Police have solved a 2003 Kraków murder, arresting a suspect after 20 years in connection with the killing of a 23-year-old during a football hooligan dispute.
The Murder
The incident occurred on August 19, 2003, on the Strusia housing estate in Kraków’s Nowa Huta district. In the evening, a 23-year-old victim was standing with two friends near a residential building when two young men approached them and asked which football club they supported.
After the victim answered that he was a Wisła Kraków fan, one of the assailants stabbed him directly in the chest. Despite resuscitation attempts, the young man died after being transported to the hospital.
The Motive
The investigation revealed that the assailants came from a neighboring housing estate where Cracovia fans predominated and were associated with the team’s hooligan group. They had specifically come to the rival area to “hunt” for Wisła Kraków supporters that evening.
The victim, who was not actually connected to the hooligan subculture, became an accidental victim of the gang rivalry. As stated in the prosecutor’s communication: “The victim died solely because he lived on an estate considered a bastion of supporters of a rival club. He became an accidental victim of the war between pseudo-fan gangs.”
Previous Investigation
Following the murder, dozens of police officers were involved in the case. A special hotline was established, and the case was widely publicized, including in the criminal magazine “997”. Despite intensive efforts at the time, police were unable to gather enough evidence to bring charges against specific individuals.
Recent Breakthrough
After years, investigators from the Kraków branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation of Police, working under the supervision of prosecutors from the Department for Unsolved Murders of the Małopolska Regional Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime, reopened the case.
Following months of operational and procedural activities, a man suspected of delivering the fatal stab wound was arrested. The prosecutor charged Dominik B. with murder under Article 148 § 1 of the Penal Code. At the prosecutor’s request, the court decided on a preventive measure: temporary detention for three months. The suspect faces a possible life imprisonment sentence.