about the Zagłębie Vampire's true identity. The 2001–2002 series Paragraf 148 – Kara śmierci had an episode on the case, directed by Maciej Żurawski, which presented Marchwicki as innocent. The episode presents testimony from contemporary militia officers and lawyers, and claims that the whole case was a show trial. In similar vein, director Maciej Pieprzyca produced the 1998 documentary Jestem mordercą..., in which he proclaimed that Marchwicki was innocent. In the nineties, information appeared which undermined the fairness of the court. Attention was drawn to the fact that Zdzisław Marchwicki had never pleaded guilty, and that he was identified only by people who thought he corresponded to the perpetrator's suspected profile. The authorities were eager to convict somebody, and since Piotr Olszowy, the only alternative suspect, had committed suicide by self-immolation, it would bring shame on the justice system to not bring the purported killer to trial. The case remains controversial to this day. Victims See also List of serial killers by country List of serial killers by number of victims In the media and culture The 1977 fictionalized novel Na tropach zabójcy, written by Tadeusz Wielgolawski, was inspired by the case The 1981 crime film "'Anna' and the Vampire", directed by Janusz Kidawa, was based on the case In the 1992 crime thriller Pigs, the main character, played by Cezary Pazura, says that it was his father who captured Marchwicki In 2004, Teatr Telewizji premiered a play entitled "Wampir", which incorporated private details about the investigation into the Vampire. The play's author, Wojciech Tomczyk, has expressed his belief that Marchwicki was innocent. In 2006, a 3-part series titled Kryminalni: Misja śląska examined the case The 2009 novel Róże cmentarne, by Marek Krajewski and Mariusz Czubaj, has references to Zdzisław Marchwicki In the 2013 film The Closed Circuit, directed by Ryszard Bugajski, prosecutor Andrzej Kostrzewa (played by Janusz Gajos) mentions that he worked on the Marchwikci trial in his youth Similar to his 1988 documentary, Maciej Pieprzyca released a film in 2016, titled I'm a Killer 2016, (new edition 2021) "Wampir z Zagłębia", a documentary by Przemysław Semczuk The 2019 crime novel Gwiazdy Oriona is partly inspired by the Marchwicki case References External links Zdzisław Marchwicki in Polish 1927 births 1964 murders in Poland 1970 murders in Poland 1977 deaths 1960s murders in Poland 1970s murders in Poland 20th-century Polish criminals Executed people from Silesian Voivodeship Executed Polish serial killers