Murderers Their Mothers - S01E08 Leszek Pękalski The Vampire of Bytowa

One of Poland’s most notorious serial killers, Leszek Pekalski confessed to murdering dozens of people – men, women, and children, who were mostly savagely bludgeoned to death before being raped. He revealed details of crimes and locations that police believed only the killer could have known yet due to problems with evidence collection, Pekalski was finally convicted of just one murder and is due for release in 2017. Pekalski’s mother was a violent alcoholic who drank heavily while pregnant with Pekalski and his twin sister. The children were subjected to extreme physical violence at the hands of their mother and grandmother on a daily basis, neglected and often starved. Later confined in schools for children with physical and learning disabilities he was sexually abused before developing a rampant sexual appetite which eventually led to him raping and murdering his victims. How impactful was his torturous childhood, and how central was a lack of adequate maternal figure in mapping out the murderous future he embarked upon? Join MacIntryre and criminologist Dr Elizabeth Yardley as they investigate one of the most chilling criminal cases in European history.