more than 50 murders, though he was legally convicted only of the counts above. Banaś was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment for the murder of patient Ludmiła Ś. — a killing the court characterized as "particularly cruel" — and for helping Nowocień kill the other patients. Both men were found to have used the muscle relaxant pancuronium, sold under the brand name Pavulon, to kill patients. Physicians Janusz Kuliński and Paweł Wasilewski were convicted of willfully endangering ten and four patients respectively; each was banned from practicing medicine for ten years and received prison sentences of six and five years.
The convictions were upheld by the Łódź Appeal Court in June 2008, and a further appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court of Poland on October 27, 2009. At the time of reporting, a separate investigation into roughly forty other casualty-department staff remained open, along with an inquiry into the funeral home's owners over their role in receiving the tip-off payments. The case has been described as one of the most notorious in Polish legal history.
Gazeta Wyborcza publishes an investigative article by journalists Tomasz Patora, Marcin Stelmasiak, and Przemysław Witkowski exposing the bribery-and-killing scheme, giving rise to the "Skin Hunters" nickname.
The main perpetrators are arrested.
Four hospital casualty department employees are sentenced: paramedics Andrzej Nowocień (life imprisonment) and Karol Banaś (25 years), and physicians Janusz Kuliński (six years) and Paweł Wasilewski (five years).
The Łódź Appeal Court upholds the convictions and sentences.
The Supreme Court of Poland rejects a further appeal, concluding the case.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
At least four other elderly patients in the Łódź hospital casualty department murdered by paramedic Andrzej Nowocień using the muscle relaxant pancuronium (Pavulon), with the assistance of fellow paramedic Karol Banaś. The source does not give their names.[3]
Elderly patient in the Łódź hospital casualty department; killed by paramedic Karol Banaś in a murder the court characterized as "particularly cruel," with the assistance of fellow paramedic Andrzej Nowocień.[3]
Paramedic in the Łódź hospital casualty department; sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering four patients and for helping Karol Banaś kill a further patient. Reported to have confessed to a cellmate to more than 50 murders, though convicted only of the counts above.[3]
Doctor in the Łódź hospital casualty department; sentenced to six years' imprisonment and banned from practicing medicine for 10 years for willfully endangering 10 patients.[3]
Paramedic in the Łódź hospital casualty department; sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment for the "particularly cruel" murder of patient Ludmiła Ś. and for helping Andrzej Nowocień kill four other patients.[3]
Doctor in the Łódź hospital casualty department; sentenced to five years' imprisonment and banned from practicing medicine for 10 years for willfully endangering four patients.[3]
From the record
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