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Polish 'Hannibal Lecter' arrested in Malta, placed in psychiatric detention
Hannibal Lecter-obsessed Pole Kajetan Poznanski, arrested in Malta to face criminal proceedings in a murder trial, has been transferred to a psychiatric detention centre
Kajetan Poznański was arrested at City Gate, Valletta, on 17 February on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant
Polish national Kajetan Poznański, who was arrested and extradited from Malta in February, has been transferred from a detention centre in Warsaw to a psychiatric ward at a detention centre in the north western Polish city of Poznan.
Poznański, who is said to have a borderline obsessive fondness for fictional character Hannibal Lecter, a cannibal murderer portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the movie The Silence of the Lambs, is suspected of murdering his 30-year-old Italian language teacher, identified only as Katarzyna.
A collector of Samurai swords, Poznański is thought to have used one of the Japanese blades for Katarzyna’s murder at her flat in Warsaw’s Woli district. There, he allegedly killed her in cold blood before dismembering the body, placing the head in a backpack and stuffing the body into a suitcase.
Over the coming weeks, Poznański is to undergo intense psychiatric examinations by several expert psychiatrists who will examine his current mental state to stand trial.
Poznański’s current detention term expires on 4 February next year, however this is likely to be extended even further.
The first set of psychiatric experts appointed by the Warsaw prosecutor's office earlier this year had found that the 27-year-old was completely insane.
Poznański was arrested at City Gate, Valletta, on 17 February on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant, after escaping from Poland through Germany and arriving in Malta from Sicily by catamaran on 9 February.
His arrest was the result of a joint operation by the Criminal Investigation Department, the Cyber Crime Unit, and Immigration police.
During the first hearing earlier this year, details of his crime were divulged. He explained that the lecturer was a random victim which he was not acquainted with before, reportedly claiming that he had killed her as an element of "self-improvement". He did not express any remorse. He said he wanted to see if "human life is not worth more than a pig and a mosquito."
