Murder of an elderly man in Pila. The TV series “The X-Files” returned to this case 15 years later.

The grandson of a 73-year-old resident of Piła, who was murdered in 2008, has been charged with murder. New genetic testing methods have led to a breakthrough in the case.

The murder of a sick elderly woman. Police solve the mystery.

As the Greater Poland Police remind us, the tragedy occurred in June 2008 in Piła. The 73-year-old woman, who was single and ill, could not contact her daughter. Concerned, she asked a neighbor for help. Upon entering the apartment, the neighbor discovered the elderly woman’s body.

The body was found in an armchair. The victim’s head was wrapped in towels. Her mouth was gagged, and her hands were tied to the chair with duct tape. “The autopsy showed that the woman died from extensive craniocerebral trauma. It is believed that these injuries were inflicted by repeated blows with a blunt object, such as a hammer,” the statement from the Poznań Provincial Police Headquarters said.

The X-Files mission

Investigators returned to the case at the end of 2023, said Andrzej Borowiak, a spokesperson for the Greater Poland Police. The investigation was conducted by officers from the so-called “X-Files” unit together with the Poznań District Prosecutor’s Office. 

“Thanks to the latest advances in laboratory testing, we were able to obtain evidence that the killer left biological traces at the crime scene,” said Inspector Borowiak. Comparative tests made it possible to establish the perpetrator’s identity.

DNA leaves no doubt.

The provincial police headquarters in Poznań added that, during the examination, investigators analyzed, among other things, fragments of the duct tape used to tie up the murdered woman, and the DNA profile obtained “unequivocally indicates that 44-year-old Damian B. is responsible for the murder.”
 

He is the woman’s grandson. He was 26 years old at the time of the crime. He had numerous previous convictions. He was charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty and was taken into custody. He faces life imprisonment.