Car shop repair man Mateusz Hepa was on his way home from a night shift in the Polish city of Katowice in August 2023 when he bumped into Wiktoria Kozielska who was returning from a party.
Luring her back to his flat where she fell asleep, he then tossed a coin to decide whether to kill her.
In a chilling monologue reminiscent of bestselling book The Dice Man in which the main character makes decisions based on the roll of a die, the 20-year-old killer later told police: ‘I tossed a coin, it came up heads so I killed her.
‘If it had been tails she would probably still be alive.’
He then decided to beat and strangle the 18-year-old girl to death with a rope, before wrapping her body in plastic and calling the police.
He was arrested just hours after the brutal murder, reportedly telling police: ‘I felt the need to kill.’
During his trial Hepa’s defence argued that he had been sexually abused as a child and that this had led to his behaviour.
Mateusz Hepa has been sentenced to life in prison after murdering Wiktoria Kozielska and having sex with her corpse
The killer told police that he decided to kill Kozielska after flipping a coin
Hepa reportedly confessed to police after killing Wiktoria and having sex with her corpse
Defending lawyer Marcin Runowski said: ‘Mateusz Hepa was a victim of psychological and physical violence.
‘He changed places of residence throughout his life. He was afraid of people, avoided contact, and could not even eat in their presence.
‘His disorders result from a traumatic childhood.
‘Mateusz needs help, not just punishment. If he is not treated properly, he may commit a similar act again.’
Hepa’s grandmother who appeared for his defence said: ‘Mateusz was afraid of people, he always wore a hoodie, covered his eyes with dark glasses.
‘During the day, he also closed the curtains in his room. He never wanted to eat in front of strangers, neither in a restaurant nor when we had guests.
‘He only went out in the evenings. He had low self-esteem, his father never loved him, he left when Mateusz was two, and he had some hidden grudge against his mother.’
But the victim’s family lawyer Waldemar Bogdan told a court on Wednesday: ‘Wiktoria had the right to dance, have fun and live.
He was arrested just hours after the brutal murder
‘Meanwhile, fate decided that she met this man on her path. Mateusz Hepa tossed a coin that decided the life of a young girl.
‘This trial is to be a lesson for the entire society. I am asking for a life sentence without the possibility of parole.’
Prosecutor Barbara Wilmowicz said: ‘An expert sexologist was consulted who diagnosed the suspect with paraphilic disorders of the sexual sadism syndrome type and severe personality disorders.’
She added that there was a high probability that he could commit another sex crime.
Sentencing Hepa to life in jail with the possibility of parole denied for 40 years, Judge Agata Dybek-Zydn said that Hepa, who was not in court, deserved ‘special condemnation as he had murdered a random person and [had] shown no mercy.’
Appearing in court in the town of Gliwice earlier this year, he said that prior to Kozielska’s murder he had been thinking about killing someone and had walked around town looking for a victim.
As Kozielska’s devastated parents listened on, he said: ‘I gave her the choice of going home or to me. She decided to go to me.
‘We sat there, talked about nothing, then she fell asleep.
‘I walked around the room, tried to wake her up, but I couldn’t.
‘Then I tossed a coin, it landed heads so I killed her.
‘I don’t know why I did it. Certain things happen, but I have no influence on them.
‘Sometimes I toss a coin when I have a difficult choice.
‘I sat on her chest and started to strangle her. I chose strangulation because then there is no blood.
‘She was trying to breathe. She had no strength to fight. She tried to resist but it was too late.
‘After I killed her, I took her clothes off her and then I had sex with her,’ he admitted.
‘Then I got dressed and tried to hide the body. I wasn’t thinking rationally.
‘I put Wiktoria’s body in a bag and wrapped it in a blanket. I planned to burn it.
‘I thought I would feel better if I committed murder.’
As he was led out of court, the victims distraught friends shouted ‘You should f***ing die’.
Local media reports Hepa had thought about taking his own life but ultimately changed his mind and called the police.
He has been held in custody since last year.
