The Tragic True Story Behind Obsession: Murder of a Beauty Queen

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The HBO Max documentary, Obsession: Murder of a Beauty Queen, premiering December 17th, tells the story of Agnieszka Kotlarska, a promising Polish model in the early 1990s. It explores how her career, which began with local pageant wins and showed potential for international success, was tragically cut short by a man whose obsession turned deadly.

This account reveals not just the story of a life and career tragically cut short, but also a picture of a time when stalking wasn’t taken seriously by the law. It provides a thorough examination of the actual events leading to Kotlarska’s heartbreaking end.

Agnieszka Kotlarska’s journey on and off the stage

Agnieszka Kotlarska was born in Wrocław, Poland in 1972. As a teenager, she began modeling locally and quickly gained recognition. By the time she was 17, she had signed with an agency and soon became well-known throughout Poland.

She quickly rose to prominence, winning Miss Wrocław in 1990 and Miss Poland in 1991. Later that year, she made history as the first Polish contestant to win Miss International in Tokyo. This victory led to a successful international modeling career, with work in cities like New York, Milan, and Paris. She collaborated with famous designers such as Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, and graced the covers of magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan around the world.

She married Jarosław Świątek, whom she’d met while competing early in her career. They briefly lived in Manhattan before moving back to Wrocław in 1993, where they started a family and had a daughter.

By 1996, I was really impressed by Kotlarska – she was juggling being a mom with a career that was taking off, and I heard she was starting to explore film too. Everyone in Poland seemed to think she was going to be huge on the international scene – a real star in the making!

The stalker

Before Kotlarska was well-known, Jerzy Lisiewski became aware of her when she was a teenager. Investigators and sources in a documentary say he first spotted her picture in a store window and was instantly captivated.

Starting in the early 1990s, his initial curiosity about her turned into an obsession. He began following her home from school, trying to talk to her, and even waiting outside her house. Despite her repeated rejections, he continued to pursue her, becoming more persistent with each refusal.

I recently learned this heartbreaking story: a man named Jerzy kept writing to the woman he loved even after she moved overseas for work. He was so hopeful, he actually proposed to her in one of those letters… but she might never have even received it, let alone read it. It just really got to me, thinking about that unanswered proposal.

A narrow escape: Flight 800

In July 1996, model Agnieszka Kotlarska was getting ready for a photoshoot in Paris. She was in Poland at the time and originally intended to travel to New York to connect with the photography crew before heading to France. However, her husband suggested she fly directly from Warsaw to Paris, and this turned out to be a crucial decision that saved her life.

Shortly after, Agnieszka discovered that the flight she was supposed to be on – TWA Flight 800 from New York to Paris – had exploded soon after leaving Long Island. Everyone on board, including the photographers she was planning to work with, perished in the crash.

I was so relieved to read about her escaping that terrible situation – it was all over the news! What really struck me, though, was learning how he found her again. Apparently, he tracked her down to Wrocław using the public phone book. It was a scary time, and sadly, Poland didn’t have laws to help with stalking back then, so she felt completely helpless against his increasingly frightening actions. It just breaks my heart thinking about how vulnerable she was.

The day of the murder

On August 27, 1996, around 2:30 p.m., Lisiewski went to the home where Kotlarska lived with her husband and young daughter. The family was getting ready to drive somewhere when he approached, demanding to talk to her.

Realizing she was in danger, Świątek tried to call the police. Things quickly got worse, and Lisiewski stabbed her in the leg with a knife. Kotlarska tried to intervene and protect her husband, but Lisiewski turned the knife on her, inflicting several deadly injuries.

After the incident, he told someone nearby that he had committed a murder and then waited for the police to arrive. Lisiewski was found guilty and served 15 years in prison. He was released in 2012, but arrested again in 2014 for another act of violence. He is currently not incarcerated.

Following the trial, Kotlarska’s husband and daughter moved overseas and chose to live private lives, avoiding public attention. They have remained largely out of the spotlight ever since.

The death of Kotlarska sparked a national conversation in Poland about stalking, violence against women, and the insufficient legal protections available then – a discussion this documentary revisits almost thirty years on.

Stalking laws and Kotlarska’s lasting impact

Polish law defines stalking as repeated harassment that makes someone feel scared, embarrassed, or deeply upset, or seriously violates their personal space. It’s a crime under Article 190a of the Penal Code, and can result in a prison sentence of up to eight years. If the stalking leads to the victim taking their own life, the sentence can be as long as fifteen years. Stalking became officially illegal in Poland in June 2011.

The Agnieszka Kotlarska Foundation (AGA) launched in 2022 to help people at risk of harm. Its main project, “Oasis of Peace,” offers a secure environment where survivors can receive counseling, mental health support, and self-defense classes. By providing these resources, the foundation aims to continue Agnieszka Kotlarska’s work and support those who have experienced harassment, helping them regain their strength.

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2025-12-17 16:07