Zofia Frontczakówna was born in 1899. She lived in Dłubnia, a small village located 8 km from Kraków. From an early age she was an extremely beautiful girl. Over time, teenage Zośka followed in her mother’s footsteps and began to pose for outstanding painters. She had a symmetrical face, shapely lips, beautiful hair and an extremely hypnotizing look. At that time, artists were fascinated by the countryside and folklore, so the teenager posed in folk costumes.
You can read more similar articles on the home page
Marriage to a tyrant. Living with him caused Zośka “only disgust”
There were many admirers around Zośka who wanted to win her heart and marry her. Although the girl could choose from many marriage offers, she made a surprising choice. She married a shoemaker, Maciej Paluch. The man was very quick-tempered, did not take proper care of himself, and often drank too much. The young couple moved into Zośka’s house. However, her husband had no intention of helping her work on the farm or even performing his professional duties, which is why Maciej’s wife walked barefoot. Moreover, the man became aggressive after drinking alcohol. He abused Zośka, who also had to be at his beck and call.
He demanded from his wife constant readiness for sexual intercourse, bringing it to a stage that caused her only disgust.
– wrote Stanisław Waltoś, quoted by
The couple had four children, but only two of them survived. The arrival of the offspring did not change the situation in the Paluch household. The woman and her daughters were not even provided with food, so they went hungry. The man did not give any money with which Zośka could buy and cook something. Poverty at home finally forced the woman to decide to return to her modeling career. She once again became a muse for Krakow artists.
Zośka made an important decision. “She was supposed to confide in her sister about this.”
Posing for artists brought a lot of income, with which a woman could feed her family. However, Paluch did not like the desire to repair the household budget. When the man was drinking with his friends, they insinuated that Zośka could not only pose for paintings, but also provide other services to painters. My drunk husband was arguing at home. For fear of violence, Zośka decided to give up posing again, even though there was still no money in the Paluch family.
The woman hoped that when she put her modeling career on hold, her relationship with her husband would improve. However, it was not enough for Maciej. Zośka made another important decision – she decided to leave a quarter of the farm to the man. She hoped that this way she would please her husband and his behavior would improve, so she would not have to go to her sister’s to eat something.
One version said that Zośka decided to sign over some of her land because he threatened her that otherwise he would kill her. She was supposed to confide in her sister about this. She was then distraught and crying
– explains Katarzyna Dziuba on the Zbrodnie Zapomniane channel on the website.
Zośka’s strategy failed – Maciej did not change. He continued to abuse alcohol and abuse his wife. The tyrant’s wife stayed with him for five years. During this time, she was beaten, starved and forced to fulfill her “marital duty”. After this time, the woman decided to take the children and leave. In July 1926, she packed the most necessary things and moved with her daughters to Krakow, where she lived with her aunt. Zośka didn’t stop there. She decided to take more radical steps to finally be free from her husband. In September, she filed a case in court for alimony and the withdrawal of the donation of a quarter of the farm to Maciej. The woman managed to obtain alimony and permission to temporarily live without her husband.
Zośka’s tragic name day. “In a short time, a bright lightning bolt will shoot you right in the heart”
Zofia did not find peace in her new place. Thumb kept harassing her, sometimes asking her to come back, other times threatening her. The man also promised to improve. The woman finally gave in and returned to her husband. However, what awaited her there was not a miraculous change of husband, but a brutal beating. After one day, Zośka returned to her aunt in Krakow. Maciej continued to harass her, demanding that she withdraw her court cases and assuring her that he would then give her the outstanding money.
In a short time, a bright bolt of lightning will shoot you right in the heart
– Maciej Paluch is said to have said in one of the arguments with his wife, whose words he recalls. In addition, he began threatening her neighbors and relatives who were interfering in his marriage. The aunt, fearing for her own safety, decided not to share her apartment with Zośka. She remembered a situation in which Paluch tried to marry a girl from the countryside, and after her father refused, he set his house on fire. Zośka had to move with her children to another place.
Shortly thereafter, her husband stopped paying her alimony. Zośka found herself in a very difficult financial situation. Later, during one of the meetings, Maciej began to promise her that he would pay back all the outstanding money, but she had to come to him the next Sunday, which was Zośka’s name day, May 15. The woman agreed and came home on the agreed day to collect the money promised by her husband, but she never returned from Dłubnia.
After three days of Zośka’s absence, her mother reported her missing. The woman suspected that her daughter had been murdered by Paluch. The officers showed up at Maciej’s, but they didn’t find Zośka there. However, they noticed traces of blood, a cleaned ax and the man’s freshly washed clothes. Paluch claimed that the woman left his house on Sunday at 7 p.m. and he did not know where she went. Despite this, investigators decided to temporarily arrest Maciej. The entire farm was searched, but his wife was not found.
What happened to Beautiful Zośka? “I have no other explanation for her disappearance.”
Shortly thereafter, the truth slowly began to emerge. After Paluch’s arrest, the neighbors stopped remaining silent. The man was seen on Monday morning when he was returning from somewhere in a wagon. The extensive cleaning at the shoemaker’s house also aroused suspicion among the villagers. It was almost certain that Maciej had murdered his wife, but there was no conclusive proof – the woman’s body. After searching the farm, the investigators decided to go to the nearby river bed. Shortly thereafter, fragments of corpses began to surface, including: lungs, arm and feet. An autopsy of the found remains showed that they belonged to a woman about 28 years old. Only two body parts were missing: the head and the heart. Despite this, the officers collected enough evidence for the prosecutor’s office to file an indictment against Maciej Paluch for murder.
In December 1927, the first trial took place in the District Court in Kraków. Maciej Paluch pleaded not guilty during interrogation. He came up with his own story that was supposed to explain what happened to Beautiful Zośka.
I assume that my wife ordered some thugs to kill me, they must have argued about something, they murdered and quartered my wife so that she wouldn’t betray them. I have no other explanation for her disappearance. Maybe she bragged to someone that she was going to get money and that she would have a lot of money. Maybe they went somewhere in the field after that?
– said Paluch during the hearing, quoted by .
The justice system did not believe the man’s testimony. According to , the court found that during the argument, Paluch aggressively attacked his wife and later cut up her body, among others. using an axe. He allegedly threw body parts into the river. For the murder, he was sentenced to “15 years of hard imprisonment, with a hard bed every month and imprisonment every May 15, on the anniversary of the crime.” The Supreme Court did not agree with the decision of the Krakow court and reduced the penalty to 12 years of imprisonment.
Paluch asked the president for a pardon. After leaving prison, he did not return home
The man pleaded not guilty until the very end of the trial. After the verdict was announced, he served time in prison. In 1931, he decided to try to avoid the rest of his sentence and wrote to President Ignacy Mościcki asking for clemency. In the letter, he admitted to murdering his wife, but emphasized that he did it by accident. The woman allegedly threatened him with an axe, and in self-defense he allegedly hit her with a shoemaker’s tool. Paluch was released from prison in 1937. He never returned to his village again. He lived the life of a beggar near one of Krakow’s churches. He died there on July 9, 1960.
As they say, Zofia’s life was one of Marcin Wierzchowski’s inspirations to create the play “Beautiful Zośka”, which was produced at the Wybrzeże Theater in Gdańsk. The play presents a story about a “bad house” full of violence, trauma, but also about dreams that unfortunately cannot be fulfilled. The premiere of the show took place in July 2023.
You need help?
Are you experiencing domestic violence? Are you looking for help? You can, for example, contact the National Emergency Service for Victims of Domestic Violence “Blue Line”. The free hotline is open 24 hours a day at 800 12 00 02. More information can be found here. If there is a threat to life, call the emergency number 112.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
