Nobody Should Believe Me - S03 E19: What Happened to Beata?

Episode Date: May 9, 2024

This week's episode delves into the intricate details surrounding Beata Kowalski's death, which was central to the Kowalski's lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's, as well as the documentary 'Take Care of Maya'. In court, Beata's death was presented as an act of maternal sacrifice and heroism. Through interviews and court deposition excerpts, we'll explore the odd circumstances leading up to and immediately after Beata's death that suggest a far more complex story might lie beneath the surface. * * * Get up to speed on the Kowalski case with our Kowalski Catch-Up Playlist on Spotify Preorder Andrea's new book The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy. Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening helps us keep making the show! Subscribe on YouTube where we have full episodes and lots of bonus content. Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop Buy Andrea's books here. To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content. For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

True Story Media. A heads up that today's episode includes detailed descriptions of suicide. So if that's not for you today, we'll see you next time. Beata Kowalski's tragic death by suicide in January of 2010 has played a huge role in how the Kowalski's lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's has played out. In court, the blame ultimately went to Johns Hopkins as they are being asked to compensate the family for Beata's death to the tune of many millions of dollars. This death was presented in the plaintiff's story as the ultimate act of motherly love,

a heroic sacrifice to save her daughter. Here is lead attorney Gregory Anderson in his closing arguments. What else have they tried to say? What are their other defenses? Well, they blame Beata for taking her own life. And although we'll get into a lot of this more, the fact is that Beata was reacting to a maternal instinct that she had almost no, and in fact, no ability to control. It was the same thing as a mother jumping out in front of a truck to push her two-year-old out of the way, knowing that it would take her life.

And when there's a competition between the maternal instinct and the self-preservation instinct, the maternal instinct's going to win each time. And in the film Take Care of Maya, they draw a straight line between the judge not allowing Beata to hug Maya in court during that final hearing to Beata's death two days later. It never made any sense to me why she was denied giving her child that hug. And I can tell you, as we left the courthouse that day, that Beata was devastated. Dev the one thing that I know to this day is none of us can get that hug back now. That hug is gone. Do you think if she had hugged her,

things would have turned out differently? Yes, I do. I do. But the real story is far less straightforward. And today, we're digging into it. What really happened to Beata? People believe their eyes. That's something that actually is so central to this whole issue and to people that experience this,

is that we do believe the people that we love when they're telling us something. If you questioned everything that everyone told you, you couldn't make it through your day. I'm Andrea Dunlop, and this is Nobody Should Believe Me. Well, friends, it's 2025. It's here. This year is going to be, well, one thing it won't be is boring. And that's about the only prediction I'm going to make right now. But one piece of news that I am excited to share is that the wait for my new book, The Mother Next Door, is almost over. It is coming at you on February 4th from St. Martin's Press. So soon! I co-authored this book with friend and beloved contributor of this show, Detective Mike Weber, about three of the most impactful cases of his

career. Even if you are one of the OG-est of OG listeners to this show, I promise you are going to learn so many new and shocking details about the three cases we cover. We just go into so much more depth on these stories. And you're also going to learn a ton about Mike's story. Now, I know y'all love Detective Mike because he gets his very own fan mail here at Nobody Should Believe Me. And if you've ever wondered, how did Mike become the detective when it came to Munchausen by proxy cases, you are going to learn all about his origin story in this book. And I know we've got many audiobook listeners out there, so I'm very excited to share with you the audiobook is read by me, Andrea Dunlop, your humble narrator of this very show. I really loved getting to read this book, and I'm so excited to share this with you. If you are able to pre-order the book, doing so will

really help us out. It will signal to our publisher that there is excitement about the book, and it will also give us a shot at that all-important bestseller list. And of course, if that's simply not in the budget right now, we get it. Books are not cheap. Library sales are also extremely important for books, so putting in a request at your local library is another way that you can help. So you can pre-order the book right now in all formats at the link in our show notes. And if you are in Seattle or Fort Worth, Mike and I are doing live events the week of launch, which you can also find more information about at the link in our show notes. These events

will be free to attend, but please do RSVP so that we can plan accordingly. See you out there. The Scorebet app here with trusted stats and real-time sports news. Yeah, hey, who should I take in the Boston game? Well, statistically speaking. Nah, no more statistically speaking. I want hot takes. I want knee-jerk reactions. That's not really what I do.

Is that because you don't have any knees? The Scorebet. Trusted sports content. Seamless sports betting. Download today. 19 plus. Ontario only. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please go to ConnexOntario.ca. Playoff football is here with BetMGM. And as an official sportsbook partner of the NFL, BetMGM is the best place to fuel your football fandom on every game day. With a variety of exciting features, BetMGM offers you plenty of seamless ways to jump straight onto the gridiron and to embrace peak sports action.

Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older. Ontario only. Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem? For free assistance, call the Connex Ontario helpline at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. In today's episode,

we're going to be digging into some new information around Beata Kowalski's death in January of 2017. If you are just joining us, you'll want to start by listening to season three where we covered this case.

Or if you're in a hurry, you can listen to the Kowalski catch-up playlist on Spotify, which I'll link to in our show notes. Or if you really want to go all the way down the rabbit hole, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Patreon, where I did real-time trial coverage. I do two bonus episodes a month for subscribers, and currently we are unpacking the Justina

Pelletier case, which has oh so many parallels to this story. If monetary support isn't an option, rating and reviewing the show also really helps, as does telling friends about the show on social media or wherever you talk to people. And you can now find our show on YouTube, where we have full episodes as well as lots of bonus content. Now, on with the show. You know, I really worry about the impact that this all has on Maya, to think that her mother somehow died to save her, especially because we now know from email exchanges between Beata and the social worker that Maya was talking to her mom on FaceTime hours before her death. She seemingly was the last person to speak to her. But while this tidy narrative about Beata dying to free Maya from the hospital seemed to have moved the jury, I don't believe they got the full story, especially as they couldn't hear any testimony from the defense about medical child abuse,

thanks to Judge Hunter Carroll's ruling halfway through the trial that the medical child abuse allegations against Beata were no longer relevant to the case. I just want to say at the top of this episode that I do not know what to make of everything I'm about to share with you, which comes from documentation in the public record. I am not in a position to draw any conclusions about what happened here, but as has been my goal all along, I'm trying to present a more complete picture of this complicated case. So we already covered some of the really strange circumstances

of the days leading up to Beata's death in a previous episode. That's episode four of last season called Retaliation. And this episode is really a companion episode to that one. I will go ahead and link to that in the show notes. But what we mostly had to go off at that point was Jack's retelling of things, as well as what was in the police reports of the night of the death and the night before. So, to recap, here is Jack's version of events of the night before Beata's death when

she went missing for many hours, as he talks about in his interview with the police. Did your wife give you any indication that this would happen? No, but the night before, I called the police because she was missing. You know, it was unusual for her to be gone. She said she went to CVS, or going to CVS, when I was bottling wine with Kyle.

And, you know, I bottled all the wine. I cleaned up. And it's like she's still not here. So I did call the police. That felt weird. And I looked in my safe. Don't know why I did, but my handgun was missing. And then she came back about 1230 that night.

So what time did she leave? I honestly don't know. I honestly don't. You made a report. Yeah, yeah, they came here in Sarasota County. In Sarasota, okay. And then when she came home, I called them again and said she was home. But there was no fighting or anything like that.

That was most likely because of what the judge, you know. Jack goes on to describe the hours leading up to Beata's death. Next morning, I got up. I took Kyle with to go visit Maya. And she went for a massage and she had a 10 o'clock appointment. Okay, do you know where that was at? No, I don't.

She buys so many, I don't even, it's in Sarasota somewhere. And then what time did you guys come back? We left the hospital around three, so we got back at four. Beata was sleeping in Kyle's room with the door locked. And Kyle goes, I got a little screwdriver up above my door.

He unlocked it. He went in there. He talked to her for a while. One of my biggest questions surrounding this series of events was why did he leave her alone in the house? He was obviously concerned enough to call the police the night before when she went missing. And according to him, he also was worried enough about her to call her family.

You know what really bugged her the most? We went to court Friday. My daughter was at court. She was promised to see my daughter at court, and the judge refused to let her see her. And that really hurt her. I called her family all yesterday because, you know, she's upset. She needs support. Beata appeared to have been in really bad shape after the court hearing, and it seemed like the fact that Jack didn't keep a closer eye on her over the weekend could be a sign of a growing rift between the couple.

But according to Jack, they had remained a united front. This whole thing didn't put a strain on your marriage. Oh, yeah, but we stick together. Gotcha, okay. So it's not like... No, no, no, no. No, it affects you. So just to recap, the night of her death, Jack and Kyle go to a birthday party and Beata stays home. And honestly, while I don't think there's anything necessarily suspicious about this,

it does seem unwise to me to leave your spouse alone under the circumstances. And it always seemed even more inexplicable to me that, worried about her as he says he was, Jack didn't even check on Beata when they got home from the party. What time did you guys come back? We were there, I could be wrong, maybe 9, like 30 or so. And that door was closed again, so we didn't bother her. Okay. Was it closed or locked? I don't know.

I don't know. So Jack gets home. He goes to sleep. Kyle falls asleep on the couch. Then at some point, Beata's brother, Peter, shows up at the house, evidently unannounced. And I didn't even know he was coming. You know, it was somebody who was banging on the door, ringing the bell, and I heard a voice, and I didn't know who it was.

And what time was that? It was after midnight. I honestly don't even know what time he could tell you. Okay, so he came in. Where did he sleep? Obviously, he said he slept in Kyle's bed. When we got back home, we watched some home shows, and then we were on the couch, and I can't sleep on those things.

You stick to them, so I... So what time do you think you went to bed? Oh, it had to be about 10 or 11, maybe 11. And the next thing you were woken up by your brother-in-law? Knocking on the door, ringing the bell. Did you guys stay up or were you just... No, no, I opened the door. I was in my underwear. I just opened the door and went back. All right.

And finally, in the early morning hours, it was Peter who discovered Beata's body. Actually, her brother came in last night and he went in the garage because he couldn't find her and he started screaming. This is obviously a really sad and disturbing series of events. And the way it played out just always seemed odd to me. And I've had questions since first reading the police reports. But after hearing Beata's brother, Peter, talk about these events via the interview he did with the same police detective Jack spoke to the day of Beata's death and via his deposition in court, I have some new questions. So let's back up to the days leading up to Beata's death.

According to Peter, he became extremely alarmed when he heard from his older sister Elizabeth, again, there are four siblings all together, Beata was the youngest, that Beata had disappeared for many hours the night after the court hearing, seemingly with Jack's gun. I was calling all the time. I think when I entered the home, it was basically after midnight. After midnight. Do you know who was home? Jack's gun. I had, basically my older sister told me that, or my sister told me that she sent him to take the gun away. Okay. And my sister reported to me that he said that the gun was in his brother's house. So when I talked to him the last time yesterday, he asked him why the gun is here, because you told my older sister that the

gun is with your brother. I brought it for security. And after I asked him, is it true that you gave my sister a divorce letter, he? He disconnected. He said he has to take care of the car. And I called him several, maybe 20 times. This is what time did you call him when he hanged up on you? It was yesterday early morning. So after this, my older sister called me, and we decided immediately, there's something going on. And I decided about noon time I'll be flying at 5.25 from Chicago.

This was the flight available. We were both flying, but only one place was available. So we make a decision that I am flying first. I'm renting the car. And I'm supposed to pick her up today about noon. Beata was, understandably, very distraught about the court hearing, and according to their depositions, her siblings were very worried that she might hurt herself or someone else. So by the way, there do appear to be conflicting reports about whether or not Beata was actually in

possession of Jack's gun when she disappeared the night before her death, which eventually led Jack to call the police. What is clear is that everyone, including Jack, believed that she had the gun with her. And her siblings were really angry about this because they had previously asked Jack to get the gun out of the house, given everything that was going on. But the court case wasn't the only thing

that Beata was so upset about that night. Evidently, Jack had just served her with divorce papers. And according to his deposition, as they were going back and forth on the phone the day before Beata's death, her brother, Peter, attempted to confront Jack about this. I asked him, is it true that you gave my sister divorce letter? And after this, he hung up on me. And after this, I called him, and after what this i called i i can get provided all the records i was calling he doesn't know that actually i was phone on the

phone with his lawyer okay when i was talking lori i was talking with his lawyer beef because when it was time before the departure from chicago so i think we talked like 40 minutes with deborah with his lawyer did he ever give her divorce papers you just don't know what it is my oldest sister said that this was basically multiple instances he was pressing her and basically what it is during the court hearing he without letting her know he took the Kyle and without letting know if he took the Kyle and they drove took the suitcases. They actually went to his brother.

But I was very crying. I told him that I was standing by her, that we have the money, that it's going to be a better date. Peter, it seems, was especially upset about this and felt betrayed because he had been trying to help the couple out financially. So let me take you back last night when you asked Jack, where is Beata? What did he tell you? I don't recall that he provided me any answer. Did he talk to you at all? We didn't talk at all. He basically opened the door and said,

Oh, Peter is here. He was surprised, but because he didn't know that I'm coming, even though I tried to basically call him so many times. And also I told Debra when I spoke yesterday with his lawyer, he doesn't have knowledge of it, that I was coming. And basically, you know, I told Debra that I gave my brother, you know, $10,000 and he gave my sister divorce papers. Throughout his deposition, Peter makes various mentions of paying some expenses for the kids and offering financial help to the Kowalskis,

though I don't have independent confirmation of these transactions because it didn't ultimately come to play in court. So, the night after the court hearing, Beata disappeared, seemingly with Jack's gun, for many hours, and Jack called the police. According to Jack, Beata returned on her own late that night and appeared to be intoxicated. It was the following evening that Jack and Kyle went to that birthday party and left Beata alone in the house.

Peter then arrived at Jack and Beata's house late that evening after taking a last-minute flight from Chicago, and he was met with a very strange scene when he arrived. So let me bring you back to over here last night. So you get here after midnight. Who opens the door for you? The door opened after I called, Jacek opened the door, after I called security company because he did not open the door. And I called him a hundred times. Okay, so he finally comes opened the door after I called security company because he did not open the door and I called him hundred times okay so he finally comes to the door yes I basically I flipped the lights in the you know the headlights up

here I illuminated the entire house I was very surprised very surprised the house totally dead totally dark so like a some or something very strange normally in the house was always illuminated outside the light I'm coming there is no light okay after ringing the bell for a couple couple times I have a security code to open garage door but I didn't want to basically you know freak out everybody so I called the security company and the security company gave me the destruct instructions how to disable the alarm if the alarm goes off so I am keeping the numbers and I'm pressing and then Jack opened the door.

Gotcha. Because it was very cold and I realized that I was going to sleep in the car eventually. Okay. So what did he say to you? He says, I was asking for... We did not discuss much. It appears that Peter had been to this house many times, and since on this occasion he arrived in the middle of the night

and presumably didn't want to wake everyone up, he attempted to let himself into the house using the key entry pad on the garage door. But when he went to do so, he found that it had been disabled. And furthermore, all of the lights in the house were off. Eventually, Jack came and let him in and then went back to bed. And I have to say again, this is just weird. Your brother-in-law, whose calls you've been avoiding all day, shows up in the middle of the night at your house and you have no questions?

Okay. Peter, understandably, wanted to find Beata as soon as he got there. First of all, I start looking for Beata. And first thing, where is Beata? I don't know if he, I cannot say that he told me that he was on the couch, but on the couch, I found, I thought first that it was Beata. So I tried to touch her, but it was Kyle. And asking, where is your mother? Where is your your mommy he said that he sleeps in his room so I went to the Maya room because I thought I slept the last time it was full of packages and I

went to his rooms basically she was not there because I was you know driving you know and I get up usually at 4 a.m. and I did not sleep in that place I was chew up so basically I follow up immediately and basically every morning. What happened is I checked the security alarm and I was looking for Beth. While Kaya was there, I realized that basically I thought that maybe she was in his jack sleeping in bedrooms. I opened the door. The door was actually open.

The door was open. And I look for him. Only one thing actually open. The door was open. And I look for him, only one thing or one body was there, one person. One of my questions after I read the initial report about this night was where Peter thought Beata was when he arrived at the house, because Kyle had just told him that she was in his room, but then Peter checked and she wasn't there and she wasn't in Maya's room either. From what he says here, it sounds like he assumed that Beata was in Jack's room. And given the context that Peter wasn't necessarily a welcome guest, and it was the

middle of the night, I can see where he maybe just decided to look for her in the morning. But when he saw that she wasn't in Jack's room, he started to get worried. And just a heads up, this next piece is difficult to listen to. So I start basically looking, you know, and I had, I brought from my car cooler, which I had the orange and two apples, just basically I took for the trips. And I was handling going, they had a second refrigerator. Second refrigerator. And I think this is, when I I saw her it was second times I went there because what it is when I went to garage for the second times I

realized I was like a kind of you know what's going on basically like a Halloween decorations was hanging for me and I said well they they try I first of all I thought they trying to entertain the kids but I tried to push it both with hard body and I realized it was the injections you know that people get it and that basically I start screaming and I touched her she was cold like so worried about my sister you cannot marry a murderer I was sick but I am here returning to W network and stack tv the The West Side Ripper is back. If you're not killing these people, then who is?

That's what I want to know. Starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina. The only investigating I'm doing these days is who shit their pants. Killer messaged you yesterday? This is so dangerous. I got to get out of this. Based on a true story. New season premieres tonight at 9, Eastern and Pacific. Only on W.

Stream on Stack TV. I want to tell you about a show I love, Truer Crime from Cilicia Stanton. My favorite true crime shows are the ones where I feel like the creator has a real stake in what they're talking about. And this is definitely the case with Cilicia, who got interested in covering crime because, like many of us in this genre, she experienced it. In each episode of the show, Cilicia brings a personal, deeply insightful lens to the crime that she covers, whether it's a famous case like the Manson murders or Jonestown, or a lesser-known case that needs to be heard, like the story of a modern lynching. She covers these stories with a fresh and thoughtful lens, helping listeners understand not just the case itself, but why it matters to our understanding of the world. Her long-awaited second season is airing now, and the first season is ready to binge. So go check out Truer Crime with Cilicia Stanton wherever you get your podcasts.

If you've been listening to this show for a while, you know that I have very strong feelings about what is and is not responsible true crime content. Maybe you've heard me make some pointed comments about the producers of a certain film, or perhaps you've heard one of my dozen or so rants about a certain journalist whose name rhymes with Schmeichel. And if you've been with me for a while, you'll also know that getting Nobody Should Believe Me on the air was quite the rollercoaster. Podcasting is just the Wild West, y'all.

And these experiences are what led me to launch my new network, True Story Media, where we are all about uplifting true crime creators, doing the work, and making thoughtful, survivor-centric shows. And I could not be more thrilled to announce our very first creator partner, You Probably Think This Story's About You. be more thrilled to announce our very first creator partner, you probably think this story's about you. The first season of this enthralling show from breakout creator Brittany Ard took podcasting by storm in 2024. Zooming to the number one spot in the charts on Apple and Spotify, as Brittany revealed the captivating story of a romantic deception that upended her life

and traced the roots of her own complicated personal history that led her there. Brittany is back in 2025 with brand new episodes, this time helping others tell their own stories of betrayal, heartache, and resilience. If you love Nobody Should Believe Me, I think you will also love You Probably Think This Story's About You for its themes of deception, complex family intrigue, and its raw vulnerable storytelling. You can binge the full first season and listen to brand new episodes each week by following the show on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find it at the link in our show notes. The picture of the relationship between Jack and Beata looks very different in Peter's version than in Jack's.

And I realized that Jack would absolutely, they actually didn't care about her. Jack didn't give her like New Year wishes. I was very surprised that Jack brought the gun to home. Okay, because he promised my older sister Elizabeth is also on her way into town. And though we didn't hear from her during the trial, she also gave a deposition, which corroborated much of what Peter said in his. Basically, that her sister was very distressed because Jack had served her divorce papers and that the relationship had been devolving for months. It seemed that at one point, Jack even threatened to leave with Kyle. Here is Peter describing that in his deposition. What was your understanding of the marital relationship between Jack Kowalski

and Beata Kowalski around the end of 2016 and early 2017? Sir, honestly, for this, I am not really competent to talk about it because I try to stay out of marital problems. I can say that I was shocked, I was surprised, that a day or night before, the judge wanted to see Kayo at the court. The judge basically lied to me and basically he didn't have authority. He removed the Kyle from home. I don't know whether it would be good

to word kidnap Kyle, but he didn't have authority without the act of removing the Kyle. He took a suitcase and I realized that was basically the end of the marriage. This part of the deposition is a little bit tough to decipher,

but Peter goes on to describe this series of events where Jack disappeared for a time with Kyle. And this was during the time that Maya was sheltered at Johns Hopkins All Children's, and they had a dependency court hearing coming up. Then someone noticed that Jack had taken a packed suitcase. No, I was just buying shoes. Okay, but I had no clue what are the suitcases for. It was two seconds later, Beata came and I tried to figure out from Beata what he was doing.

And also Jack told me that he is going to the store to buy shoes for Kyle. Well, and I was kind of shocked, but Beata started crying. Well, I will get back to you soon. So I tried to find out where is Jack. So I text her daughter.

Jack has a second daughter in Wisconsin. And I couldn't answer where is Jack. So Beata stopped calling. And basically we look, me and Beata, Beata and me, tomorrow we're all going to go to judge, why, and what judge is going to be your reaction if it's not Kyle? When Peter and Beata can't get a hold of Jack, they start panicking, especially given the fact that they're all supposed to be in court the next day. Look, I have a data call.

Call his brother, I believe. I don't know the details because this would be in her phone. And we couldn't find. So basically Beata was hard-broken and i understood this was beginning the end of the marriage and at the time sir i went to the every like a light controller and actually i turned off on unnecessary light but it was not to the point like when i came in the you know and I found that house with the, you know. And Beata was heartbroken. However, because previously we're talking that Maya might return to home,

but the required would be like a speculation, sir. Because Beata was the parent being investigated for abuse, there had been some talk of her possibly needing to move out of the house in order for Maya to be released from Johns Hopkins back into Jack's custody. Peter wanted to reassure her that if that happened, he would help her pay for somewhere to live. And the family had evidently scraped together everything they could so that Beata would have what she needed.

But this was all a cold comfort to his sister, who, it seemed, was watching her life fall down around her. So to ease this, to help the judge, in case the judge would ask, I've already had pre-approved a mortgage, quarter of a mil, for condominium for Beata. And I rather started crying. I pulled out the paperwork that was basically, Beata, you don't believe it, I brought it here, it's quarter of a million dollars.

I said, Beata, let's get out of the house. I told her, like, today, so so Beata said, this is my house. I don't want to go from this house. I said, well, if you cannot go, okay. So we're going to go tomorrow to judge. We have this Beata show, I show Beata. I show Beata also our financial papers. So basically I scrambled the plan, everything that I could, sir.

My retirement, houses, including, actually, sir, get the water. Things had obviously become increasingly strained between the two families throughout the investigation into Beata. And immediately following her death, they completely fell apart. Peter became understandably emotional during this part of the deposition, and because it was a bit hard to understand him, the translator took over to describe what went down in the immediate aftermath of Beata's death. And later on, after Beata's death, in time of two hours, my older sister, Ozbieta, who came in, we wanted to ask jack about that document jack took kyle out of the house and later a few minutes later his brother robin came the one who was with jack in court he came with his wife of girlfriend i don't know what relationship they have. That woman that came with Robin, the brother, Jack's brother, he pulled a harshly pillow from underneath my sister's head

and he told us to get out of the house. I thought they were joking. Elizabeth, Peter and Bianna's older sister, corroborated these events in her deposition, saying that Robert's wife, or potentially his girlfriend, it's unclear, actually yanked the pillow out from under her head and demanded that they leave the house. And things escalated from there. Mr. Zerowski, why did you call the police while you were staying at the Kowalski's house? Practically felt like I belonged there. That was my place. I had all the security codes and I never really had to ask if I could come or not. My sister always allowed me to come. I'm just trying to, why did you, what police agency did you call and why did you call them?

It was hard for me to believe that Jack was kicking us out of the house, that he told us to get out. It was hard to believe. Why was that hard to believe? Because we were helping Jack financially and that documents that he was supposed to sign were for three quarters of a million of dollars. Why was Mr. Kowalski going to sign a document for three quarters of a million dollars? That was after Jack took Kyle out of the house and when Beata said that she doesn't want any more financial gifts from us and that she asked Jack to pay all the money back. Peter brings up money numerous times in his deposition, and it's unclear to me what role this played in how all of this unfolded. Now, obviously, this was probably one of the worst days of Jack Kowalski's life, but this seems like utterly bizarre behavior to kick your wife's grieving siblings out of your house hours after her death. During his cross, Gregory Anderson, lead attorney for Jack Kowalski,

puts a couple of theories to Peter about why this behavior might have happened. Could it maybe have been that Jack just wanted to be alone to grieve his loss? But Peter's just not really having it. And furthermore, this whole thing seems fishy to him. I found my sister, which was very disturbing, and I had several questions and doubts to the investigators, and also I had questions to the letter. This is from the examiner.

Understood. And what were your suspicions? So, sir, first of all, who turned off the light at home when my arrival? Why Jack was at home with the Kyle, with the light being turned off? Why Jack was at home with the security system disarmed? Second group of question was, I found my sister, she had attached medical device. It was not surprising that she had because in her car, in the trunk, she had a stack

of this because she was the infusion nurse. And after the examiner was sending a letter that in my sister's body there was no chemical, no alcohol. The letter, I think you forwarded to me as well. I started questions. So what it is? Was it an examiner error or something else? Well, we'll get to your questions about your suspicions later, but is it fair to say that you had questions about whether Jack Kowalski was involved in your sister's passing? So everyone is innocent until proven guilty and as I said Jack came to me with his bravo and they admitted circuit

breakers were off and was trenched because Jack is very particular on maintaining the house. He is peripatetic. And so why he stay at home without light? The circle breaker was basically in the garage where I find my sister. Just to explain what Peter is saying here, he had questions about the medical examiner's report on his sister's death, which he followed up with him about in a series of letters, which I will link to in the show notes. And he couldn't make sense of why the circuit breaker was off when he arrived at the house. And this stuck out to him

because the breaker was right near where he discovered his sister's body. Peter also appears to have some questions about possible financial motivations. Why did you contact her employer at CVS Quorum? I contacted her employer. I tried to find details about my sister's life policy, and what happened? What did you learn upon contacting Beata Kowalski's employer at CVS Forum after her passing? I don't recall the details, but I might recall that she might have additional health insurance that her husband was basically entitled to collect. So if I'm understanding you correctly, there was a life insurance policy that Mr. Kowalski would collect in the event of her passing? And it appears that Peter looked into hiring a lawyer

to look into the circumstances around Beata's death. I tried to collect as much information and contact from my potential attorney in case I will go to, in case I have to decide to hire a criminal lawyer. Why did you think you might have to hire a criminal lawyer? As I said, first of all, who turned off the lights? Why Jack stayed with child at home with the dysfunctional security system? The security system was dysfunctional from outside, so I could not enter the house. Who attached the device, the medical device with the fluid in my well

Let's assume my sister wanna take her own life, but in my sister body according to the medical examiner There was no alcohol No any chemical, but this is not all Actually, I appreciate you are Tony your your your letter informations I was eliminated because the reason that triggered my flight that night to Florida was that Jack called my sister, Elizabeth, and he was basically complaining that Beata was drunk. Let's assume, of course, we have to believe the chief because Jack was the chief.

He was the best training chief at Illinois. So let's assume we don't have any doubt that Mr. Kowalski would say that my sister was lying or he was lying, okay? So let's assume my sister was drunk and he was carrying weapons, okay? Well, according to the medical examiner, sir, in my sister's body was no alcohol. So how Mr. Kowalski finds this statement that my sister was drunk carrying the weapon? It's a little unclear to me what Peter is questioning here, as, though I don't know the exact science, it seems to me that Beata could have been drunk more than 24 hours before her death, and that it wouldn't necessarily have shown up in the medical examiner's report.

But what Peter brings up next is less easily accounted for. And this entire event show could be recorded on the video. Could be available on video. What do you mean this whole event could be on video? Well, the house is packed with the security camera and actually, I want to say thank you

to the investigator because I was eliminated. The investigator asked if they in the garage were camera. They were camera, but of course there was no power. But before the power was turned off, all the events should be recorded. Also, the security system, which was part of the American, the AEDT company, which I talked to them as well, it has a backup. So basically in case of a hurricane in venice there was a backup for

few hours and in fact when i woke up early morning there was a red light on the panel but actually the system was disarmed so the system was power even vote the breaker was off and basically the addt will not disclose any details until they're going to get requests. And also, just for information, Tony, Mr. Kowalski canceled the contact with the company. I don't know how much is available right now, but based on my discussion with the technicians, it is possibly that's going to be a recorded event that someone entered the garage and after this, the light went off. It's possible. I don't want to speculate. I'm sorry. If I'm understanding you correctly, you had some suspicions that there might have been video of what

happened in the garage to your sister in January of 2017? That's correct, sir. And why did you come to conclude that there might have been video? I spoke with the technicians and ADT, and the technicians provided me that it depended on options. And in the garage, actually, thanks to the

detective at the time, a detective was asked about the video from camera. And Jack said it was not. Of course, it was not because no power. So I guess what I'm asking is, is there video of what happened in the garage or not? And so I cannot answer. Basically, ADT, the company, they hold all the records. And unfortunately, my authority doesn't go so far.

So, basically, Peter arrived at the house in the middle of the night and all of the lights were off, which was, according to him, highly unusual. And the circuit breaker was cut. The ADT security system previously in place, which included cameras in the garage, where Beata's death took place, had been canceled by Jack. Like so much of this case, most of this new information just leaves me with more questions. What's clear is that Peter is not convinced that Beata's death was a suicide. He mentioned speaking to several local lawyers for help in his deposition, as well as visiting with Dr. Hanna, one of the doctors who'd been treating Maya Kowalski, in what appears to have been an attempt to get some insights into his sister's

state of mind before her death. Throughout the fall of 2017, Peter sent a pretty stunning series of letters to the medical examiner's office and the state's attorney about his suspicions that something else was going on here. Interestingly, in addition to his questions about Beata's death, he also claims that Jack was lying about how bad Maya's condition was in the hospital at the time of Beata's death. He says that Jack claimed Maya couldn't roll over or use the toilet on her own and that she was covered in wounds. These would be the skin lesions that she supposedly had because of her CRPS, which, just as a reminder, multiple doctors testified in court that these, quote, lesions appeared to be scratches. Peter

also said, correctly, that Dr. Hanna had evaluated Maya at this time and did not document any of these changes, and that furthermore, Peter and his sister Elizabeth saw Maya the day after Beata died and they did not notice any, quote, wounds. He also indicates that he believes the suicide note could have been fabricated as Kyle, Beata's younger child, had demonstrated to both him and the police that he knew the password to Beata's phone. He also recounts all of the strange circumstances around the death, the circuit breaker being cut, the windows of the garage where Beata's body was found being covered in plastic, and Jack canceling the security system contract that

would have got this whole thing on video. He also makes a mention that Jack was involved in his former job in a, quote, sex for money case. So just to note that Jack was involved in a wrongful termination suit with his previous employer, but I don't know what the sex for money reference is about here. This appears to be about something different, and I couldn't find any additional information on it. Look, it is plausible that Peter is grasping at straws here, trying to make sense of what feels like a senseless tragedy. But the fact remains that the series of events around Beata's death doesn't make any sense. There are definitely pieces missing. What those pieces are, we may never ultimately know.

In the end, I don't know if Jack really believed before the investigation that Maya was sick, or if he was in some ways enabling this abuse. And if it's the latter case, what might have motivated him to do that? But I think we can all take a guess at what's been motivating him ever since Beata's death. Namely, many millions of dollars and a hugely sympathetic portrayal as a heroic father to millions of viewers. We may never know the whole truth about this case, but after spending many months digging through the evidence, I don't think Jack Kowalski is the hero he'd like you to believe him to be. Not even close.

Next week on Nobody Should Believe Me. You know, for years, mandatory reporters operated under the assumption that if they participated in the process, that they would have immunity for their participation. And now there's a lot of open questions. Mandatory reporters are wrestling with the question that if I have a reasonable suspicion of abuse and neglect, and I call in that reasonable suspicion, what if I'm wrong? Can I be sued for that? Can my name be in the paper? Can I be the subject of the intimidation and harassment that some of my clients were? And am I exposing my hospital, whose mission is to provide for the sickest and the most vulnerable in the community, to wiping out their assets and destroying that mission.

This episode was written and produced by me, Andrea Dunlop. Our sound engineering and mixing was provided by Andrew Kindred. Thanks to Nola Karmouche for additional support and also to Cadence 3 where this episode was recorded. If you've been listening to this show for a while, you know that I have very strong feelings about what is and is not responsible true crime content. Maybe you've heard me make some pointed comments about the producers of a certain film, or perhaps you've heard one of my dozen or so rants about a

certain journalist whose name rhymes with Schmeichel. And if you've been with me for a while, you'll also know that getting Nobody Should Believe Me on the air was quite the roller coaster. Podcasting is just the Wild West, y'all. And these experiences are what led me to launch my new network, True Story Media, where we are all about uplifting true crime creators doing the work and making thoughtful survivor-centric shows. And I could not be more thrilled to announce our very first creator partner, You Probably Think This Story's About You. The first season of this enthralling show from breakout creator Brittany Ard took podcasting by storm in 2024. Zooming to

the number one spot in the charts on Apple and Spotify as Brittany revealed the captivating story of a romantic deception that upended her life and traced the roots of her own complicated personal history that led her there. Brittany is back in 2025 with brand new episodes, this time helping others tell their own stories of betrayal, heartache, and resilience. If you love Nobody Should Believe Me, I think you will also love You Probably Think This Story's About You for its themes of deception, complex family intrigue, and its raw, vulnerable storytelling. You can binge the full

first season and listen to brand new episodes each week by following the show on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find it at the link in our show notes.