Kajetan Poznański: Manhunt for 'Polish Hannibal Lecter' after teacher beheaded with samurai sword

Polish authorities have launched a Europe-wide manhunt for a librarian fascinated with Hannibal Lecter, who allegedly went on the run after beheading his languages teacher with a samurai sword. Police suspect Kajetan Poznański might have left Poland and have issued a European arrest warrant for the 27-year-old, who has been consequently listed among the EU's most wanted men.

Detectives believe he killed and dismembered the body of his Italian language teacher, whose name has been given only as Katarzyna J, 30, on 3 February, before he set his house on fire and escaped. Authorities warned the Warsaw man is extremely dangerous, particularly considering that motives for his crimes, although not yet completely clear, might be irrational in nature.

Poznański had no previous criminal record or history of mental issues. Acquaintances described him to local media as a private and intelligent person – with a passion for ancient poetry – who had however grown more introvert after graduating.

He was also fond of the fictional character of Hannibal Lecter, the sharp-thinking cannibal killer of the movie The Silence of the Lambs, which was based on a Thomas Harris novel of the same name, almost to obsession.

The young librarian had also reportedly penned a poem in Latin about love and murder entitled Feast of Hannibal Lecter, a chilling detail considering the circumstances of the crime he is accused of.

A collector of Samurai swards, Poznański supposedly brought one of the blades along as went to Katarzyna's flat in Warsaw's Woli disctric, where she gave private language lessons. There he allegedly killed her in cold blood and cut the body into pieces, before placing the head in a backpack and the rest into a luggage case.

He boarded the baggage onto a taxi that drove him back home. The woman's remains were found by firefighters that had been called at the address to extinguish a blaze Poznański is believed to have intentionally ignited to cover his traces.

Poznański's profile is now featured along that of Paris attacks suspects Salah Abdeslam and Mohammed Abrini and Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro in a Europol website dedicated to the 28-nation bloc's most-wanted fugitives.

According to the website he is 180-185cm tall, with black eyes and speaks both Polish and English. Those with information on his whereabouts can call alert Polish authorities at calling +48226013508 or writing at fast.poland@policja.gov.pl.