Peter Kudzinowski
PolandPeter Kudzinowski: A Biography
Peter Kudzinowski was a Polish-American serial killer who committed his crimes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Born in 1903 in Poland, Kudzinowski worked on the railroad and in the mines. He had a brother named Julian who lived in Greenwood, near Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Crimes in New Jersey
Kudzinowski committed his atrocities in New Jersey. He took the lives of three children. In 1924, he killed Harry Quinn near Scranton. In 1928, his victim was Joseph Storella, whom he met on First Avenue in New York City. The maniac took the poor boy to a movie and then put him on a train to Jersey City, New Jersey. Upon arrival, he took him to a marsh in Secaucus. When the child tried to escape, Kudzinowski knocked him down and struck him multiple times. Worried that Storella's screams might attract passing cars, he cut his throat, covered the body with the boy's coat, and disposed of it.
Additional Victims
In the same year, 1928, Kudzinowski killed Julia Mlodzianowski, who lived on Gilchrist Street in Jersey City. The girl went on a picnic to Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, where the maniac caught up with her.
Suspicions and Arrest
Kudzinowski was a suspect in the disappearance of Billy Gaffney, who went missing in 1927. American serial killer Albert Fish later claimed responsibility for Gaffney's murder. Both maniacs operated in the same geographic area and targeted children. Additionally, Kudzinowski was suspected in the killing of Irving Pickelny, who went missing in Brooklyn in February 1927.
Kudzinowski was apprehended in Detroit, Michigan. He confessed to the murders of the three children and stood trial in Jersey City. After 63 minutes of deliberation on November 17, 1928, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death and on December 21, 1929, he was executed in the electric chair at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.
