This time it will be quite unusual because I will not present you with the disappearance or the mysterious death. The story of Agnieszka Kotlarska-Świątek is not surrounded by any mystery, although at times it is difficult to believe in some events. They took place many years ago in my hometown, Wrocław. However, I found out about the whole story only recently. Traditionally, I invite you to read this case, which shows that the line between a smile of fate and a great tragedy is often very thin.
Agnieszka Kotlarska-Świątek was born on August 15, 1972 in Wrocław. After graduating from high school, she began her studies at the Wrocław University of Technology. However, she was not given the opportunity to complete them. Due to her above-average beauty, the girl began her adventure with modeling. In the early 1990s, she was successful on a local scale, becoming Miss Lower Silesia.
However, the life of a young woman changed dramatically on July 19, 1991. On that day, the 19-year-old took part in the Miss Polonia competition. The event took place at the Forest Opera in Sopot. Agnieszka won the crown intended for the most beautiful Polish woman. As a curiosity, it should be added that the prize was ... an Ursus agricultural tractor funded by sponsors.
As impressive as it was, the greatest success was yet to come. The Miss International competition in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, turned out to be a real springboard for a great career. On October 13, 1991, so less than three months after the victory in the national competition, Agnieszka defeated her rivals again. This time, however, they were beauty queens from all over the world. In addition to winning the Miss International title, the 19-year-old was also awarded in the Miss Photo category.
After winning this prestigious competition, Agnieszka opened the door to the world of fashion. In 1992, Kotlarska signed a contract with the prestigious Ford agency, which was based in New York and Paris. The Polish woman started working as a model and appeared in fashion shows and commercials. It is worth noting that she collaborated with the most renowned fashion designers. Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein can be mentioned among them. The photos of the Wrocław woman appeared in international editions of the magazines "Cosmopolitan", "And Vogue" or on the cover of the Polish magazine "Twój Styl".
In July 1996, Agnieszka planned to take part in a photo shoot in Paris. She was supposed to get there by plane from New York. The session was postponed and the model had to change her plans. In this way, she avoided death by giving up her flight on TWA Flight 800, which crashed shortly after take-off, near Long Island in New York (USA). All passengers and crew died. One of the victims was a photographer who collaborated with Kotlarska.
Sounds like a story from the popular movie "Final Destination"? Interestingly, the plane from the Hollywood story was also supposed to land in Paris. Unfortunately, this was not the only similarity to a fictional story. Destiny turned out to be ruthless for the model. The news about the tragic accident and the fact that the former Miss Poland could have died in it was publicized by the media. This information also reached Jerzy Lisiewski.
The man was 12 years older than Agnieszka and led an ordinary life. He graduated from university and worked in a bank. However, he was quite shy and had little experience with women. The fact that he was still living with his parents did not make things any easier. You could say that his life was boring and repetitive until he met Kotlarska.
Apparently he saw Agnieszka one day at a wedding dresses show and fell in love with her then to death. The girl was still in high school and had a great career ahead of her. Jerzy's feeling quickly turned into a crazy fascination. Lisiewski started following Kotlarska, this activity was taking more and more time. The term wasn't used then, but today we would say he was her stalker. The man also obtained more information about the teenager. He found out that he was attending the same school he had graduated from years ago.
One day he found courage and spoke to Agnieszka on the bus. The girl was nice, so they started an innocent chat. Finally, Lisiewski offered to walk her home. Kotlarska agreed. She had no idea then that she met her future murderer this way. The man, in turn, found out where his future victim lives.
He also wrote letters to the chosen one of his heart. However, Agnieszka did not reciprocate this feeling. Before the Miss Polonia competition, which she won, she met Jarosław Świątek, who was one of the organizers of this event. They quickly became a couple and got married in New York.
However, at the end of 1993, the couple returned to Poland. They decided to buy a house in the woman's hometown. In 1994 their daughter was born. You could say that their life was idyllic. Everything changed, however, when Lisiewski found out about Agnieszka's return. Then the dormant and sick fascination returned. The man quickly found out where the model lives.
On August 27, 1996, a man hid in front of Kotlarska's house, waiting for her return. The waiting paid off - the Świątek family finally drove up by car. Lisiewski wanted to see the woman and talk to her at all costs. He asked her to get out of the car. Agnieszka, however, did not feel like it.
Jerzy then became irritated and became even more offensive and aggressive. Jaroslaw decided to act. He got out of the car and threatened to call the police. At that moment, jealous Lisiewski attacked Świątek with a knife. He hit him in the thigh.
Agnieszka then rushed to help her husband. She tried to overwhelm her attacker, but he was stronger than she was. The madman stabbed his beloved four times with a knife. Unfortunately, they hit the internal organs. Jarosław managed to stun the attacker and transfer his wife to the car, where she was safe. Unfortunately, the injuries turned out to be fatal. The model died on the way to the hospital. Her husband was more fortunate.
On the other hand, the killer fled the scene. Shocked, he handed the murder weapon to the woman he came across on the street. Shortly thereafter, he called the police and pleaded guilty. Later that same day, Lisiewski was arrested and then sentenced by a court. The sentence for such a crime was quite mild. The man spent 15 years in prison. He was released in 2012.
It is worth adding that this was not the only criminal incident on Lisiewski's account. On August 5, 2014, two years after his release from prison, the man attacked Roma. It took place in the killer's apartment in Psie Pole in Wrocław. A man whose identity has not been established, who lives in a Romani encampment, wanted to break into one of the houses in order to rob. He found some valuable items inside, such as computer equipment and a mobile phone. However, the thief had no idea that he was not alone in the apartment.
Its owner (who turned out to be just Lisiewski) reached for a knife with a blade almost thirty centimeters long and quietly sneaked up on the Romanian citizen. The blow was so hard it pierced the lung. However, the wounded Roma managed to escape. Jerzy Lisiewski tried to chase him. He asked one of the passersby to call the police.
When the officers arrived at the scene, they arrested the cutthroat. The man was arrested on suspicion of serious bodily harm. The District Court in Wrocław sentenced Lisiewski to a year and a half imprisonment. Given his criminal record, this sentence also seems too lenient.
Agnieszka Kotlarska was buried on August 30, 1996, at the Wrocław cemetery at ul. Grabiszyńska. Her husband is still worried about his and his daughter's life to this day. For this reason, it protects the privacy of the family. It is especially sad that the then 2.5-year-old girl saw her mother die. She was so small that she supposedly does not remember this traumatic event. However, this does not change the fact that due to the unhealthy fascination of the murderer, the girl had to be brought up without a mother.
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