Paweł Tuchlin

Paweł Alojzy Tuchlin (born April 28, 1946 in Góra - died May 25, 1987 in Gdańsk) – was a Polish serial killer and codenamed by the Milicja Obywatelska 'Scorpion'. He was sentenced to death and hanged for the murder of 9 women and a further 11 attempted killings, spanning from 1975 to 1983.[1]

Paweł Tuchlin
Born
Paweł Alojzy Tuchlin

(1946-04-28)April 28, 1946
Góra, Kościerzyna County, Poland
DiedMay 25, 1987(1987-05-25) (aged 41)
Gdańsk, Poland
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Other names"Scorpion"
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims9
Span of crimes
1975–1983
CountryPoland

Childhood and youth

Paweł Tuchlin was born to father Bernard, an abusive alcoholic farmer and mother Monika (née Woier), and he was the eighth child from eleven siblings. He was severely mistreated by both parents. He would still wet the bed as a teenager - and everyone in the village knew about it. Tuchlin said in court:

"My illness was that I was soaking in my sleep during the night. And the only medicine available to me at home was "pyda", a weave of thongs. When morning came, my mother or father checked the bed. When it was wet, I got a dose of the "medicine". The next day, the scene was repeated; because my father was of the opinion that I was lying in my bed maliciously or out of laziness."[2]

"They disliked me, especially when Dad drank himself, which happened often. At the time, Paweł was no longer there, he was only "dujcok", "piss" and "skunk". For this reason, I did not get, for example, money for the cinema."[2]

"Then I grew up, from time to time there was some kind of fun in the living room, it went, but it all went with me. You wanted to dance, good, you go, ask a girl, and she knows you, it's her, I do not know, but I think it's a shame to dance with someone who is soaked, says: "Stinks, I do not want to dance with you", or something like that. Colleagues, friends, make yourself happy."[2]

He ended his military service after a few months, when it turned out that he had impaired hearing.

Tuchlin fled to Gdańsk, got a job as a driver and got married. During this period he was sentenced for minor thefts. He served those sentences from December 20, 1976 to June 28, 1979. Some time later he divorced his wife and remarried with a woman named Regina. His neighbours described him as a calm, stable, resourceful man who cared for his wife and two children, yet he was very introverted. At the time he had problems with his libido, as well as exhibitionism.

Murders and sexual assaults

Paweł Tuchlin attacked his victims in Gdańsk, near Starogard Gdański, Skarszewy, Tczew, and also in the area of then Elbląg and Bydgoszcz voivodeships. His youngest victim was 18 years old, and his oldest 35.

List of deaths
Nmb. Name Age Date of death Place of murder
1. Irena H. 18 9 November 1979 Niestępowo
2. Anastazja E. 30 1 February 1980 Gdańsk
3. Alicja M. 35 29 April 1980 Skowarcz
4. Cecylia G. 22 17 September 1980 Czarna Woda
5. Izabela S. 22 19 November 1980 Malbork
6. Wanda K. 30 12 December 1980 Gdańsk
7. Halina G. 19 14 November 1981 Gdańsk
8. Bożena S. 24 8 December 1982 Skarszewy
9. Jolanta K. 19 6 May 1983 Narkowy

Investigation, arrest, psychiatric evaluation, trial and sentence
Investigation Building in Gdańsk

The police were able to apprehend the perpetrator as early as November 1979. On the 18th, he attacked 18-year-old Irena H., and in the Radunia river, next to the place of the assault, he lost the murder weapon - a hammer. The word ZNTK, or Rolling Paper Stock Works, had been engraved in the metal. The militia received a list of all people using the tools, but Tuchlin was not there. They interrogated everyone who had been recorded to have picked up the hammer - they all had credible alibis. It is probable that the store owner either missed him, did not record his name or Tuchlin simply stole the hammer while he worked at the company for two weeks.[3]

The hammer was carefully wrapped up with a bandage because, as the murderer later revealed, the hammer caught him cold in the stomach while he wore it in his pants looking for victims.

On January 6, 1983, a special group was formed under the name "Scorpion", consisting of 11 people at the Provincial Headquarters.

Paweł Tuchlin was arrested on May 31, 1983 at the age of 37, on suspicion of theft of wood and parlor. During the search on his farm, among other things, the car registration number GDM 1418 was found in the trunk of the vehicle, along with the hammer on whose stem was the blood of the victims.[4]

Tuchlin spent 6 months on psychiatric observation in Szczecin, where he was perceived as kind and helpful, he discovered his artistic talents, even winning a competition for making bread sculptures. The good material, mixed with saliva, could make the bread form and then congeal any form it was given. Tuchlin made three vaginal mock-ups in this way, even decorating them with natural bristles. He fell in love with a psychiatrist, beginning to write letters to her. So that she could not underestimate him, because only he knew what the words "real man" meant. He gave one of those sheaths as a gift to her. The doctor suffered a nervous breakdown.

During the course of the investigation, Tuchlin admitted to 10 murders and 11 attempted murders. As he claimed during the interrogation, he murdered to feel better. At the hearing, however, he canceled his testimony, claiming that he was forced to confess by the police. The regional court in Gdańsk sentenced Paweł Tuchlin to death for 9 murders and 11 attempted murders on 6 August 1985. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence and the State Council decided not to grant leniency. The sentence was carried out and Tuchlin was hanged at the detention centre at 12 Kurkowa street on 25 May 1987. After his death, he was decapitated, immersed in a formalin jar, which then went missing. He was buried at the Łostowicki cemetery in Gdańsk, at one of the NN headquarters. According to Marek Maj, a defender of Tuchlin during the investigation, gravediggers peed in the coffin before the lid was closed.

References
  1. "Łowcy". wprost.pl. 1999.
  2. "Czas skorpiona", Michał Pruski, Zbigniew Żukowski
  3. Roman Daszczyński – Wszystkie drogi Skorpiona – jednego z ostatnich, na których wykonano w Polsce karę śmierci [dostęp 2013-12-14]
  4. Film dokumentalny "Skorpion" z cyklu reportaży TVP2 §148 Kara śmierci

Bibliography
  • Documentary film "Skorpion" from the TVP2 series of reportages §148 Death penalty;
  • "Scorpion time", Michał Pruski, Zbigniew Żukowski, KAW 1985;
  • "Beasts in human skin: Tuchlin: Scorpion", documentary film, Polsat Crime, 2013.
  • Documentary series shown on TVP Info and TVP Regionalna: "Zbrodni Archives" episode 11 pt. Codename Scorpion
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