Szczepan Paśnik

Szczepan Paśnik (1887 – 7 April 1922), known as The Polish Landru , was a Polish serial killer who, together with his wife Józefa Paśnik (née Talarek; 1882 – 7 April 1922), raped and murdered at least seven women around the Warsaw region in the early months of 1922. Prior to these crimes, Paśnik escaped from serving a 12-year prison sentence in the Russian Empire for murdering a guard.

After being convicted of their crimes and their appeals were rejected, the couple were jointly executed for their crimes in April 1922. Józefa became the last woman to be executed for a non-military offense in the history of Poland.

Early life and crimes Szczepan Paśnik was born in 1887 in the village of Aleksandrów, in the Masovian Voivodeship, the only son of Krzysztof Paśnik. Little is known about his early life, but around 1907, he married Józefa Talarek, who was a couple of years older than him.

Sometime around the early 1900s, Paśnik was arrested on a theft charge in Saint Petersburg. While being escorted to prison, he murdered one of the guards, which earned him a 12-year sentence at a gulag in Siberia. The killings were usually carried out with a blunt instrument or via slitting the victim's throat, and the corpses were often dismembered post-mortem. Józefa would later sell the victim's clothes at Kercelego Square.

Following his arrest, Szczepan would confess to killing at least five additional women throughout the month of February. The first known victim is Rozalia Garlicką, a cousin of Gendek's who was beaten to death with an iron bar near Duchnice. Józefa offered to meet them on the following day, and once they did, she introduced them to Szczepan, who presented himself as a wealthy farmer who had recently returned from the USA and owned a farm in Ożarów. After having a dinner with the two women, they "hired" Moroz, while Matwiejawa returned to the station to look for work. He then tried to convince the court that Szczepan was insane, pointing out that he had spent time at the psychiatric hospital in Tworki for a prolonged period of time. These arguments were rejected by Judge Jan Gumiński, who stated that there was no present doubt about the accused's mental state.

Due to the overwhelming amount of evidence against them, Szczepan and Józefa were found guilty and promptly sentenced to death. Upon hearing the verdict, Szczepan simply smiled and exhibited an odd grimace on his face, while Józefa began crying and pleading for mercy. Szczepan then calmed her down, and eventually convinced her to also smile.

On the following morning, at 6:35 AM, Szczepan and Józefa Paśnik were executed via firing squad at the Warsaw Citadel. A newspaper reported that the only notable moments from the event was the couple kissing the cross, and that they remained calm throughout the ordeal.