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Łódź Hospital Casualty Department Murders

SOLVED1990Łódź, Poland3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Between 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.

Key facts

Victims
Ludmiła Ś., Four unidentified patients
Date
1990
Location
Łódź, Poland
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2002-01-23

    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.

  2. 2002

    The main perpetrators are arrested.

  3. 2007-01-20

    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).

  4. 2008-06

    The Łódź Appeal Court upholds the convictions and sentences.

  5. 2009-10-27

    The Supreme Court of Poland rejects a further appeal, concluding the case.

Best coverage

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People

  • Andrzej Nowocień

    CONVICTED

    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.

  • Karol Banaś

    CONVICTED

    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.

  • Ludmiła Ś.

    VICTIM

    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.

  • Janusz Kuliński

    CONVICTED

    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.

  • Paweł Wasilewski

    CONVICTED

    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.

  • Four unidentified patients

    VICTIM

    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.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Łódź, Poland

51.7592, 19.4560

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
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.
Where did the murders happen?
Łódź, Poland.
Who was convicted?
Andrzej Nowocień (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.), Karol Banaś (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.), Janusz Kuliński (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.), and Paweł Wasilewski (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.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Poland

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICSkin HuntersWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — BBC NewsBBC News · 2026-07-12
  3. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026