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    Silesian Police Solve 17-Year-Old Cold Case Mystery

    After a decade-long cold case, police officers from the Cold Case Squad have finally cracked a murder mystery that had been unsolved for 15 years. The victim, a 50-year-old man, was killed in November 2005 in the city of Zabrze, Poland. Working alongside the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Gliwice, the officers from the ‘X-Files’ were finally able to bring justice to the victim and his family.

    The officers of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Katowice established that three men were responsible for the crime, who tried to burn and hide the body after the murder. All of them heard the murder charge and by court decision were taken into custody. They face life imprisonment.

    The unravelling of the crime from 17 years ago is the result of the work of police officers from the Team for Undiscovered Crimes of the Criminal Division of the Regional Police Headquarters in Katowice, i.e. from the so-called ‘X-Files’. This team is made up of very experienced police officers. Their task is to analyse cases which were discontinued years ago and which, using the latest research techniques, now have a chance of being solved.

    In November 2005, the overburnt body of a man was found in a forest in Zabrze. An autopsy showed that the man had been strangled and that the arson had already occurred after his death. After checking his fingerprints, it turned out that the murdered man was a 50-year-old resident of Malbork, who had been living in Zabrze for a year after leaving custody. Investigators working on the case at the time carried out several activities to establish the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime. Among other things, the police officers carried out a detailed inspection of the places connected with the murder case and questioned many people who might know about the incident. Even then, they had already tentatively identified the persons who could be responsible for the murder. However, they were unable to prove this because the suspects had prepared alibis for themselves and were unanimous in giving a course of events favourable to them. Despite months of intensive work, including the questioning of more people, the case remained unsolved. However, criminals can never feel unpunished and justice can reach them even after many years.

    In 2022, Silesian police officers from the so-called X-Files returned to the discontinued proceedings. The law enforcement officers once again subjected the entire evidence gathered in the case to a detailed analysis. They also once again questioned many people who, in their opinion, could have had relevant information, including the men who were suspected of committing the crime. The thorough investigation ultimately established the true course of events in 2005 and identified three men from Zabrze, now aged 39, 60 and 65, as the perpetrators of the murder.

    Thanks to the new evidence gathered by police officers from the Cold Case Squad of the Regional Police Headquarters in Katowice, the suspects were brought to the Gliwice District Prosecutor’s Office, where they heard a charge of murder. At the prosecutor’s request, the District Court in Gliwice decided on a three-month arrest for all the men. They face life imprisonment for murder.

    After decades of silence, justice has finally been served. A long-unsolved case has been cracked and the perpetrators of the crime will be held accountable for their actions. This is a reminder that no matter how much time has passed, no crime is perfect and each can be solved. In this case, justice has been a long time coming, but it has finally arrived.

    Credits: Silesian Police Headquarters

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