On the day Karol Kot celebrated his high school diploma, militia knocked on his apartment. All of Kraków could breathe a sigh of relief. The two-year-old nightmare has ended.
Quote taken from ONET.PL (Polish News Site)
What is a Serial Killer?
As Wikipedia points out, a serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three murders, others extend it to four or lessen it to two.
Although psychological gratification is the usual motive for serial killing, and most serial killings involve sexual contact with the victim, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that the motives of serial killers can include anger, thrill-seeking, financial gain, and attention-seeking. The murders may be attempted or completed in a similar fashion. The victims may have something in common, for example, demographic profile, appearance, gender, or race. A serial killer is neither a mass murderer nor a spree killer, although there may be conceptual overlaps between serial killers and spree killers.
Who was Karol Kot?
Karol Kot (18 December 1946 – 16 May 1968) was a Polish serial killer who terrorized the city of Kraków. Kraków was the city he was born and raised in, until his capture in June 1966. Due to trial evidence and to the seemingly random choices of victims, which included children and elderly people, Kot was nicknamed the “Vampire of Kraków”. After the trial, in which Kot pleaded guilty to all the crimes he was charged, he was sentenced to death on 14 July 1967. After an appeal, the death penalty was reinstated and carried out on 16 May 1968 when Kot was 21 years old.
Karol’s background
Karol Kot, popularly known as “Lolo”, attended the Technical High School in Krakow at Loretańska Street. He came from an intellectual family, his father was an engineer, his mother was a housewife and a social activist. Karol was a member of the National Defense League, the Socialist Youth Union and the Citizens’ Militia Volunteer Reserve.
There were signs…
When Karol Kot was caught, through further investigation, it turned out that as a high school graduate he was enjoying the abuse of animals. In his cruel aspirations he killed birds, moles or calves. During one of the holidays, he assisted with slaughter at the slaughterhouse. As he mentioned, he loved to drink warm blood.
My parents went on vacation to Pcimia (it’s a hole near Myślenice). It was boring, so I went to the slaughterhouse there and assisted in killing calves. I liked this view and finally tasted warm blood.
Karol Kot – “Vampire of Kraków”
In an interview given later, he said directly that he was killing for pleasure and that if he could, he would kill all the women in the world. He also betrayed his unfulfilled fantasies of orgy, which he wanted to have with his classmates, which were to be tortured. Here is what he told about his interests:
One of my dreams came true, I wanted and I was an executioner of people, although I was thinking about a bigger slaughter, a real big crematorium. If there was a war, I would like to be the head of a concentration camp, cut off the breasts of women and put them under the helmets of soldiers, so that they do not oppress their heads. I dreamed of mass murders in gas chambers, round-ups, quartering people. I wanted to kill all the women, except maybe two – my sister and cousin. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it. I don’t know who lost it.
Karol Kot – “Vampire of Kraków”
Kraków of the mid-1960s was filled with horror, paralyzed by fear
In the mid-1960s, the inhabitants of Kraków were paralyzed with fear. In particular, older people of Kraków began to be afraid of leaving their homes, fearing a killer attack. Terrified residents began to speculate who might be responsible for the terrible crimes. The beginning of the long chain of fear lasting two years was the event of September 1964, when a stabbed woman was brought to the Kraków hospital.
“Do you know that the easiest way to the heart is through the back?”
Karol Kot – “Vampire of Kraków” – final interview
The First Victim
September 21st, 1964 – as he later said, something urged him to kill. Karol took two knives with him and went to the city. He concluded that it would be easiest for him to kill some lonely woman praying in church. First he went to the Capuchin church, but he did not find a faithful fit for a potential sacrifice. Then he went to the church of the Monastery of Sercanki at Garncarska St. He waited a long moment before the opportunity arose. 48-year-old Helena W. came to the church, and when she knelt down, “Lolo” pulled out a knife and pushed her in the back. Drunk, he escaped and licked blood at one of the nearby gates. He did not know that the blow he inflicted was not serious and the victim survived.
Karol Kot confessed to all his crimes and many more…
In the summer of 1966, the Civic Militia knocked on the door of Kot’s state and he was caught (much to Kot’s surprise, who did not know he has under surveillance for several weeks).
During the interrogations, Kot confessed not only to the two murders and four attempted murders but also to poison and arson attempts. It turned out that he tried to deprive people of life not only with a knife but also by adding sodium arsenate to various liquids. For example, in a bar “Przy Błoniach” he poured the poison into a bottle of vinegar, but he deeply regretted that no one had poisoned himself. He also tried to leave poisoned orangeade and beer in different places.
The Death Sentence
Experts for a long time could not judge whether Karol Kot is mentally ill or not. Some of them were of the opinion that he was a psychopath and should be directed to involuntary isolation treatment. He underwent a battery of psychological tests. The prosecutors amassed 8,000 pages of evidence in 18 volumes.
The prosecutor, however, did not accede to these opinions and in the indictment, he presented “Lola” as a healthy person, and only to the bone marrow immoral. Despite the defenders’ position, the accused also tried to present himself as a read and aware person of his actions.
The court did not believe the defenders and sentenced Karol Kot to death. As a result of his appeal, the second instance court turned him into life imprisonment, but as a result of the prosecutor’s intervention, he was again sentenced to death. The sentence, by hanging, was carried out on May 16, 1968.
“Soon, where I’m going, I’ll meet with my victims, and we can speak. Here on Earth, I have no one to talk to.”
Karol Kot – “Vampire of Kraków” – final interview
The… Aftermath?
The autopsy of the corpse, after Karol Kot’s execution, revealed a massive tumor in his brain. It is nowadays widely known and accepted that brain tumors can completely change one’s personality – their thoughts and desires. It may have been bad luck and lack of diagnosis, making his brain tumor grow, and pushing him into doing these unthinkable things… or it might have been just his nature to kill – we will never know…
P.S. You can find more about Macabre Krakow and Karol Kot’s story also by joining in the Macabre Krakow: Free Walking Tour – I sincerely and wholeheartedly recommend it! 🙂
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug, Bringing You Scary Stories About Krakow
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