Ewa Tylman, 26, lived in Poznań. On November 22, 2015, she visited her family in her hometown of Konin, then returned home and went to a company integration party. The young woman worked for a chain of stores selling cosmetics. She partied with friends until 3 a.m.
The party at the club involved heavy drinking. This is evidenced by security footage showing Ewa walking with her colleague, Adam Z., with whom she left the venue.
The young woman was staggering and even fell at one point. Her friend was also intoxicated, walking unsteadily, but trying to support the 26-year-old.
The young people walked down Mostowa Street toward the Św. Rocha bridge. Then they disappeared from the view of city cameras. After 5 minutes and 8 seconds, Adam Z. was captured by surveillance again, but this time he was walking alone. The man headed toward the tram stop, then went to a gas station, took out his phone, and called his boyfriend, then his sister. The "Intervention" program reports that he told them he was drunk and didn’t know where he was. He also sent Ewa a text message asking, "Are you alive?"
"He spoke to his closest people, and they concluded that he seemed more nervous than drunk. He tried to cover up the crime so that people would think he wasn’t near the Warta River," assessed Michał Smętkowski from the Poznań District Prosecutor's Office.
They Didn’t Find the Body, but They Charged Adam with Murder. The Key Was the Words of the Police
When Ewa didn’t return home, her family reported her missing to the police. The search began. Suspicion quickly fell on Adam Z. Eight days after Ewa was last seen, he was arrested and charged with murder with possible intent. The 26-year-old's body was not found, but there were suspicions that the remains were in the Warta River.
Adam Z. testified that while returning from the party with Ewa, she started to run. According to him, a tragic accident occurred — the 26-year-old allegedly slipped down a slope and fell into the water. He talked about this during one of the police experiments, which journalists from "Intervention" obtained recordings of.
Investigator: Did you pull, push her?
Adam Z.: No.
Investigator: Did you throw her into the water?
Adam Z.: No.
Investigator: What do you think was the reason for her running away?
Adam Z.: I'm afraid she might have misunderstood my holding her.
Investigator: What do you mean?
Adam Z.: She might have thought I wanted to do something to her, or even rape her, or anything.
Investigator: Did she slide down here?
Adam Z.: Yes, here in this area.
Investigator: And she floated with the current, right?
Adam Z.: Yes.
Investigator: How deep was she submerged?
Adam Z.: Just her belly and head were above water.
Investigator: The natural human reaction is to try to help another person. Why didn’t you try? Didn’t you make any attempt?
Adam Z.: Because I was shocked.
Investigator: Did you look back as you walked away? Did you see what was happening to Ewa?
Adam Z.: No.
Investigator: No… So what were you thinking as you left?
Adam Z.: I was stressed. I just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
News spread that Adam Z. had given another version of events — during an informal conversation with police officers, he allegedly confessed to the murder. However, the officers didn’t record it, nor did they write any official report. Despite this, the prosecution considered their testimony crucial.
"We are sure that the man pushed Ewa T. down the slope, dragged her body, and threw it into the river. By doing so, he accepted that — considering the state she was in and the weather conditions — she would die. Hence the charge of murder with possible intent. (...) Adam Z. repeatedly changed his testimony, claiming memory lapses. He consistently denies guilt. According to the prosecution, he was capable of controlling his actions at the time of the incident and had the ability to recognize the significance of what he was doing," said prosecutor Magdalena Mazur-Prus, spokesperson for the Poznań District Prosecutor’s Office, as quoted by "Uwaga!".
At the start of the investigation, a woman from Poznań came forward, claiming that on the night of Ewa Tylman's disappearance, she saw a boy on the bridge struggling with a girl and then throwing her into the Warta River. Police officers took her to the scene, but she became confused. Eventually, she admitted that she had made it all up. She claimed that she had been at a dog park when an unknown man approached her and offered her several thousand złotys to present a false version of events. When asked who the man was, she pointed to one of the associates of private investigator Krzysztof Rutkowski. The man was arrested but denied any wrongdoing. When he was released two weeks later, the woman claimed she accused him because the police, unhappy with Rutkowski's involvement in the case, pressured her to do so.
They Scoured the Warta River Centimeter by Centimeter. "This Waiting Feels Like a Slow Death"
Ewa Tylman's family waited for months to find the 26-year-old or her body. The missing woman's loved ones enlisted the help of divers who gradually searched the Warta River. During this operation, they found parts of the bodies of five people. However, none of the remains belonged to Ewa.
Searching the river proved very difficult due to the low visibility of the water.
"The diver can’t see anything here! Everything is done by feel. We checked part of the Warta riverbed over a stretch of 120 kilometers, but I still wouldn’t sign off on the statement that there is no body on this stretch. That would be too reckless. There are lots of branches down there! The body could have gotten trapped under something," said Maciej Rokus, head of the diver group.
The media devoted increasing attention to the case. On social media, there were speculations that Adam Z. might have killed Ewa because he was fascinated with the occult. However, one of his acquaintances didn’t believe this. In a conversation with journalists from "Intervention," he offered another theory.
"I didn’t know Adam from that side, to be a fanatic. I think Adam couldn’t have done it. I know him from university; we had a good relationship. I don’t think he was capable of that. I will never believe that Adam could have killed that girl on his own. Maybe he was deliberately leading her somewhere, deliberately drugging her," he said.
The fact that the whole of Poland was engrossed in Ewa Tylman’s case was something that scammers tried to exploit, pretending to be "Express Ilustrowany." The newspaper supposedly offered a file with Ewa's farewell letter for only 63 groszy.
"The facts of her disappearance are completely different than reported in the media. Every opened file supports Ewa's family. We’re helping!" claimed a statement on the website.
Ewa Tylman's Body Was Discovered by a Bystander. "Those Aren’t Animal Hooves"
Ewa Tylman's body was found only eight months later, in July 2016. A bystander noticed it while spending free time by the Warta River near the village of Czerwonak.
"I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. At first, I thought it was a deer. But then I realized that those weren’t animal hooves but the heels of women’s shoes," he said in an interview with "Fakt."
Although the body was in an advanced state of decomposition, investigators almost immediately knew it was Ewa. The deceased was wearing a coat similar to the one 26-year-old Ewa was wearing when she disappeared, and a debit card in her name was found in its pocket. However, the autopsy of Ewa Tylman did not provide answers as to the cause of her death.
"We went far beyond the standard procedures and tests performed in such cases. We did everything possible to determine the causes and mechanisms of Ewa Tylman's death. Unfortunately, it didn’t yield a definitive answer. We also consulted experts outside the Poznań forensic medicine institute. If we had thought there was anything else possible to do, we would have done it," said an expert from the Poznań forensic medicine institute, as quoted by Polsat News.
Ewa Tylman's father told journalists that he did not go to identify the body. He said he wanted to remember her as she was in life. Shortly afterward, shocking news spread in the media — employees of the funeral home where Ewa Tylman’s body was taken had taken photos with her remains. Two employees of the funeral home were sentenced for their scandalous behavior. The men, accused of desecrating a corpse, sought a voluntary penalty of 10,000 złotys in fines. The court agreed.
Andrzej Tylman Came to the Warta River. "You’ll Tell Your Father Everything, Damn It, What You Did!"
The prosecutor's office conducted further experiments to help determine what happened on the night of November 22-23, 2015. During one of these, the father of the 26-year-old, Andrzej Tylman, appeared at the scene.
"Turn him around! Because the father wants to look into the eyes of the murderer! You’ll tell your father everything, damn it, what you did!" he shouted.
"Gazeta Wyborcza" reported that the investigation into Ewa Tylman’s death cost 350,000 złotys. Despite this, there was no conclusive evidence of Adam Z.'s guilt. After 15 months in custody, the man was released. The court also announced that the man might be convicted not of murder but only of failing to help a drowning person.
"The evidence was enough for an arrest but not for an indictment, not to mention a conviction. With such evidence, it’s a lost case," an anonymous informant familiar with the investigation told "Wyborcza."
During the trial, the prosecution argued that Adam Z. killed Ewa Tylman and then fled the scene. However, the court found that the evidence was too weak to convict Adam Z. It stated, among other things, that the prosecution’s version was contradicted by one of the experiments conducted at the Warta River. Reenactors replicated the alleged murder of Ewa Tylman by dragging a mannequin along the riverbank and then drowning it.
"The fastest reenactor took 6 minutes and 58 seconds. Adam Z. didn’t have time to commit the murder as described in the indictment in 5 minutes and 8 seconds," emphasized Judge Magdalena Grzybek.
She also pointed out the lack of a motive. Adam Z. had no conflict with Ewa Tylman. The court also ruled that he could not have been "sexually aroused" around Ewa, as the prosecution claimed. The judge dismissed such a possibility because Adam Z. is gay.
The allegation that Adam Z. didn’t have time to kill Ewa was previously refuted by Michał Smętkowski from the Poznań District Prosecutor’s Office.
"The perpetrator was under intense stress, intense emotional arousal; at that moment, a person acts completely differently, sometimes with superhuman strength," he said.
The court thought otherwise. On April 17, 2019, Adam Z. was acquitted. He was not punished for either murder or failing to help a drowning person. Ewa Tylman's father reacted to this decision very emotionally.
"You have one last chance to tell what happened there. Why don’t you say anything?! Did she jump into the water herself?!" he shouted. The judge ordered the police officers to escort him out of the courtroom.
Ewa Tylman’s Father Wrote a Letter to Zbigniew Ziobro: "My Financial Situation is Dire"
Ewa Tylman's family decided not to give up. After the court acquitted Adam Z., Andrzej Tylman wrote to Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, asking for assistance from the Justice Fund.
"My financial situation is dire. (...) My wife's health requires us to incur additional expenses for medication and doctor visits. All the savings that my family had and managed to collect at the beginning of the case were spent on trying to find Ewa and paying for legal help. We currently do not have the funds to cover the next stage of the fight for justice," wrote Tylman, whose words are quoted by "Gazeta Wyborcza."
The father of the deceased 26-year-old received a response indicating that he would not receive assistance because the Justice Fund does not cover "the costs of legal assistance provided by lawyers chosen by the victim." He also turned to the Victim Support Center in Konin, but was also denied there.
"I was told that I’m not entitled to even food vouchers because the case ended with an acquittal. And that’s why, according to them, I’m not a victim," said Andrzej Tylman.
Despite the financial problems of Ewa Tylman’s family, the case went to the appellate court, which ordered it to be reconsidered. The verdict in this case was issued on May 9, 2022. The court again ruled that Adam Z. is innocent.
"There is no evidence that would allow for the conviction of the defendant for murder. (...) We have some circumstantial evidence, but its chain is too weak to issue a guilty verdict," said Judge Łukasz Kalawski.
Prosecutor Magdalena Jarecka, who accused the man of murder, refused to speak to journalists about the decision.
"I expected everything, but not an acquittal. At least three years for failing to provide help and for leading the investigation in a different direction. I’m telling you, I have revenge in my mind. If no one wants to do it, then who will? Soon, people will start dispensing justice themselves," commented Ewa Tylman’s father.
"From the Beginning, He Knew What Happened to Ewa Tylman." Adam Z. Will Face Trial for the Third Time
However, this is not the end of the case. On December 19, 2023, the appellate court once again ordered the case to be re-examined. This means that Adam Z. will face a third trial.
"The evidence collected is insufficient to convict the defendant of murder. The testimony of the police officers (who claimed that Adam Z. confessed to the murder — ed.) cannot be used as evidence in this case. Their use is inadmissible. The evidence, however, indicates the necessity of convicting the defendant for failing to provide assistance," said Judge Henryk Komisarski.
In the first and second trials, the court found Adam Z.'s explanations about Ewa's drowning to be unreliable. However, Komisarski believes that the defendant’s words about Ewa Tylman’s last moments are "crucial."
"They were spontaneous, no one forced them. The suspect cried and sobbed. He said he was a coward. That the sight of his drowning friend haunts him. He felt guilty. Only a well-prepared actor could perform such a scene during interrogation. Adam Z. is not an actor. The words he used and the emotions accompanying him indicate that he was telling the truth," he assessed.
"Gazeta Wyborcza" points out that Adam Z. only mentioned the accident once. In subsequent explanations, he claimed not to remember what happened. However, Judge Komisarski believes that Adam Z.’s claim of memory lapses is a defense strategy.
"In reality, from the beginning, he knew what happened to Ewa Tylman," he stated.
