Dvaowlot - Unexplained Events, Paranormal, True Crime

Were there ever any Western depictions of the himantopodes? They became popular in the Middle East but I've never seen any European art of them...

i've never heard of them before and i don't remember seeing anything like that, but i'll keep an eye out for them. i'm not an expert though. maybe some professional art historians/medievalists etc know more?

for context (from the wikipedia article on iranian folklore): "Himantopodes (davālpā): an evil creature that uses its flexible, leather-like legs as tentacles to grip and capture human beings. The captives will be enslaved and forced to carry the creature until they die of fatigue."

Here's a more in-depth lexicon entry

In 1974, the mummy of pharaoh Ramesses II was issued a valid Egyptian passport (nearly three millennia after his death) so that he could fly to Paris. (Source)

In February of 1982 my folks and I went to helping my ailing uncle with his property that sat between Elmira NY and Ithaca. I was 14 at the time going on 15. Lots of wooded area at the time in the area. The small chicken farm we were on was encircled with woods. We were there for several months. One day my mom sent me to the store to get some milk and stuff. There was snow on the ground and the streets were just icy. It was bitter cold. That's kind of cold that bites at your bones and if you take in a deep breath it stung. The second way to get to the store outside of walking the winding roads was to cross through a wooded area and a couple of fields. I liked taking this route because I always saw deer and other wildlife.

I got all the way to the country store and was heading back. In the one field there was some old cut and abandoned trees scattered around and shattered limbs no one wanted to pick up. The ground was covered with snow and there were tracks about from deer, raccoons, rabbits and whatever else. Just animal tracks that cut cross the field. I stopped to lean against one fallen tree to warm my hands, blowing on them. The truck of this fallen pine was long, about 30' long. I was at the one end of it just leaning and doing all I could to warm up.

Just then the tree trunk started to rock and then roll. I jumped back and turned about. Thats when I saw. A hairy TALL, human figure. One ran was extended out and up, holding a thick limb of the tree and the creature was looking under where the trunk was.

I was scared so badly I started to urinate in my jeans which was rolling down my legs into my fleece lined boots. And I was tearing up for fear it was going to attack me. It was no more than 20 feet from me at the other end of the fallen tree trunk. It just kept that tree truck rolled back enough to see what was under there. I think he was looking for a rodent or something to eat. But he was holding it with one hand. Had he let go, the trunk would have moved back in place. I am not math wise when it comes to size and weight comparison but figure a trunk that was 20 foot long and about 4' in diameter. It was an old trunk and rotting but it was still heavy. I know I could not move it. If what I was looking at was a man in a suit looking to scaring me from crossing the field, he would have had to have sat for hours, if not days attaching hair to his skin. The wind was blowing and so I saw skin under the layers of hair. There were skin blemishes where there was no hair. I guess like pimples or warts or something like that. Its eyes were yellowish and pupils were dark, like brown. The hair varied in length around its body and head. On its face and neck it was very short and sparce. If this was someone in a suit, they did extensive research on how hair would lay throughout the body. Also his toes moved individually in the snow with tendons or veins that were moving under his skin. So, if this was someone in a suit, he was walking around barefoot with huge feet. Not wearing fake boots. I have seen people wearing monkey ape suits in movies and at Halloween. And this was NOTHING at all like that.

I am not sure if I made a noise or not but it looked at me. Then looked back under the tree. It was more curious what was under the tree. I have no idea how long I stood there just staring. Then there was a noise from across the field that startled me and when I looked there were two others along the tree line walking. They were much too far to make out details. Just two ash-brown hairy human figures walking along the tree line. Walking just like a person would but the snow was no hamperment at all for them. They never went down on all four and one even reached out and moved part of a branch that was in his/her way like a hunter or hiker would. Bears do not do that. The one close to me stopped looking under the tree, let it roll back in place and just walked off into the trees that was to the left of where I was facing. The two in the back of the field, I have no what happen to them. My focus was on the one near me. When I gain some courage (a good 2 minutes of not moving) I slowly walked up to where it was standing before, wiping the tears from my face and saw its footprints in the snow. And they were almost twice the size of mine, which at the time was size 8-9. I stood there shaking for a bit till I felt it was safe. I did not run but walked fast till I got close enough to home where I felt safe to run. Then I bolted like a bat out of hell. I remember the terror I had in my heart and praying "Please don't come back" over and over.

Mom was angry and not believing a word I said. I also got a butt tanning from my father later on. I lost my gloves and the groceries, and my pants and boots were "stained" That's all my folks cared about. I kept saying it was a "hairy caveman." No one would believe me. I lived in fear for two months after that, for fear of running into them again and I never crossed the woods and fields again. I never heard of bigfoot or sasquatch or anything like that before. Years later I learned what I saw when I was working at the library back on Long Island and found a book on Bigfoot (The Big Foot Casebook). To date I still get nightmares if I dwell on the topic too long. Being I am an artist, I have tried to draw it/them countless of times and yet my renderings never come close. The closest depiction I have ever seen to what I saw was the costumed actors on the documentary "Manbeast: Man or legend" with Peter Byrne. Just taller and a bit more wide. I remember the first time I saw the special and the whole encounter came flooding back to me and the nightmares increased. Today I volunteer at the Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle. I spend some time with the gorillas, siamangs, colobus, patas monkeys, orangs and other simians but I can state that what I saw was none of these species.

You win. This was INSANE to read. First, I’m really sorry your parents reacted that way. If my kid came home sobbing with pissed pants, I’d at least think something happened. That’s pretty old for a spanking, too. And the nightmares that followed? Have you tried trauma therapy? If this is triggering I’m really sorry, but it sounds a lot like the most famous picture of Bigfoot, patty. The photo is still not explainable, for reasons I do not know because I haven’t looked them up… I believe in Bigfoot 100%. My mom saw it in the woods in Missouri (and ran the hell away) and sometimes when I’m out in the woods on my ranger, I hear things. The other night I heard a huge noise in the woods. It could have been a cougar or a black bear, but it sounded a lot bigger. There are Sasquatch sightings in Missouri, as well as all around America. Is working with primates kind of therapeutic for you? I hope, and I’m sorry you had that experience, though it’s very valuable to have and share with the Sasquatch community.

On the morning of the 6th of December, 2009, Susan Powell, from West Valley City, Utah, took her two sons, four-year-old Charles and two-year-old Braden, to a church service. Afterwards, a neighbour visited before leaving at around 5PM. This was the last time Susan was ever seen.

The following day, Susan, her husband, Josh, and their two children were reported missing. The boys hadn’t shown up at daycare and Susan hadn’t appeared at work. When authorities searched the home, they found two fans pointing at a damp spot on the floor but there was no sign of the family.

At approximately 5PM, Josh, Charles, and Braden appeared back at home. Josh claimed he had left Susan at midnight to take the boys camping at Simpson Springs Campground in western Utah despite the freezing cold temperatures. Susan was still missing, however, and a search of the marital home turned up some suspicions. 

Investigators found traces of Susan’s blood on the floor as well as a life insurance policy on her life for $1.5 million. Also found was a handwritten letter from Susan in which she expressed fear for her husband and her potential death. Nevertheless, Josh was still not arrested. Years later, a prosecutor in Washington state said that he should have been arrested then and there, stating: “There is direct evidence. There is circumstantial evidence. There is motive. There is everything but the body.”

By 2009, Josh was named a suspect in the disappearance of his wife but was never arrested. Following her disappearance, he had refused to aid in the investigation and had even quickly filed paperwork to withdraw Susan’s retirement account money. He and their two sons moved in with his father, Steven Powell. 

However, Steven too fell under a cloud of suspicion. He had a history of bizarre and inappropriate behaviour, including voyeurism. In fact, he was shortly arrested and charged with voyeurism after being caught taking photographs of his neighbours’ children through the bathroom window. In January of 2012, Josh was denied custody of Charles and Braden; custody was awarded to Susan’s parents, Charles and Judy Cox.

Just the following week, a social worker dropped the two boys over at Josh’s home for what was supposed to be a supervised visit. Josh opened the door and grabbed Charles and Braden before slamming the door in the social worker’s face. Just moments later, the house exploded and burst into flames. Josh, Charles and Braden all died in a double murder-suicide. 

It appeared as though Josh had planned the fire for some time, dropping off their toys at local charities and sending final emails to friends and acquaintances. He sent emails explaining where to find his money and how to shut off his utilities. Inside the home, investigators found two five-gallon gasoline cans; the home had been saturated with gasoline to use as an accelerant.

It was theorised that Josh had killed his sons to prevent them from talking about what happened to Susan. The lawyer for Susan’s parents said that they had recently started to recall things they remembered from that fateful night. “They were beginning to verbalize more. The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that mommy was in the trunk. Mom and dad got out of the car and mom disappeared.”

The Man Who Answered A Cannibals Advert

Bernd-Jurgen Brandes, an engineer from Berlin, was willingly killed so that he could be eaten by computer technician Armin Meiwes.

Armin Meiwes claimed his fantasy of eating a person came from horror films. He stated his desire to eat a person developed in his adolescence when he felt ‘very lonesome.’

In 2001 Meiwes posted an advertisement to the then-active website ‘The Cannibal Cafe,’ a forum for people with a cannibalism fetish stating he was “looking for a normally-built 18- to 25-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed.” Many people responded but then backed out; Meiwes did not force them to do anything against their will. Brandes responded and the pair met.

After meeting Brandes and Meiwes went to Meiwes’ home where they filmed Meiwes cutting off Brandes’ penis (with his agreement), it being fried with salt, pepper and garlic and the two men attempting to eat it together. Brandes swallowed 20 sleeping pills and a bottle of cough syrup. Meiwes then ran Brandes a bath and went to read a Star Trek book, checking on the victim every 15 minutes. When Brandes eventually lost consciousness, Meiwes stabbed him in the throat, hung him from a meat hoot and dismembered and ate the corpse, storing body parts in his freezer and consuming up to 20kg of flesh.

The case came to police attention when an Austrian student spotted another advertisement placed by Meiwes, police searched his home and found the video tape and he was then arrested. Despite his victim volunteering for his fate, Meiwes was charged with manslaughter and sent to prison for 8 years and 6 months, Meiwes was then given a retrial and sentenced to murder. In prison Meiwes became a vegetarian, he has stated in interviews that he believes there to be around 800 cannibals currently living in Germany.

The Borley Rectory Haunting

Borley Rectory was a house that gained infamy as “the most haunted house in England”. It had been alleged to be haunted ever since it was built in 1862. These reports multiplied suddenly in 1929, after the Daily Mirror published an account of a visit by paranormal researcher Harry Price, who wrote two books supporting claims of paranormal activity.

One of the most interesting manifestations of the haunting were the writing on the wall. It is believed the writings had come from a young deceased catholic woman who wanted her body to be discovered and receive a proper christian burial ceremony. she was trying to communicate with Marianne, wife of the reverend Lionel Foyster, the couple living in the rectory in October 1930. 

The scribbled writing is allegedly from the ghost while the writing below is from Marianne’s attempt to communicate with it.

What I can read: -Marianne light mass prayers -Marianne please help get -

The house burned down in 1939 and was later demolished in 1944. LIFE photographer David Scherman was on hand to cover the event. While covering the demolition of England’s most haunted house, Scherman photographed a brick that rose from the ruins and floated in the air for several seconds.

The Canonical Five: Mary Jane Kelly

April 02, 2023

Mary Jane Kelly is who is known as Jack the Ripper’s 5th and final canonical five victim, however, there is much less information known about her upbringing compared to the other four women. 

It is believed by many that the information we do know about Mary Kelly is embellished, with her having fabricated details that are known about her early life. 

The man Mary Kelly had most recently been living with before her murder was named Joseph Barnett, and he later claimed Mary had told him she was born in Limerick, Ireland around 1863 and her family had moved to Wales when she was a child. 

Supposedly Mary Kelly had told an acquaintance that she had been disowned by her parents, but she was close with her sister. It was said from Joseph and Mary’s landlady that she had come from a somewhat wealthy, good family. Joseph also claimed Mary confirmed she had seven brothers and at least one sister. 

Mary’s landlord, a man named John McCarthy claimed she had received mail from Ireland, but not regularly. It was also believed that Mary was illiterate, as Joseph claimed she would ask him to read her the newspaper reports of the Jack the Ripper killings. 

Though it’s been reported Mary had blonde or red hair, she went by the nickname of “Black Mary” suggesting she actually had quite dark hair. She also had blue eyes and some claimed to have known her as “Fair Emma.” It is estimated that Mary stood at about 5′7″ tall, and some said she was quite attractive. 

On November 10, 1888, the day after her murder,

the Daily Telegraph

described Mary as “tall, slim, fair of fresh complexion, and of attractive appearance.” 

In 1879, at around the age of 16, Mary married a coal miner named Davis or Davies who ended up getting killed 2-3 years later in a mining explosion. After this, Mary lived with a cousin in Cardiff, and this is where it is believed she started being involved in sex work. 

In 1884, Mary left Cardiff and moved to London, where she worked as a domestic servant while lodging in Crispin Street, Spitalfields. In 1885, it’s believed she moved to the district of Fitzrovia. 

Mary eventually began working in a high class brothel in the West End of London, becoming one of the most popular girls. She did quite well for herself and bought expensive clothes and hired a carriage at this time. Supposedly Mary had met a client named Francis Craig who took her to France, but she returned to London two weeks later, not having liked the France life. 

It is believed that in 1885 Mary Kelly began drinking heavily. She moved around quite a bit lodging with different women and different men around this time. 

It was on April 8, 1887, that Mary Kelly met Joseph Barnett, with the pair agreeing to live with each other after only knowing one another for a day. They lived in George Street, and soon a place called Little Paternoster Row, but were evicted for not paying rent and of drunk and disorderly conduct. 

In early 1888, the two moved into 13 Miller’s Court, a single room a the back of 26 Dorset Street, Spitalfields. Mary had lost her key to the door, so she would bolt and unbolt the door from outside, putting her hand through a broken window by the door. A neighbour claimed Mary had broken the window when she was drunk, and a man’s coat often was used to act as a curtain. 

It was said by Mary’s friend Lizzie Albrook, that Mary was sick of how she was living in 1888 and wanted to go back to Ireland. Her landlord said that she was a quiet woman when she was sober but very noisy when drunk. When Mary was drunk she often could be abusive to people, and was nicknamed “Dark Mary.” 

Joseph lost his job as a fish porter in July 1888 due to committing theft, and because of this, Mary turned back to sex work. Mary would often let other sex workers sleep in their room at night when it was really cold because she did not have it in her to refuse them shelter. 

It is believed that on October 30, 1888, Joseph moved out as him and Mary got into a fight about a sex worker named Julia sharing their room with them. Between November 1 and November 8, Joseph visited Mary almost everyday, sometimes giving her money. 

The last time Joseph visited Mary was between 7-8 pm on November 8, 1888. Joseph claimed Mary was with her friend, Maria Harvey and that he did not stay long. He also apologized to Mary for not having any money to give. It is reported that both Joseph and Maria left Miller’s Court at the same time. 

Joseph went back to his lodging house and played cards, falling asleep around 12:30 am. Before Joseph left Mary that night, her friend Lizzie Albrook also visited. Lizzie claimed Mary was sober. 

In the evening, Mary reportedly had one drink in the Ten Bells public house with a woman named Elizabeth Foster. Later on, Mary was seen drinking with two other people at the Horn of Plenty pub on Dorset Street. 

A sex worker named Mary Ann Cox, who also was a resident of Miller’s Court claimed to have seen Mary going home drunk with a stout, ginger haired man, around the age of 36 at 11:45 pm. The man was wearing a black bowler felt hat, had a thick moustache, had blotches on his face and was holding a can of beer.

Mary Ann actually had spoken to Mary Kelly, they both said goodnight. Mary Kelly then entered the room with the man. Mary Ann heard her singing the song, “A Violet from Mother’s Grave.” She was still singing when Mary Ann left her place at midnight, and when she returned an hour later around 1 am. 

Elizabeth Prater lived in the room directly above Mary Kelly. She reportedly went to bed at 1:30 am, and the singing had stopped. 

A man named George Hutchinson who knew Mary, claimed he had met up with her around 2 am on November 9, 1888 on Flower and Dean Street. Mary had asked George for a loan of sixpence, though he claimed to be broke. George said Mary Kelly walked toward the direction Thrawl Street when she was approached by a man of “Jewish appearance.” 

The man was looked to be about 34-35 years old and George said he was suspicious of him because while it did seem like Mary knew him, his appearance made him look suspicious in that particular part of town. It was also said that this man made an obvious effort to disguise his looks from George, having his hat covering over his eyes as he passed. 

George provided police with a very detailed description of said man, and told them he had overheard Mary talking with the man, complaining she had lost her handkerchief, and the mysterious man gave her a red one that he had. George heard Mary say to the man, “Alright my dear, come along. You will be comfortable.” And then the two walked into 13 Miller’s Court with George following them, though George never saw either one of them again. 

A laundress named Sarah Lewis also claimed she had been walking in the area to meet up with friends around 2:30 am, when she noticed two or three people standing near the Britannia pub, among the people was a nicely dressed young man with a dark moustache and he was talking to a woman. 

Both the man and woman appeared to be drunk and there was a poorly dressed woman standing near them. Opposite from Miller’s Court, Sarah said she saw a stout looking shorter man standing at the entrance to the courtyard. Sarah also saw an obviously drunk woman with a man further up the courtyard. 

Mary Ann returned to her room around 3 am that morning and claimed she did not hear or see any light coming from Mary Kelly’s room at the time. She did think she heard someone leaving at around 5:45 am. 

Elizabeth Prater who lived in the room above Mary Kelly and Sarah Lewis who was sleeping at 2 Miller’s Court that night both reported hearing a faint cry that said “Murder!” between 3:30 and 4 am, but didn’t do anything about it because this was common to hear cries in the area. Sarah Lewis said it was only one scream so she did not think much of it. She also claimed she did not sleep that night and heard people coming and going out of the court throughout the night. 

Elizabeth Prater said she left her room at 5:30 am to walk to the pub for a drink, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. 

On the morning of November 9, 1888, Mary’s landlord sent his assistant to collect the rent. Mary herself was 6 weeks behind, owing 29 shillings. Shortly after 10:45 am, the assistant knocked on her door but got no response. He tried to then turn the handle, but the door was locked. He looked through the keyhole but did not see anyone in the room. 

Using the broken window, he peered inside the room and found Mary Kelly, completely mutilated lying on the bed. She was estimated to have died 3-9 hours before she was discovered. 

The assistant ran to tell the landlord, and then went to inform the police. The assistant immediately told the police it was the work of Jack the Ripper. A surgeon came to look at the body, and police gave orders to prevent anyone from entering or exiting the yard (I know, impressive for 1888 police work.) 

Bloodhounds were sent in, but it appeared to be impractical. It appeared that women’s clothing had been burning, and authorities believed Mary Kelly’s clothes were burnt by the murderer to provide light so they could see what they were doing. 

Joseph Barnett identified Mary Kelly’s body, he could only identify her by the ear and her eyes due to the severe mutilation. 

The mutilation done to Mary Kelly was the most extensive of all of the Whitechapel murders, with many believing it’s due to the fact that the Ripper had more time to commit this one in a private setting. 

During the autopsy it was noted that it most likely took 2 hours to perform all of the mutilations on Mary’s body, the death was further estimated to have occurred between 2 to 8 am. 

Her body was found lying naked in the bed, her head turned on the left cheek. Her legs were left wide apart, the whole surface of the abdomen and thighs were removed and her abdominal cavity was emptied (but later said there was food found in it). Her breasts were cut off, her face was hacked beyond recognition, gashes occurring in all directions. Her ears were partly removed. 

Her neck was cut through the skin and her other tissues were cut down to the vertebrae. Her air passage was cut at the lower part of the larynx. Her heart was taken. There was also blood splatters on the wall, lining up with her cut throat.

She had a superficial cut on her thumb, which some believe was caused while she tried to defend herself from her attacker. 

It was believed during the autopsy that Mary Kelly had been killed from a slash to her throat, and the mutilations were performed after she had died. It was not believed that the murderer had any medical knowledge. 

The inquest into Mary’s death began on November 12, 1888. After testimony, the jury had a short deliberation and the verdict was that Mary Kelly had been murdered by a person or persons unknown. 

Police did house to house questioning trying to get answers as to who murdered Mary Kelly. A few people claimed to have seen Mary on the morning of November 9, after she had supposedly been murdered, though police could not find anyone to corroborate those sightings, as well as the descriptions of Mary didn’t match. 

On November 10, 1888, Mary’s murder was linked to four other murders: Mary Ann Nicholas, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, and Catherine Eddowes. There was also an offender profile made, which stated the killer was an eccentric person, who was in an extreme state of satyriasis while performing the mutilations on Mary and the four previous victims. 

There were no other similar murders after Mary Kelly’s and a lot of people believe she was the final victim of Jack the Ripper. Most believe these Whitechapel murders ended due to the killer dying or going to prison. 

Over 100 years after the Whitechapel murders, two authors named Paul Harrison and Bruce Paley theorized that Joseph Barnett, Mary’s partner, had actually murdered her during a jealous rage. They took the theory farther, stating that perhaps Joseph also murdered the other 4 canonical five, trying to scare Mary from engaging in sex work. 

Others believe Joseph did kill Mary, but only Mary and had tried to make it look like a Jack the Ripper killing to avoid being captured. The fact that Mary was found lying naked on her bed, with her clothes folded on a chair leads many to believe that her killer was someone she knew or who she thought was a client. 

Some people do not believe Mary Kelly was a victim of Jack the Ripper at all. Mary was assumed to be around 25 years old, much younger than the other victims who had all been in their 40′s. Also, her mutilations were more extensive than the other four, she was killed in a private location and her murder occurred 5 weeks from the previous killings which had all occurred within a month. 

In 1939, author William Stewart theorized that Mary might have been killed by a midwife, “Jill the Ripper” in which Mary was going to have an abortion. Stewart believed perhaps the midwife had burned her own clothes, putting on Mary’s and that’s why people the next morning believed they saw Mary after she had been killed. 

Mary Kelly was buried on November 19, 1888 in St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Leytonstone. None of her family members could be found to attend her funeral. The inscription on her grave reads, “In loving memory of Marie Jeanette Kelly. None but the lonely hearts can know my sadness. Love lives forever.” 

The Puzzling Case of Mateusz Kawecki

January 02, 2023

Mateusz Kawecki was a 30 year old man from Poland who had been working in Hanover, Germany as a construction worker. He lived with his father who also worked in Hanover. 

On March 28, 2018, Mateusz went to Poland to see his pregnant fiancé, who he was in a long distance relationship with at the time. His fiancé was about to give birth, and lived in a village called Lipia Góra, Poland. Mateusz began driving his 1998 BMW 525 around 11:30 pm to make it to the village. He was supposed to arrive there between 8-9 am the next morning, March 29. Mateusz never made it. 

Mateusz’s father spoke to him on March 29, around 10:30 am, and Mateusz told his father there was really bad traffic jams on his route and he was currently stuck in Szzecin at the time, which is a town on the Polish-German border. Mateusz had about 133 miles to go before he would reach Lipia Góra. Around this time Mateusz sent his fiancé a text message saying he would arrive in about 2 more hours. 

However, after not hearing from him, and several missed phone calls, his fiancé became worried and tried to contact Mateusz’s sister, Katarzyna Piotrkowicz around 5 pm, but could not get a hold of her either. 

Later in the evening Mateusz’s mom went to the police to let them know no one had any contact with her son for quite some time, but the police discouraged her from filing a missing persons report, claiming it was too early to do so. 

A few more days went by and in early April 2018, Mateusz’s family officially reported him as a missing person in Germany and Poland. The Germany police refused to investigate, claiming the Polish police were on the case. His family asked Polish police if they could locate Mateusz’s cellphone, but they were unable to do so as his sim card was German. It was also said that his cellphone had been on for a couple of days after he stopped having contact. 

The German police eventually began investigating but could not locate the cellphone either, as Mateusz had gone missing in Poland. Polish police later said that Mateusz’s phone was never connected to any networks so no one was sure how he had spoken to his father earlier on March 29.

Katarzyna, Mateusz’s sister, said that officials believed her brother had never crossed the German-Polish border as CCTV monitoring at the border showed Mateusz had never entered Poland. Mateusz’s family became frustrated with police efforts, and began their own search, including putting up posters with Mateusz’s picture around. The family spoke on TV several times in Germany and Poland claiming the police were not doing enough. 

However, the case took a strange turn on September 12, 2018, almost 6 months after the last known contact from Mateusz, when a neighbour went to Mateusz’s mothers house to ask about her barn, claiming that a horrible smell was coming from their barn since July and neighbours were starting to complain. 

The neighbour asked if he could check the barn and she agreed. Half of the barn was walled off, which created a room. There was an attic level on top of the room. The neighbour climbed up and saw a pile of clothes in the attic space. When the neighbour checked more thoroughly he found a severed head and torso. The remains were too decomposed to be identified. 

It was discovered that there were two rope nooses hanging from the roof and a backpack on the floor which was later identified as belonging to Mateusz. DNA evidence eventually determined that the remains were indeed that of Mateusz Kawecki. Some of his teeth had been knocked out and stuck to his clothes which had bloody patches on them. 

Inside the backpack were a Polish water bottle with cigarette butts inside and an orange juice box. Mateusz’s family claimed he never drank orange juice. A cellphone was also found in the backpack and showed there had been one call made to Mateusz’s uncle on March 30, 2018, but it appeared to be an accidental call as it lasted for less than a second and never actually went through. 

There was no DNA of another person found on any of Mateusz’s items. The police believed that this was a suicide and refused to investigate further, despite the families pleas. It was believed that Mateusz had planned his death and there was no evidence of foul play. 

Four days after Mateusz’s body was found, his family found his shoe in the barn with his detached foot still inside. This determined that the police hadn’t even searched the barn properly according to his family. 

Prosecutors gathered lots of evidence, including DNA, and an analysis of Mateusz’s cellphone. German police got security camera footage and searched Mateusz’s apartment in Hanover. All of this evidence was reviewed by experts in Warsaw. 

Prosecutors believe that Mateusz lied to his family on the day he disappeared. He had not been in Szczecin when he’d spoken to his father and was not driving at the time the phone call happened. According to them, Mateusz had still been in Germany according to the receipts found with his belongings. 

It is believed that Mateusz took a train to the German border, in Frankfurt an der Oder and walked over a bridge to the Polish town of Slubice about 24 hours after telling his family he was in Poland. Prosecutors believe he checked into a hotel in Slubice with another person. 

Mateusz then took a train to Warsaw the next day, followed by a bus to Zamość, which is the largest town close to his home village, Hutków. He arrived in Zamość around midnight, but it is unknown how he got to Hutków. 

Mateusz’s car had never been found despite a search for it, and there was never any evidence found indicating it had been bought or driven by a new owner. They keys to his BMW were also never found, but his wallet was in the backpack that was found in the barn. 

The attic where the body was found was visible from the ground, so it didn’t make sense that Mateusz had been there for months without his family noticing. Mateusz’s family also said that they had used the barn in the summer of 2018. 

Mateusz’s cousin, Edyta Dabska claimed the family does not think Mateusz was hanging in the barn because no one had seen him. 

To this day it is unknown how Mateusz got to the barn from Zamość and if he was in the barn for months how would his family not notice? There are so many unanswered questions in this case and hopefully someday it will make more sense. 

The Cannibal House Part 3 (pt. 1 | 2) — Armin Meiwes had a lonley childhood. His father left when he was young, with his two half-brothers following soon after. This left him alone with his controlling and strict mother that would often criticize him in public and insist on going everywhere with him. After his mother’s death in 1999, he was given ownership of their large mansion. It is rumoured that he created a shrine for his mother in the house, which included a mannequin that he would lay on a pillow each night. Even to this day, her closet is still filled with her clothes. Meiwes was arrested only three years after his mother’s passing, which suggests that her death may have fuelled his obsession with cannibalism.

Throughout the 18th and 19th century, grave-robbing was quite prevalent. Due to this, many cemeteries were protected with cemetery guns. The one above is from the Museum of Mourning Art. The gun sits on a turret, allowing it to move freely. It would be set up with a tripwire, meaning that when the unsuspecting grave robber got close to the grave that he intended to rob, he would trigger the weapon, killing him.