The body of 16-year-old Maja Kowalska has been discovered brutally mutilated in a bushy area near her hometown of Mława, in north-eastern Poland. Authorities have arrested a 17-year-old male suspect—believed to be her friend—in connection with the horrific crime.
Maja was last seen on April 23 after telling her mother she would return home in 30 minutes. When she failed to come back and couldn’t be reached, her worried parents reported her missing. A police search was launched, including combing through surrounding areas and forests.
On May 1, over a week later, Maja’s body was found in a wooded area. Reports indicate she had been tied up, beaten, and burned with a corrosive substance.
Investigators revealed that Maja had sent a concerning message to an unnamed friend around 8 p.m. on the night she disappeared, asking them to urgently get in touch. Shortly after, her phone went offline.
As the investigation unfolded, police discovered that Maja had met up with a 17-year-old male friend the day after she was last seen. Shockingly, it was later found that the boy had traveled to Greece following her disappearance. He has since been located and is being held in a juvenile detention center in Volos, Greece.
Maja’s father, Mr. Jacek Kowalski, spoke with local media, expressing heartbreak and demanding answers: “If she was suffering, I need to know it. I saw traces of burns.”
Maja had recently returned to Mława from Olsztyn, where she was living with her mother, to visit friends. The full circumstances surrounding her death are still under investigation.
