On Friday, 27 February 2026, a press conference was held at the District Prosecutor’s Office in Strzelce Opolskie, where Deputy District Prosecutor Piotr Krzemionka-Kowalski and Stanisław Bar, spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Opole, revealed new, key information in the double murder case in the village of Kadłub. 17-year-old Łukasz G., who last Wednesday killed his 38-year-old stepfather and 87-year-old great-grandmother with an axe, was charged with two counts of murder with particular cruelty. Prosecutors toughened the original charges after preliminary autopsy results confirmed the exceptionally brutal nature of the attack – numerous chopping and cutting wounds inflicted on the victims while they slept.
The teenager was brought to the prosecutor’s office in the morning and questioned for many hours. As Prosecutor Krzemionka-Kowalski stressed, Łukasz G. “gave very extensive testimony and described the crimes he committed in detail”. He fully admitted his guilt. Even so, investigators still cannot clearly establish the true motive – the boy spoke of problems at work (mobbing by a colleague) and family tensions, but prosecutors consider these explanations unconvincing. “The motive remains unclear to us” – said a representative of the prosecution.
The most important information from the conference concerns the sentence. Because Łukasz G. is only 17 years old, Polish law does not allow a sentence of life imprisonment. Even if he is convicted as an adult (which is possible in the case of particularly serious crimes committed by minors over the age of 15), the maximum penalty he faces is 30 years’ imprisonment (with a lower limit of 15 years). The District Court in Strzelce Opolskie has already imposed a three-month pre-trial detention on him.
Prosecutors also emphasized that the investigation is ongoing. Further examination of evidence, analysis of the secured recordings (including the one the 17-year-old posted himself on YouTube) and psychiatric and psychological assessments are underway. The appeal to respect the victims and not share graphic footage from the scene was repeated once again – both the police and the prosecution ask the media and internet users to refrain from publishing materials that further traumatize the family of the murdered victims.
The case has shaken not only the Opole region but all of Poland. The until-now peaceful village of Kadłub has become a symbol of how quickly a young person’s frustrations can turn into an unimaginable tragedy. Łukasz G. remains in custody, and prosecutors announce that further information will be released only as the investigation progresses. For now, one thing is certain: the 17-year-old will answer for this crime in court, but the highest possible penalty will be far more lenient than for an adult.
The full recording of the prosecutor’s statement to the media is available on the Gazeta Wyborcza website: https://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/10,88292,32630008,prokurator-nastolatek-podejrzany-o-podwojne-zabojstwo.html
