Warsaw court drops prosecution of student in 2025 university axe killing due to insanity

Court decision and psychiatric ruling

On 28 August 2026, the Warsaw District Court granted a motion by the District Prosecutor's Office Warsaw-Śródmieście Północ to discontinue criminal proceedings against Mieszko R., a former law student accused of killing a university worker in May 2025. The closed-door session took place in a specialized secure courtroom on Kocjana Street, a venue designated for high-security cases. The court determined that the suspect was completely legally insane during the attack, which exempts him from criminal liability under Article 31 Paragraph 1 of the Polish Penal Code. In place of a prison sentence, judges ordered his indefinite detention in a closed psychiatric hospital and extended his provisional detention until 7 January 2027.

The May 2025 campus attack

The attack took place on 7 May 2025 at the central campus of the University of Warsaw. Mieszko R., who was 22 years old at the time, approached a 53-year-old female porter as she was locking the entrance to the Auditorium Maximum building. The assailant struck her repeatedly with an axe across the head, neck, torso, and arms, causing fatal injuries at the scene. A 39-year-old officer from the University Guard intervened to protect the woman, sustaining serious injuries that resulted in urgent hospital admission. When police officers subsequently placed the suspect in a straitjacket at the station, he bit one officer on the leg.

Psychiatric evaluation and criminal charges

Investigators initially charged Mieszko R. with murder committed with particular cruelty, attempted murder, and desecration of a corpse. Under standard criminal proceedings, those charges carry potential penalties ranging from 15 years in prison to life imprisonment. The desecration charge stemmed from evidence that the attacker severed the victim's head with a hatchet and attempted to consume the remains. Following his arrest, police noted irrational statements during questioning, where he claimed to be a wolf and a predator possessing supernatural powers. He was subsequently transferred to a detention centre with a dedicated psychiatric hospital ward in Radom.

A comprehensive forensic psychiatric and psychological assessment issued on 12 January 2026 followed weeks of observation in closed conditions. Medical experts diagnosed Mieszko R. with a psychotic mental disorder, concluding that the offenses were driven by abnormal personality traits combined with active psychosis and severe reality distortion. Prosecutors referenced these findings in April 2026 when they formally submitted their motion to dismiss the criminal case.

Detention measures and public reactions

Because the court applied psychiatric confinement as a preventive security measure rather than a fixed penal sentence, the duration of his stay remains open-ended. Medical professionals indicated in February 2026 that if the suspect were ever deemed eligible for discharge from psychiatric custody, authorities should evaluate his transfer to the National Centre for the Prevention of Dissocial Behaviour. The ruling provoked public discussion across Poland. Several critics pointed to the standing of the suspect's father, a well-known lawyer in the Pomerania region, while other legal commentators noted that the nature of the unprovoked assault supported the medical conclusions of complete psychiatric impairment.