Matej Curko

Case identification

Matej Curko was an alleged cannibal.

Timeline

• May 10, 2011 — Matej Curko died in a firefight with the Slovak police force.
• May 12, 2011 — Matej Curko died on the operating table less than 48 hours after the sniper shot him.
• May 17, 2011 — Police announced the discovery of two women’s decomposed bodies found in a shared shallow grave based on GPS co-ordinates on Matej Curko’s computer.
• May 20, 2011 — TV channel JOJ released what it claimed were internet conversations between Matej Curko and the two female victims whose bodies the police believed they found.
• May 24, 2011 — Police confirmed the identity of the two apparent cannibal victims based on DNA tests as Lucia Uchnarova and Elena Gudjakova.
• May 31, 2011 — An undercover police officer who was shot while pretending to be the future Swiss victim was released from hospital after three weeks.

Background

Matej Curko lived in the small Slovakian village of Kysak. He was a computer programmer and lived there for seven years with his wife and two young daughters. Local villagers reported they never had any problems with him during the time he lived there.

Curko used the nickname “kanibm” (Cannibal Matej) in online communications.

A Swiss-born person had responded to Curko’s posts soliciting someone who wanted to die and to be eaten afterwards. Before going to the police, the Swiss citizen had second thoughts and alerted police. Local police said they were already privy to Curko’s online posts but decided to gather more evidence before arrest.

The offence

Curko offered to kill a person in the woods of Slovakia in a way that would make the person die quickly and painlessly, including a plan to drug the person and stab him or her in the heart.

After the killing, Curko allegedly planned to cut the body into pieces and eat the remains. He also allegedly planned to coat parts that would not be eaten right away with pepper in order to hide the stench of rotting flesh that would otherwise attract attention from someone passing by in the woods or from animals scavenging for food.

Police discovered dismembered bodies and other evidence in the woods near Curko’s “ceremonial altar” and the area where he lived and worked.

Investigation

Police were tipped off by the Swiss citizen who had responded to one of Curko’s posts soliciting someone who wanted to die and to be eaten afterwards. The Swiss citizen had emailed Curko and agreed to meet in Slovakia, after which he alerted police rather than traveling.

An undercover agent assumed the role of the Swiss man and took a train to the village. The undercover agent walked in the woods to meet Curko at the designated spot wearing clothes that Curko requested, with a wire underneath so police could listen in and intervene.

Police also traced Curko’s online activity to planned harm. In the messages, Curko described what he wanted and planned to do, including drugging the man before stabbing him in the heart, cutting the body into parts, beginning to eat the body, and coating non-immediately-eaten parts with pepper.

After the firefight, investigators found items including a knapsack packed with sedatives, bottles of vodka, spices, a gas lighter, gloves, and other items. Investigators also found carving tools, knives, and rope, as well as an arsenal of pistols and shotguns with ammunition in the woods.

Police found a candle and a makeshift altar. Police later removed Curko’s makeshift altar and tools used to cut up bodies and relocated the bodies of the two young women.

Police found bodies of two women in the woods. Police found dismembered corpses wrapped in plastic foil in a shallow grave in the forest near Curko’s altar. Police also found some body parts stored in the family freezer.

Police determined that a photo of body parts Curko had sent to his intended victim in Switzerland belonged to the two women.

One woman was determined by DNA sampling and other tests to belong to a 20 year-old Slovenian woman who had been missing for over a year. She had a history of mental illness and had attempted suicide in 2008. Police reported her Facebook posts indicated she wanted to die. Curko allegedly zoned in on the young woman’s online persona and convinced her to meet him in the forest near his village. Police reported that Curko described in emails and chat messages what he wanted to do to her.

Police confirmed identities of the two women based on DNA tests later. The woman identified as Lucia Uchnarova was from Snina, and the other identified as Elena Gudjakova was from Oravske Vesele.

Police also noted that investigations had been unable to access Curko’s complete online history, because Slovak laws prevent internet service providers from archiving email and other electronic messages for more than two years, making it impossible to analyze most online activity before 2009.

Interpol sought to establish conclusive links between Curko and dozens of missing persons after his death.

Italian investigators requested Slovak police to forward biological evidence and tests on remains found at Matej Curko’s home, and they described about thirty Italian women who disappeared between January 2009 and May 2011 as fitting a profile of alleged consenting victims, with ages 25 to 28 and no body found.

The Corriere della Sera reported that an email exchange mentioned someone from Italy, but the person’s identity had not been confirmed. Italian investigators also stated they wanted biological evidence and DNA comparisons with relatives of missing women.

Arrest / policing operation

Police tried to arrest Curko during a sting operation. The undercover agent identified himself and prepared to apprehend Curko.

When the undercover agent identified himself and prepared to apprehend Curko, Curko promptly drew one of the four firearms he was registered to carry and threatened to shoot. A sniper from a special police team hiding nearby shot Curko several times.

During the gunfight, Curko managed to shoot and severely injure one of the SWAT team members. The injured policeman underwent emergency surgery. After spending a few days in the critical care unit, he managed to pull through.

People involved

Matej Curko

Matej Curko was an alleged cannibal and a computer programmer.

Undercover police officer / SWAT team member

An undercover police officer pretended to be the future Swiss victim. The officer was shot by Curko during the operation and was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery.

The officer later remained in constant monitoring at Louis Pasteur Hospital in Kosice for 20 days before being released after three weeks.

Swiss citizen (intended victim)

A Swiss citizen responded to Curko’s posts soliciting someone who wanted to die and to be eaten afterwards. The Swiss citizen later alerted police before traveling.

Curko planned the meeting for 10 May in the Kysak forest, but the Swiss citizen backed out at the last moment and police intervention occurred instead.

Lucia Uchnarova

Lucia Uchnarova was identified as one of the two bodies found in the shared shallow grave. She was from Snina. Police linked her disappearance to alleged communications with Curko, and they said she had been suicidal and had communicated with Curko.

Elena Gudjakova

Elena Gudjakova was identified as the other body found in the shared shallow grave. She was from Oravske Vesele. Police reported her clothes had not been removed and that she was found naked.

Swiss-born Markus Dubach

Swiss-born Markus Dubach was described as a consenting victim who changed his mind at the last moment.

Trial

Curko did not face trial because he died after being shot by snipers during police intervention.

Outcome

Matej Curko died in a firefight with the Slovak police force on May 10, 2011.

The injured police officer survived and was released from hospital after three weeks.

Police found the decomposed bodies of two women following GPS co-ordinates discovered on Curko’s computer.

Police confirmed the identities of the two women based on DNA tests as Lucia Uchnarova and Elena Gudjakova.

Aftermath

After Curko’s death, Interpol sought to establish conclusive links between Curko and dozens of missing persons.

Italian investigators requested Slovak police to forward biological evidence and tests on remains found at Matej Curko’s home, describing about thirty Italian women who disappeared between January 2009 and May 2011 as fitting the profile of alleged consenting victims, aged 25 to 28, with no body found.

Authorities reported that the women’s bodies had not been found.

Police removed Curko’s makeshift altar and tools used to cut up bodies from the forest and relocated the bodies of the two young women. Curko’s wife and kids reportedly left the village.

Other details

Police commissioner Jaroslav Spisiak announced the discovery of the two women’s bodies based on GPS co-ordinates found on Curko’s computer.

Police IT experts cracked the passwords of Curko’s computer, which revealed the GPS co-ordinates leading to the two corpses.

Commissioner Spisiak said: “We managed to identify a shallow grave where two bodies were buried. The bodies were of two women, which had certain parts of their bodies severed”.

Spisiak said the missing body parts corresponded to photographs found on Curko’s computer and which he allegedly had sent to his would-be victim in Switzerland.

Spisiak refused to comment on the condition that the other body was found naked, saying: “I don’t think that would be appropriate”.

TV channel JOJ released what it claimed were internet conversations between Curko and the two female victims. In the messages with Lucia Uchnarova, Curko was quoted as saying:

“I am not a rapist, not gay, I am just a pervert who wants to feel death, to touch a dying body”

Curko was also cited as writing:

“If you come (without police), you will die”

The messages included Curko’s alleged statement about attempting to commit suicide himself at age 17 and allegedly boasted that he still managed to gun licences.

The police reported that in 2008 the Slovenian woman had attempted suicide, and they said her Facebook posts showed she wanted to die.

A Slovenian newspaper report and other descriptions said Curko was referred to as the “Slovak cannibal” in the investigation coverage.

A hospital spokesperson, Jaroslava Oravcová, said surgery took more than five hours and required the involvement of ten surgeons and three anaesthetists.

Hospital reporting stated Curko’s injuries included internal organs, shoulder and face, and he died of circulatory and organ failure.

A police report stated that it was a bullet from Curko’s gun that shot the policeman.