The incident took place on December 3, shortly after 11 p.m. local time, in a high-end apartment building on Św. Wawrzyńca Street. According to investigators, the suspect, believed to be the victim’s former boyfriend who may have traveled from Canada, entered the rented apartment and engaged in a violent altercation.
Neighbors reported hearing desperate screams and alerted the police. Authorities arrived at a barricaded apartment and forced entry with the help of firefighters. Inside, they found the victim, identified as Paige C. (24), lying in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds. She was rushed to a hospital, where she died the following day from extensive organ damage and severe blood loss.
“An autopsy showed that the victim had numerous stab wounds, including injuries to her chest, abdomen, and neck. Both lungs, a liver, a kidney, and a neck vein were damaged. The wounds were deep and numerous, at least a dozen, ultimately causing fatal blood loss,” Prosecutor Oliwa Bożek-Michalec, spokesperson for the Kraków District Prosecutor’s Office, told local media.
The Canadian suspect, who was discovered in the apartment having apparently attempted to hang himself, was rescued by emergency responders and later taken to a nearby police station on Szeroka Street. On the morning of December 4, as officers began questioning him, he somehow seized an officer’s firearm and shot himself, dying at the scene.
A preliminary autopsy of the suspect’s body confirmed a single gunshot wound to the head. “The suicide version is largely confirmed since no other injuries that could have caused death were found,” said Bożek-Michalec. Tissues have been collected for toxicological and histopathological tests, and Canada’s consul has been notified to inform the families of both deceased individuals.
The prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the suspect’s death at the police station, including how he obtained the officer’s firearm. “We have launched an inquiry under Article 151 of the Penal Code, concerning incitement or aiding in a suicide,” Bożek-Michalec said. “We will appoint ballistics experts to determine how the officer’s weapon came into the Canadian national’s hands.”
While the murder investigation may be closed due to the suspect’s death, authorities are focused on clarifying the sequence of events at the police station and ensuring all procedures were followed properly.
(jh)
Source: Onet, Fakt