The truth is stranger than fiction

July 25, 2014 4:42 AM

From behind the New Yorker's temporarily removed paywall, a postmodern murder mystery from Poland in 2007.
posted by ellieBOA (10 comments total)

As we spoke, he seemed far less interested in the idea of the “perfect crime” than he was in the “perfect story,”

With more focus on the crime and less on the story he might have avoided arrest, though. It's a great article, worth reading (or rereading if you had been a subscriber back then).

Wikipedia says he was found guilty in the second trial that is mentioned as upcoming at the end of the article.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:14 AM on July 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

So many levels. A fascinating story about the improbable solving of a cold case by examining a brutal fictional account of a heinous crime. Thanks for posting.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:50 AM on July 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

Thanks for posting this, it was a riveting read - especially since I somehow managed to miss it entirely when it was apparently all over the news here in Poland, so I didn't knew the verdict beforehand.
posted by hat_eater at 7:04 AM on July 25, 2014

Fantastic read. Favorite part: “Don’t you see what they are doing? They are constructing this reality and forcing me to live inside it.” He's so delusional. He is bad fiction.
posted by GrapeApiary at 7:26 AM on July 25, 2014

Great story! Had to finish it before getting any work done today
posted by Vitamaster at 7:27 AM on July 25, 2014

Not a particularly important point, but none of the quotes attributed to Foucault actually come from Foucault. They are in fact so banal that I immediately thought they can't possibly be actual quotes. And of course they aren't.

Great story though.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 8:01 AM on July 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

I read this in 2008, but it's so good I read it all over again just now. Thanks for the post!
posted by languagehat at 8:05 AM on July 25, 2014

This was great. Thanks for posting.
Given the nature of his crimes (sexualized, depraved and seemingly delusional), I was shocked at his name. Krystian Bala is awfully close to Christian Bale, of Patrick Bateman fame (obviously among other notable roles). Coincidental, of course, but wow.
posted by staccato signals of constant information at 8:20 AM on July 25, 2014 [5 favorites]

(With regards to his crimes, I should have clarified I meant primarily the crimes in his book, which further underscores a funny, paralleled inversion of the American Psycho tale)
posted by staccato signals of constant information at 8:22 AM on July 25, 2014

This was wonderful. I had to scroll back to the header after awhile to be sure it really was True Crime. Excellent post.
posted by Meep! Eek! at 10:24 AM on July 26, 2014