Mieczysław Zub

Mieczysław Zub (born in Krzeczyn Mały on October 10, 1953 - died September 29, 1985)^[1] was a Polish serial killer who killed 4 women around the area of Ruda Śląska. The militia gave him the pseudonym 'Fantomas'.

Murders

Mieczysław Zub committed 4 murders and 13 rapes at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s. At the beginning of his criminal activity, Zub was a policeman by profession; he would wear his uniform while committing his crimes, which made him feel unpunished. He made his first robbery on November 29, 1977 in Świętochłowice. He dragged a 14-year-old into the forest on the pretext of explaining a misunderstanding. There he turned her over, laid down next to her and covered her mouth with his hand. Threatening her with a gun, he ordered the girl to undress. The police opened an investigation into the matter, but did not lead to anything.

In the 1970s, he made several more attacks on women while disguised as a policeman, but he was soon dismissed for disciplinary offenses (which indicated doubts from his superiors towards Zub). After he was released, Zub did not commit any crime for two years.

He returned to crime in September 1980 when he raped a young woman. A year later, he committed the first murder. On November 19, 1981, in Ruda Śląska, he raped and strangled a 19-year-old girl in the eighth month of pregnancy. Until the end of 1982, the murdered three more women. In March 1983, when hee raped another victim he lost his pass, entitling him to enter the steelworks where he found a job. On March 8, 1983, Zub was detained and during the interrogation he confessed to all crimes .

During the trial, Zub repeatedly insulted the judges, every now and then the trial had to be interrupted so the accused had to be removed. He was convicted and sentenced to death. While his verdict was being read, Zub destroyed the accused's bench by kicking it.

While in prison, Zub was aggressive towards his surroundings, forcing the prison authorities to put him in specially-designed shackles and keep him in solitary confinement. On September 29, 1985, Zub committed suicide, a month after a previous unsuccessful attempt to kill himself.

Zub's many years of impunity according to some press reports can be explained by the fact that the militia focused on tracking down another serial killer at the time - Joachim Knychała.

Zub's victims

See also

• List of serial killers

References