Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Pennsylvania Passion Slayer" Peter Kudzinowski

Episode Date: March 23, 2023

His family says that a traumatic brain injury when he was 13 changed Peter Kudzinowski's behavior. But alcohol always made him aggressive. When he was 25 years old, he was found intoxicated on the street in Detroit and put in the drunk tank. He hinted at committing horrible crimes — and the police wanted to know more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of alcoholism, violence, and child murder and dismemberment. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On a fall day in 1928, 25-year-old Peter Kuzanowski sat in a beautiful movie house, where a comedy film played. Joseph Starelli, just seven years old, giggled in the seat beside him, eating cherry drops. To other audience members, they, must have seemed like father and son.

They weren't. Peter watched the screen, but he wasn't focused on the film. His mind drifted elsewhere. He pictured taking Joseph's hand and leading him out of the theater into the Manhattan streets. They'd walk to the river. That's when Peter would take out his knife. Suddenly, the house lights flipped on, jolting Peter out of his daydream.

Calmly, he took the boy's hand, led him up. up the aisle and through the front doors. Maybe now they'd go to the river. Hi, I'm Greg Polson. This is Serial Killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we'll explore the crimes of Peter Kuzanowski, known as the Pennsylvania Passion Slayer.

I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of Serial Killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. In the first part of this episode, we'll discuss how a childhood injury could have affected Peter's personality and behavior. And then we'll see how alcoholism takes him down a treacherous path. Later, we'll explore Peter's sudden and desperate urge to destroy something truly innocent,

and then we'll follow his life on the run, which led to one surprising, pivotal moment in the darkness of a drunk tank. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Whether you're hiring for a role or searching for a killer, the hunt can be exhausting. When detectives looked and searched to find any kind of evidence to find the person they were looking for, like Jack the Ripper, the Golden State Killer, the Unit Bomber. It's tedious work to find what you're looking for.

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What's an occasional indulgence for some, however, can be a necessity for others. Instead of hearing music, some people wish to silence the thoughts in their heads, numb the buzz of feelings like grief, anxiety, or heartbreak. And then, there are those who wish to be stripped of their inhibition. their conscience. A swig of something strong can give them the courage to ignore the rules, at least for a few hours, and behave without consequence. For a select few, like Peter Kuzanowski, a glass of whiskey can do all of these things. It filled his body with music, emptied his head of sadness, and released him from society's

limitations, a cocktail of doom. But Peter wasn't always this way. The Kuzanowski's journey started in 1893, when Paul and Veronica Kuzanowski left their home in Poland, seeking a better life in America. Pennsylvania's thriving coal industry meant cities were rapidly expanding, providing plenty of opportunity for immigrants. It was as good a place as any to raise their family. The couple landed in a growing town called Dixon City, where they had four children. Peter was the youngest, born in 1903. The first years of Peter's life seemed quiet, But that changed when he was in the sixth grade.

Peter was at a swimming pool, maybe splashing around and playing games with friends. But then he took a running start from the side of the pool and dove into the water. He didn't realize it was the shallow end. With a sickening crack, Peter's skull slammed against the bottom of the pool. For a long time after that, perhaps indefinitely, Peter experienced intense pain in his head, caused by brain pressure. But, It was more than that. Peter's brother claimed that after his injury, Peter's behavior and personality shifted dramatically.

He became withdrawn and sullen. The Kudsenhauskies didn't know what to do. It was like their son was a completely different person. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. According to a 2015 study published by the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, it's common for children who have a traumatic brain injury to experience a personality shift.

The most frequent changes include increased aggression, irritability, mood swings, apathy, and lack of restraint. And because this kind of injury can cause some level of cognitive decline, these children also tend to struggle with completing everyday tasks. But I do want to be clear, these are just some of the symptoms that correlate with a head injury. There's no evidence that brain trauma causes a personality shift. Still, Peter seemed to be experiencing at least some of these changes, because soon after the pool incident, he refused to go to school and dropped out. Perhaps his parents believed it was a temporary break and that Peter would eventually return.

But they were wrong. The teenager left education entirely and instead joined the work for. force. With the coal mining industry booming in Pennsylvania, it was easy. Peter got a job in the mines. He was a mule driver there and would lead the animal through the mines, collecting carts or wagons full of coal. It was really dangerous. When workers traveled into the dark, soot-stained caves, they risked all kinds of fatal hazards. Perhaps to match the seriousness of their job, young mule drivers often chewed tobacco or took sips of alcohol. If they were going to do the work of an adult, they'd might as well enjoy the comforts too.

While his peers went to college, Peter worked in the minds until he was at least 20 years old. But after a few years of walking the caves with his mule, the young man had never felt more isolated from the people around him. It also didn't help that Peter had taken a strong liking to drinking and gained a reputation for being a reckless, disruptive drunk. At this point, America was in the midst of its prohibition era, during which the production importation, transportation, and sale of alcohol was outlawed. Still, Peter's thirst prevailed.

With illegal tactics like bootlegging, the operation of secret speakeasy bars, and even the rising popularity of homemade liquor like moonshine, Peter usually managed to find something to drink. However, it seemed that once Peter was inebriated, his behavior became erratic. According to a report published by Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center, some of those who suffer a traumatic brain injury at some point in their lives can be more sensitive to alcohol. Again, the injury does not cause alcoholism, but it creates an elevated reaction. More so than others, these people are at a higher risk for limited cognitive function and emotional issues.

When Peter took to the bottle, he grew aggressive, and in early 1924, this belligerence pushed him over the edge. Peter was out and about near Scranton, Pennsylvania, a larger town about seven, seven miles south of Dixon City. Likely, drinking in a bar, Peter got into what his brother described as a scrape. It must have been some fight, though, because the 20-year-old felt the need to leave town. Shortly after, he asked his brother to lend him money. Then he took off. Peter didn't go far.

He seemed to stick around the same county, hopping freight cars and asking family members to purchase bus tickets for him. Despite having worked at the mines for years, Peter could no longer hold a job for very long, be it railroad or factory work. Whether because of drinking or lack of people skills, Peter was an outcast, no matter where he traveled. It's possible his background contributed to this as well. According to a 1996 study published by University of Illinois Press, the 1920s could be a difficult time for Polish Americans. After a surge of immigration, Americans spread stereotypes about the group. Polish immigrants were often denied fair treatment, both social

and economically. Based with these barriers, some first-generation Polish Americans, like Peter, felt caught between their parents' world and their own. Feelings of rootlessness were common, which could explain Peter's constant need to be on the move. To cope with these feelings, many Polish Americans rejected their heritage and culture in an attempt to assimilate, and it seems that Peter was no exception. Instead of Kuzanowski, Peter used Americanized aliases, including Roy Rogers and Ray But it still didn't help him keep work or make friends. Peter bounced around Pennsylvania for a few more months,

aimless and out of control, and it wasn't long until he picked a fight he couldn't come back from. By the spring of 1924, Peter had met a new friend, 20-year-old Harry Quinn. It's unclear if Peter met Harry while working for a brief time, or maybe at a local speak-easy. But regardless, the two eventually became sort of like travel companions. Then one night while out on the town, Peter became unruly after a few drinks.

At first, Harry joined in the fun. Together, they stole a bottle of whiskey. They took their stash to the woods, somewhere they could drink in private. But it wasn't long before an argument over the bottle broke out. Alcohol affects self-regulation, information processing, and decision-making, all of which can make a person more aggressive, and with Peter and Harry, shouting, turned into shoving pretty fast. Caught up in the moment, Peter grabbed a rock from the ground and brought it down on Harry's skull,

as hard as he could. Peter slammed the rock into his drinking buddy's head until it caved in. It all happened so fast that perhaps it wasn't even until he stumbled backwards, panting, that he realized Harry was dead. Peter had lost his inhibitions, and Harry lost his life. While Peter had gotten into plenty of trouble and fights before, he'd never killed anyone. He left his victim where he lay and went back to town.

There, his night of drinking only intensified, perhaps to numb the feeling of guilt over what he'd just done. Later that night, Peter ended up in a random farmhouse outside of Scranton, drunk and disorderly. Someone called the cops and the Pennsylvania State Police arrived and arrested him. As they escorted Peter into a jail cell, he likely wondered if he'd ever walk out again. Maybe authorities had already found Harry's mangled body in the woods.

But within a few days, if not hours, his brother paid the bail, picked Peter up from the prison, and gave him $20 to get out of town. So Peter left, likely hopping a freight train, still nervous about his crime. Two days later, he ended up in Sikaucus, New Jersey. It's unclear how long it took for Peter to stop checking over his shoulder, wondering if the cops were closing in on him. But as days turned into weeks and weeks to months, Peter's paranoia faded. And in its place, a new feeling took root, a feeling of satisfaction, perhaps.

After all, it's not every day one gets away with murder. Now, there was a part of Peter, especially after a long night of drinking, that wondered if he might want to try it again. Coming up, Peter's depravity finds new limits. 60 years after the release of their first studio album, the Beatles fan base has never been greater, or more curious. Hi, it's Carter. Right now on Conspiracy theories,

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Peter had fled town, hoping for a fresh start in New Jersey, but his drinking and fondness for trouble seemed to follow him. So did the shadow of Harry's death. When he killed Harry, it was in a moment of drunk. drunken passion, a skirmish gone wrong, but it also felt good to take a life. And that summer, he got the chance to try it again. In August, Peter went on a walk near Lake Hapatcong in New Jersey. It was a popular place for families to picnic, enjoy the water, and soak up the sun. It's unclear if Peter was intoxicated. Around two or three in the afternoon, he spotted two girls.

The children were calling the name of five-year-old Julia Mojinovsky. as if playing a game of hide-and-seek. But as Peter approached, he realized this was no game. The kids were distressed. Julia was lost. Peter walked away, thinking nothing of it, until later when he saw little girls standing alone by the lake, Julia. He beckoned her over.

The little girl obliged. Sweetly, Peter asked if she wanted to go on a boat ride, and Julia nodded. Peter held out his hand and watched the child take it. According to a 2017 study published by Northwestern University, killers who target children specifically have a unique psychological profile. These people tend to have low intelligence, poor communication skills, and problem-solving abilities.

These qualities can make it more difficult to interact with fellow adults, much less lure them into a trap. Children, however, are more vulnerable. Peter learned that the second Julia took his hand. He led her away from the lake until he found an area shadowed by thick brush. We're going to spare you the details of what happened next since it involves the murder of a child. But here's what you need to know. Once they were out of sight, Peter attacked the girl killing her.

Then he dismembered her body, smuggled her onto a passing freight train, and threw the remains into the Delaware River as the train went over it. He affixed the pieces with heavy items he found in the train so they'd sink to the bottom. Peter eventually got to Scranton where his family had moved. Immediately upon arrival, he started drinking. But it wasn't to numb the shock and remorse of what he'd just done. Peter was celebrating. Because he felt good.

He'd gotten the same rush from killing Julia that he had when he murdered Harry Quinn. Peter eventually left Scranton and ended up in New York City. One day in November 1928, just three months after Julia's death, Peter spent the morning getting drunk. That's when he decided to go looking for that rush again. The young man took to the streets, walking Manhattan's east side. Around 1st Avenue, he spotted a young boy playing alone. Peter approached and asked if the child wanted to see a picture show. At first, the boy agreed.

Peter took his hand and started to walk, but there was something about his touch that front frightened the child, the kid shook loose and ran away. Peter gave it another go, approaching a little girl in ribbons and petticoats. But the same thing happened. It was as if Peter's evil intentions were palpable, even to the kids. So when Peter saw seven-year-old Joseph Sterrelli staring into a fish store's window, he might have expected to fail again. Joseph was a brown-haired boy dressed in a coat and his favorite blue hat.

He stood alone, seemingly fascinated by fish and his fish. in the store's display, Peter watched the child investigate a nearby pile of discarded trash, eventually finding a small crate maybe to stand on for a better view. As Joseph dragged the box back to the store, Peter approached. He used the same technique, asking if Joseph wanted to go to a picture show. Baffled by the exciting offer, Joseph replied, Are you kidding me? When Peter said that he was serious, Joseph dropped the crate in the middle of the street.

the fish could wait. Perhaps to lull the boy into a sense of comfort, Peter took Joseph to a candy stand, where the pair bought cherry drops. Together, armed with snacks, they went to a movie house on 3rd Avenue. Inside the building, the hum of a projector welcomed Joseph as he settled into his seat.

A comedy film started, illuminating the dark palace with characters dancing across the screen. Joseph laughed. This was probably way better than a fish store. Peter was distracted, though. He hardly registered the film. Instead, his mind drifted to a scene of his own making. A horror in which he attacked and murdered Joseph. Later that night, well after the movie was over, Peter took Joseph out of the city. They ended up at an isolated meadow in Sarkoas.

Just a note before Greg continues, this next part describes another murder of a child and might be hard to hear. Joseph was confused about where they were walking and asked Peter about it. It seemed to either didn't respond or his reply was strange because Joseph suddenly realized something was very wrong. He started to cry. But Peter dragged the boy further until they were surrounded by high marsh grass. Then he attacked. There was a struggle in which Peter yanked off Joseph's coat, but the little boy lost the fight. Peter killed Joseph with his pocket knife. Peter let the boy drop from his hands, then draped the coat over him. Afterwards, he made his way to the railroad where he jumped on a freight train and headed back to his family. At home, it seems he admitted that he was in some kind

of trouble because his mom locked him in a room for a few days while one of his brothers arranged travel plans out of town. This wasn't the first time his family saved him from the law, considering they paid his bail money years before. However, it's not clear if he told them he'd killed a seven-year-old boy. Perhaps they wouldn't have been so forgiving if they knew the truth. After a few days, Peter took a train to Buffalo, New York, then caught a bus to Detroit. But while the Kuzanowski's were relieved to get Peter safely to a different city, the Starelli family was experiencing the most earth-shattering week of their lives.

Joseph's absence was noticed by his relatives, who took to the streets shouting his name. Neighbors joined in the search too. Joseph's mother wandered the east side, crying and screaming in Italian. Filio meo vienna a casa. Which translates to, son of mine, come home. That's when someone claimed to have seen Joseph with a strange young man in a brown hat, brown suit, russet coat, and tan shoes. Another little boy corroborated this, saying he overheard Joseph agreeing to go with the man. So Joseph's mother contacted the police, as well as the press,

asking reporters to print a message begging the mysterious man for her son back. But it was too late. After a couple of weeks, a precinct captain came across Joseph's body. The seven-year-old lay face down underneath his coat. His skin, nearly frozen in the December air, was covered with bruises. Police did find a blood-stained pocket knife nearby, but authorities didn't have the investigative tools for forensics yet, like fingerprinting.

The blade was only a slap in the face, the weapon that ripped a child from his family and future. Peter, for his part, seemed to have little remorse for what he'd done. A few days after arriving in Detroit, he went to a speakeasy for a drink, or several. Then, once the 25-year-old was liquored up, he started telling the story of Joseph's murder, but it wasn't a confession.

He was bragging about the kill. Nobody seemed to take Peter seriously enough to report him, but they certainly remembered the morbid boast. Soon, Peter stumbled out of the bar and entered the streets of Detroit. He knew one thing. He liked feeling this good, and he wanted to drink it all in for as long as he could. Coming up, Peter's trip to the drunk tank costs him.

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You missed collection only at Sephora. Now back to the story. By the time he was 25 years old, Peter Kuzanowski had not only drunkenly murdered a man over a bottle of whiskey, but in 1928, he killed two children. If that wasn't enough, he spent the first few days of December in Detroit drinking and celebrating his crimes. However, one night in early December, Peter got too drunk. A pair of police officers saw him, either stumbling around or picking him. fights. Detroit authorities were never surprised when citizens found their way around prohibition

laws, but they wanted to crack down on openly flaunting it, so they had a policy called the Golden Rule, in which they temporarily imprisoned intoxicated people until they were sober. Two guards led Peter to a cell as he protested, trying to convince them he wasn't drunk. They threw him in anyway. But Peter kept asking the officers to let him out. Eventually, one asked if he'd never been to prison. It was a simple yes or no question, but perhaps due to the alcohol, Peter was a little more forthcoming than necessary. He replied, No, I never was. And if you knew what I've done in my time, I'd never get out of here either.

This was a classic Freudian slip and may have betrayed some of Peter's true feelings. According to a series of studies published in a 2009 issue of Scientific American, when When people intentionally suppress specific thoughts or feelings, the details are more likely to resurface in the hippocampus or part of the brain responsible for memory retrieval. At that point, the very information someone wants to hide is at risk of being unconsciously blurted out. And in his drunken state, Peter said the one thing he shouldn't have to a police officer. The statement troubled the guard.

While Peter slumped in his cell, the officer went to Inspector Fred from, head of the Detroit Homicide Squad, and told him what the young man had said. Fred could have brushed it off as meaningless drivel from a drunkard's mouth, but instead he took Peter into an interrogation room and started asking him questions. We don't know what Fred did or said, or maybe he just waited for Peter to talk, but whatever happened in that room was effective. Because it was like the truth tumbled out of Peter. He admitted to killing his three victims, Harry Quinn, then Joseph Sterling.

and eventually Julia Mojanovsky. It seemed there was a part of Peter that understood the depravity of his terrible deeds. He admitted he felt sorry about the kid and said that talking about it put his mind at rest. He went on to speak of the slings almost like a compulsion, like something he couldn't help. He told police, perhaps it's just as well they did catch me. I'd had killed a half dozen more. These admissions also provided insight into Peter's motivation for murder. Rather than a lust murderer who takes lives for sexual gratification,

he seemed to align with compulsive killers. These murderers take lives as a sort of primitive rebellion against society to gain celebrity, experience fulfillment, and get revenge. But now that he'd admitted his crimes, Peter fully committed to helping the police. He took the cops to where he left. Harry's body, though it had seemingly disappeared. Peter was steadfast that it was the correct location and suggested someone else moved the body. As for Julia Mojanovsky, the cops were never able to recover her remains from the Delaware River. As anticlimactic as Peter's capture was,

the newspapers got a hold of his story and ran with it. Soon, there were countless articles on the so-called Pennsylvania Passion Slayers murders, all of which included tear-jurking details of the victims. A 2022 article published by Time says that the 1920s brought about a wave of tabloid-style papers. In the fashion of the roaring 20s, people wanted to hear about pop culture, entertainment, and fun just as much as current events. So the news had to compete. Reporters started to write about true crime, sometimes embellishing the truth. Some papers even took liberties with Peter's motivation. Despite the fact that none of the bodies had any signs of sexual, abuse. One 1928 daily news article implied Peter's crimes were of a sexual nature. People like

Mrs. Sterelli were left to imagine the worst case scenario for no reason except to sell papers. While Peter's name took over headlines, officials transported him to New Jersey where his only charge was the murder of Joseph Starelli. In January 1929, the trial began. That Peter was guilty of murder was not truly in question. It was more a case of whether he knew right from wrong. His lawyers claimed that he was criminally insane, left broken by a childhood brain injury that forced him to kill. Doctors held up x-ray images of Peter's skull, pointing out residual damage from the pool incident that might have contributed to the murders. As for psychiatric examinations, six different professionals evaluated Peter. They all agreed he exhibited some sort of psychotic behavior,

though the officials were split on whether or not Peter could be classified as insane. The jury was left to make up their own minds. After two days of deliberating, Peter was deemed sane and guilty of first-degree child murder. They recommended the death penalty, and the judge granted it. For about a year, Peter attempted to appeal the execution, even acting strangely to try and convince authorities that he wasn't sane. But when the time came to meet New Jersey's electric chair, grimly nicknamed Old Sparky, the 26-year-old faced his sentence.

In December 1929, Peter ate his last meal, a bowl of ice cream. Officials offered him religious counsel, but he refused. He said, I'm ready to go. If I got out, I'd probably do the same thing again. At 8.07 p.m., the executioner sent a charge of 2,000 volts into Peter's body. For a few minutes, he adjusted the current up and down. and at 8.14, the Pennsylvania Passion Slayer was officially pronounced dead. Ever since his teenage years, Peter's only solace was the bottom of a bottle,

and the only way he ever felt true satisfaction, not just intoxicated numbness, was through murder. In the end, he seemed to think it was better for everyone if he were to feel nothing at all ever again. Thanks again for tuning to you. into serial killers. We'll be back with a new episode. You can find all episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Stay safe out there.

Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast, executive produced by Max Cuddler. Our head of programming is Julian Bois-Roe. Our supervising sound designer is Russell Nash, with Nick Johnson as our head of production and quality control by Spencer Howard. Stacey Nemick is our supervising editor and Derek Jennings is our writing lead. This episode of serial killers was written by Kit Fitzgerald, edited by Ben Carrow and Kate Murdoch, fact-checked by Catherine Barner, research by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood, produced by Bruce Kitovich, and sound design by Anthony Valsick. Our hosts are Vanessa Richardson and me, Greg Poulson.

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