Krystian Bala (born 1973) is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

murderer, self-published

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, and

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

Murder of Dariusz Janiszewski

In 2007, Bala was sentenced to jail for 25 years for planning and committing the murder of Dariusz Janiszewski, a Polish small business owner, in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

in 2000. Janiszewski's dead body was discovered floating in a lake. For three years the Wrocław police had failed to solve the murder, until a detective found some physical clues linking the murder to Bala. More sensationally, clues to the killing were found in Bala's first novel ''Amok'' (2003), published three years after Janiszewski's death. It was as if Bala had written a "fictionalized" version of the real-life killing into his novel, using information only the murderer could have known. The case drew widespread media coverage in Poland and resulted in increased sales of the novel as readers looked for clues in the novel to the real-life events of Janiszewski's death. Prosecutors believed the motive for the killing was tied to

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

, as Bala had assumed that his estranged wife was having an affair with Janiszewski. In 2007 while Bala was in prison, an appeals court ordered a

retrial A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. A new trial may potentially be ordered for some or all of the matters at issue in the original trial. Depending upon the rules of the jurisdiction and the decision of the court that ordered ...

of the case. In December 2008, Bala had a new trial and was again found guilty and continued to serve a 25-year sentence. Bala is working on a second novel tentatively titled ''De Liryk''. Police report evidence found on his computer showed plans for killing a new victim to tie in with his second novel.

Media

The case was the subject of a 2008 investigative article by

David Grann David Elliot Grann (born March 10, 1967) is an American journalist, a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, and a best-selling author. His first book, '' The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon,'' was published by D ...

in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', called "True Crime",David Grann
"Letter from Poland: True Crime"
''The New Yorker'', Feb. 11 & 18, 2008, pp. 120–135. later published in '' The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession'' (2010). In 2010, Grann's article was optioned to be made into a movie by Focus Films."Mastromauro finds Identity"
''Variety'', February 15, 2010. The completed film, '' Dark Crimes'' (formerly titled ''True Crimes''), was shown at the Warsaw Film Festival in October 2016, and the Berlin International Film Festival the following February before being picked up for US distribution in April 2017. The crime was also the subject of a dramatization in one segment of ''True Nightmares'', Season 1, Ep.6, "No Way to Die", first aired November 18, 2015. The case was also covered by ''

Casefile True Crime Podcast ''Casefile True Crime Podcast'', or simply ''Casefile'', is an Australian crime podcast that first aired in January 2016 and is hosted by an Australian man who remains anonymous. The podcast is released on a Sunday (EST) for three consecuti ...

'' on 15 October 2016. In 2017, Krystian Bala's book ''Amok'' was the inspiration for the feature film ''Amok'' directed by

Kasia Adamik Katarzyna "Kasia" Adamik (born 28 December 1972) is a Polish director and storyboard artist. She has directed TV series including ''1983'', ''Axis Mundi'' and '' Absentia.'' Her debut film feature as director, ''Bark!'', was in competition at Sun ...

. It was released theatrically in Poland on March 24, 2017. At the 42nd Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdansk, Łukasz Simlat won an award for Best Supporting Actor.

References

External links

Casefile True Crime Podcast - Case 36: Amok
- 15 October 2016 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bala, Krystian 21st-century Polish novelists 21st-century Polish criminals Polish male novelists Place of birth missing (living people) Polish people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Poland Living people 1973 births 2000 murders in Poland