Modus operandi The Collector's
modus operandi was to pretend to enter the victims' homes under the pretext of reading their
gas meters and issuing electricity bills – once inside the home, he would kill the occupants with a 6.35 caliber
Walther PP converted to carry live ammunition. Afterwards, he would stay in the residence for some time, making sure to lock all of the doors before leaving the area. The killer presumably traveled to the various areas via hitchhiking, and is suspected of possibly choosing to target homes that were architecturally similar to one another and were situated near the
A4 autostrada. Alternatively, he may have chosen homes he believed to be occupied by single women, but this remains speculative. On that date, he knocked on the door of a house occupied by a middle-aged woman, Lucyna Z., and her two young children. Initially, the door was opened by the older boy, 9-year-old Sebastian – upon seeing him, the man claimed that he made a mistake and promptly left. Sebastian would leave the house shortly after this encounter. A few minutes after Sebastian left, the man returned to the house and knocked on the door again. He presented himself as the employee of the local power plant and claimed he was here to take the gas meter's readings. Due to the fact he appeared to be inconspicuous and that she was expecting somebody to come by soon, Lucyna allowed him to enter. After checking the gas meter and writing information down on the electricity bills, the man pulled out a pistol and shot Lucyna several times in the head, killing her. He then turned the gun on her other son, 7-year-old Dominik, murdering him as well. The Collector then looked through the residence and stole several items – 2,000
Deutsche Mark, some small Polish banknotes and some gold jewelry. The bodies of the two victims were discovered hours later by Sebastian after he returned from school. Unable to enter the home due to the locked door, he grabbed a ladder and climbed through the balcony, where he soon found the bodies of his mother and younger brother. Sebastian then called the police and provided a detailed description of the supposed power plant employee, which led to the development of a
facial composite. Approximately five months later, on 24 November 1994, the Collector committed his second attack, this time in
Pilzno,
Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Again posing as a power plant employee, he knocked on the door of 60-year-old Maria J. and used his ruse to be allowed inside. Moments later, he shot and killed her, but instead of stealing valuables and leaving, he instead waited inside the house. After some time, her husband Józef returned home – upon entering, he was also shot and killed. The bodies were discovered after curious neighbors decided to check on the couple, as they still had their lights on during daytime. Similarly to the previous double murder, officers who arrived at the scene found electricity bills lying on a table next to the bodies. The Collector's last known crime took place on 5 December, this time in the village of
Morawica, again in Lesser Poland. After knocking on the door of 58-year-old woman Zofia K., he was allowed inside, where he shot and killed her. He then waited a few hours, possibly expecting somebody else to arrive home – unbeknownst to the man, the woman's son was about to enter the home, but noticed that the lights were on and assumed that his mother was inside, instead going to the nearby grocery store. When he returned, he found his mother's body in the kitchen, but by then, the killer had already left. ==Investigation==