Twins allegedly held in isolation for decades near Suwałki; mother and sister charged
A 47-year-old brother and sister are in psychiatric care after Polish prosecutors allege they were confined at home for up to 30 years and severely neglected by their mother and older sister.
Disappearance from village life
In a village of fewer than 50 residents near Suwałki, north-eastern Poland, a pair of 47-year-old twins vanished from public view in the mid‑1990s after finishing primary school. Neighbours were told different stories: the daughter, Marzena, had entered a monastery in Sejny, while the son, Janusz, had left for work abroad. For years the explanations went unchallenged. The family farm stood behind a permanently closed gate, guarded by eight to ten dogs, and even the postman or the priest visiting for carols never stepped inside.
I’ve never seen anything like it. That gate was always closed, and eight or ten dogs ran around the yard. No outsider had a chance to get in, not the postman, not an official, not even the priest.
Father’s death unravels the secret
The father, 79-year-old Jan Z., died in January 2026. When his adult children were absent from the funeral, neighbours started asking questions. His widow, Jadwiga, gave contradictory accounts, telling some mourners that the twins could not get time off work, others that they were in a chapel reciting the rosary, though no-one at the prayer service had seen them. The inconsistencies prompted an anonymous report to the police via the national safety map system.
On the day of Jan’s funeral, when nobody saw the children, people started gossiping. The widow, Jadwiga, got tangled. She told some that the children hadn’t got leave from work or hadn’t returned from abroad. To others she said the children were at the rosary in the chapel, but none of the mourners saw them there.
Discovery and hospitalisation
Acting on the tip, officers searched the property. On 16 June 2026 they found the twins. They were severely malnourished; according to one report the woman weighed only 35 kg. Both were taken to a hospital in Suwałki and later transferred to a psychiatric facility, where they remain under care. The Suwałki psychiatric hospital, the regional hospital and the municipal social welfare centre all filed formal notifications with the prosecutor’s office.
As a result, they suffered from chronic and multi‑aspect neglect of the body, in particular malnutrition.
Mother and sister charged
On 18 June the district prosecutor’s office in Suwałki charged the 70-year-old mother and the twins’ 50-year-old sister, a local schoolteacher, with physical and psychological abuse of helpless persons. Investigators say the two women failed to provide proper nutrition, hygiene and medical care for at least 16 years, and may have isolated the siblings from the outside world for as long as three decades. The charges carry a penalty of up to eight years in prison. The older sister continued to live a normal professional life in the community while the twins remained hidden.
The prosecutor from the Suwałki district office decided to charge the two women, the mother and the sister of the 47-year-olds. In both cases the charges concern physical and psychological abuse of persons helpless due to their mental state, and exposing them to the risk of serious harm or loss of life.
Investigation continues
The prosecutor’s office stresses that the investigation is at an early stage. Detectives are verifying reports that the siblings may have been kept in a basement and that their helplessness stems from an undiagnosed or untreated psychological condition. The exact duration and nature of the confinement are still to be determined. No decisions on pre-trial detention have been announced.
