The former judge killed 10-year-old Olek and threw his body into a well. Then he helped in the search

Olek Ruminkiewicz was 10 years old and lived in Konin. No one expected that the peaceful life of a boy who was just learning life would be interrupted. On January 22, 1996, he decided that after school he would go with his friends to a games room, where they would spend time together, playing slot machines, which at that time were very popular. Despite the late hour, Olek did not return home, and the family began to worry. Temperatures were almost -20 degrees Celsius. The boy’s father informed his wife about his absence, and they quickly reported him missing to the police and involved their friends, Konin residents and detectives in the search. – I started to worry because Oleś wasn’t coming back. I went out to look for him, but he was nowhere to be found – confessed the boy’s father, Wojciech Ruminkiewicz, in an interview with “”. Many people took part in the search for the ten-year-old, and posters with Olek’s photo were put up.

They searched for the boy for many days. They did not know that the perpetrator was close

– I started connections. Detectives from Poznań, my friends, came. The next day, volunteers from Gdańsk arrived with tracking dogs. Friends and neighbors, as well as firefighters and military personnel were also looking for him. A total of 600 people. The search operation headquarters was in the housing cooperative’s room, Ruminkiewicz said. – There is no monitoring yet, the Internet does not work. The search for a child looked completely different then, he admitted. Days passed and there was no sign of the boy. The police and detectives checked many places, including the construction site, as well as the clients of Wojciech Ruminkiewicz, who ran a pawn shop. It was not ruled out that Olek was kidnapped to demand ransom. No one knew then that the perpetrator of the kidnapping was very close.

There was a call demanding ransom. The parents collected PLN 100,000

A few days after the boy’s disappearance, an unknown man called the Ruminkiewicz house demanding ransom for the boy. He spoke in a distorted voice and said he had special instructions for them. One of the orders was to collect PLN 100,000 and not to inform the police about the case. – I received two anonymous letters. They were inserted into the chapel door. We learned from them that Olek would be found, we just need to collect money and then pay the ransom at the bus stop in Orlina Mała near Jarocin – said Wojciech Ruminkiewicz. Despite the blackmailer’s threats, Olek’s parents decided to inform the police about the case. They started observing. – My friends went with the ransom because I was on weak legs. They folded it. Shortly afterwards, my friend Krzysztof appeared at my house. He had a bag of money in his hand. A moment after he entered the apartment, the police burst in and arrested him, Ruminkiewicz confessed. Krzysztof F. was a neighbor of the Ruminkiewicz family and maintained good relations with them. He visited Olek’s father and they spent time together. The man was a lawyer by profession and came from a respectable family, and when he stopped being a judge, he decided to start his own business. After he showed up at the Ruminkiewicz house with the ransom money, he tried to convince everyone that he took it because the kidnapper didn’t collect it. The policemen and Olek’s father were not convinced by the explanation, so the man was immediately arrested. – He was too involved in the search. This caught the detectives’ attention. He said to collect money because the kidnappers would definitely respond, admitted Wojciech Ruminkiewicz. – He came to my house! I treated him to coffee. He played ping-pong with me and my son. He advised me where to invest my money.

The man did not admit to kidnapping Olek, but it quickly turned out that he had debts and promised to repay his creditors after January 22, i.e. after the day the boy disappeared. During the investigation, it turned out that Krzysztof F. was addicted to gambling. – He had a lot of debts to many people. It also came to light that he traveled to Poznań and played in gambling establishments. Neither I nor his family knew this. He had two faces. He believed in the perfect crime. He acted with strong preparation, he believed that he would win big money and I would exhaust myself. There will be no grave of the child, and he will not be a murderer – said Ruminkiewicz in the “”.

How did Olek Ruminkiewicz die? The boy’s body was thrown into a well

Days passed and the accused still did not admit to having anything to do with the boy’s kidnapping. The chances of finding Olek alive were decreasing. Two months later, after another search of the man’s car and apartment, he finally admitted where he hid the body. – On his birthday, January 22, 1996, he kidnapped and killed my child. He gave himself a gift. He kidnapped and murdered my child… – said the boy’s father. Olek’s body was hidden in a well in an orchard in a village near Konin. Krzysztof F. claimed for a long time that he did not kill the ten-year-old, but there was an unfortunate accident during which the boy fell down the stairs leading to the basement and died as a result of his injuries. However, the explanation was not believed, and the injuries showed that Olek was strangled with a cable from a VCR that came from Krzysztof F.’s apartment. Traces of the boy being transported in the man’s car were also found. -This was my son’s last journey. He was riding in the trunk. After 2 a.m. I received a phone call from the police commander: “Mr. Wojciech, a body has been found, unfortunately it is Olek.” I got all wet, as if someone had poured a bucket of water on me. This was his first grave. For 65 days he lay there, attached to the ground, frozen. I couldn’t even look at these photos of my son. It was head downwards, it was definitely broken. I hope it was after death. It’s hard to live with it – Wojciech Ruminkiewicz in the “Uwaga!” program.

The inhabitants of Konin were shocked. Krzysztof F. came from a respected family

The fact that the murder was committed by a former judge from an influential family was a shock for many Konin residents. Due to the fact that the perpetrator had a brother who was a lawyer and a father who was the president of the District Court in Konin, the court in Łódź dealt with the case. More than a year after the boy’s kidnapping and death, on March 19, 1997, the trial began. Krzysztof F. was sentenced by the Provincial Court in Łódź to 25 years of imprisonment, 8 years of deprivation of public rights and a fine of PLN 3,000. In another proceeding, the man was ordered to pay PLN 100,000 in compensation to Olek Ruminkiewicz’s father. To this day, the convict has not apologized to the family of the murdered boy. Despite the judgment ordering the payment of compensation, the ten-year-old’s father received only a small part of the money. All because the bailiff did not disclose the assets from which the debts could be paid. Krzysztof F. was released in 2021 and works part-time for minimum wage, probably in one of the grocery store chains. This means that the bailiff still cannot secure money to compensate Wojciech Ruminkiewicz. At this point, the benefit together with interest has already increased to over PLN 400,000. – He definitely had some property. I don’t blame his family. His wife shared an apartment with him, but she ran away, there were small children there. I never had any grudge against his family, wife or parents. But he should take up a job and make some moves, admitted Wojciech Ruminkiewicz. If he receives the money, he plans to donate it to charity. Only when Krzysztof F. retires will 25 percent of the minimum amount be transferred to Wojciech Ruminkiewicz’s account. After Olek’s death, his father founded the National Association of Families of Murdered Children, which aims to provide mutual support to families in a similar situation. It also organizes football tournaments. Olek Ruminkiewicz. – I’m still stuck on what happened. I live with this tragedy both now and then, said Wojciech Ruminkiewicz.