Łucjan Staniak

Lucian Staniak is a Polish serial killer. He was convicted of murdering six women from 1964 until his arrest in 1967. He confessed to a total of 20 murders (this number, however, is disputed as being coerced by detectivesFact|date=December 2007). He was dubbed The Red Spider by the press, a nickname derived from his correspondence with the police and news media scribbled with red ink.

He was arrested when police determined that two of his victims were sisters, and both had worked as models at an art club, and that the killer had known one of them well enough to travel with her. Police went through lists of the club's patrons, and came to suspect Staniak, who had a train pass allowing him to travel all over the country. They searched his locker, and found a grisly, violent painting. After his arrest, Staniak readily confessed to the six murders, as well as an additional 14. He was sentenced to death upon his conviction, but it was later overturned when he was ruled insane. He was instead sentenced to life in an asylum.

References

* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/staniak/1.html Crime Library]
* [http://www.geocities.com/verbal_plainfield/q-z/staniak.html Serial Killers A – Z]