[WATCH] Unsuspecting landlady says Polish murder suspect ‘looked like an angel’

Valletta landlady said Polish suspect was 'like an angel'

An 83-year-old landlady received the shock of her life when plainclothes police officers called at her guest house in St Ursula Street, Valletta, asking for Kajetan Poznanski.

Poznanski, 27, today consented to his extradition to Poland. He is wanted by the Polish police over the grisly murder of his Italian language teacher in Warsaw. He allegedly killed the young women in cold blood before dismembering the body, placing the head in a backpack and stuffing the body into a suitcase.

He was yesterday arrested at City Gate, Valletta after escaping from Poland through Germany and arriving in Malta from Sicily by catamaran on 9 February. He spent his first two nights at the Asti guesthouse, and went back for another night where he was given a different room.

“He never gave us any trouble and always paid on time. He was quiet and calm … he looked like an angel,” owner Annie Galea told MaltaToday.

“He would leave at around 11am, after having coffee in his room. He would return at night, eat something in his room and sleep.”

Poznanski kept to himself, changing locations and never brought back anyone to the guesthouse. He one time checked out of the guesthouse, only to return later on in the week for another night. Seemingly indicating that he had planned on returning, Poznanski left two jackets in his room.

Before the case emerged in the Maltese media, Galea wasn’t aware of the details of his actions. When an investigating officer knocked on the door of her guesthouse, she was warned to stay away from him, as he was “a dangerous criminal”.

“The police came looking for him here and they showed me some photographs. I didn’t recognise him immediately because he was not wearing glasses in the photos. Then I realised it was him. They told me to call them as soon as he returned … but he never did,” she said, her voice trailing off.

The police officers searched the room he had stayed in, even going through the bin and confiscating some receipts Poznanski allegedly threw away.

During his arraignment, Poznanski looked distractedly around the courtroom as the formalities of the extradition were being discussed this morning, a glimmer of a smile crossing his face on several occasions.

Poznański, who had no previous criminal record or history of mental health issues, was reportedly described by acquaintances as a private and intelligent person with a passion for ancient poetry, who had become increasingly introverted after graduating.

His fondness for fictional character Hannibal Lecter, a cannibal murderer portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the movie The Silence of the Lambs, bordered on obsession. In a chilling precursor to his alleged crime, the young librarian is reported to have authored a poem, in Latin, entitled “Feast of Hannibal Lecter.”

Poznanski was listed on Europe’s most wanted fugitives.