Rita Gorgonowa

Case name

Rita Gorgonowa

Personal details

Rita Gorgonowa was also known by the real name Emilia Margerita Gorgon, née Ilic.

She was a governess and the main character of one of the most infamous crime stories of the Second Polish Republic.

Background

Emilia Margerita Ilic was either of Serbian or Croatian origin.

Her father was a physician who died when she was three. Her mother later remarried.

At the age of 15, Margerita married a Colonel of the Austro-Hungarian Army, Erwin Gorgon.

Probably in 1918, she gave birth to a son and settled in Lwow with her husband’s family.

In 1921, Erwin Gorgon left Poland and immigrated to the United States in search of a job.

Soon afterwards, Rita was forced by her in-laws to leave their house after they had wrongly accused her of immoral behaviour. She left her son with the in-laws and supported herself by babysitting.

Rita was regarded as a very attractive woman.

Relationship and household work

In 1924, Rita became a governess at the house of the 41-year-old architect Henryk Zaremba.

She lived at his villa in Brzuchowice, 7 kilometers from Lwow.

Before employing her, Henryk Zaremba had separated from his wife, who suffered from mental problems and had been locked in a psychiatric ward.

Henryk Zaremba and his ex-wife had two children: daughter Elzbieta (Lusia), born 1914, and son Stanislaw, born 1917.

Apart from babysitting, Gorgonowa ran the house.

After about a year, Rita and Henryk began an affair, which produced daughter Romana, born in 1928.

Rita later claimed that she was hoping to marry the wealthy architect.

A close relationship between Rita and Henryk was noticed by teenage Lusia, who often argued about it with her father.

Rita’s husband’s and Henryk Zaremba’s circumstances were described as involving older male relationships, with her physician father having died when she was a toddler and her having spent much of her life searching for a father figure and security.

The offence

On the night of December 30/31, 1931, Elzbieta (Lusia), who was sleeping in her bed, was hit in the head by a blunt object, probably an ice pick, and died on the spot.

Investigators concluded that the murder was carried out by a resident of the house. They stated there were no footsteps on the windowsill and in the snow around the building, no traces of a break-in, and that family dog Lux did not bark that night.

According to an official police report, Gorgonowa crossed the corridor from her room to Lusia’s room, killing the girl. She then opened the window and penetrated her victim’s vagina with a finger, trying to make it appear as a rape.

Upon leaving Lusia’s room, Gorgonowa noticed Lux, the dog, and hit it in the head. The canine wailed, waking Stas Zaremba (Stanislaw), who was sleeping in the dining room.

The boy entered the corridor, noticing a person dressed in a sheepskin standing next to a Christmas tree. Stas later claimed it was Rita.

Unable to get back to her bedroom, Gorgonowa ran out through the front door.

While entering her bedroom, she broke a small window, cutting her finger. She then changed her nightdress and joined other residents of the house who had been alarmed by Stas.

On December 31, Gorgonowa threw the ice pick into a pool, losing a candle.

Later, a bloodstained handkerchief was found, and traces of blood were found on Rita’s sheepskin.

The blood on the handkerchief and the sheepskin was described as type A, while Gorgonowa’s blood was described as type 0.

A finding by police experts was said to have been undermined by the famous scientist from Lwow, Ludwik Hirszfeld.

Investigation and arrest

The murder was discovered by Stanislaw Zareba, who was awakened by a dog, and alerted residents of the house.

Doctor Ludwik Csala was called for, together with a police officer, who scanned the room.

Since circumstantial evidence pointed at Gorgonowa, she was immediately arrested.

Also, Henryk Zaremba, suspected of cooperation with murderers, was locked for six weeks.

Police detectives interviewed a gardener and a teenage boy from Brzuchowice, who was secretly in love with Lusia.

During the interrogation, Gorgonowa maintained her innocence.

Rita later vehemently declared her innocence.

Trial

On May 14, 1932, after a short trial, the District Court at Lwow sentenced Rita Gorgonowa to death.

Legal mistakes and appeals by her defence changed the verdict later by the Supreme Court.

Her defence counsel were Mieczyslaw Ettinger of Warszawa, Jozef Wozniakowski of Krakow and Maurycy Axer of Lwow.

While in prison, Margerita gave birth to daughter Ewa on September 20, 1932.

Her case was moved to District Court in Krakow, where on April 29, 1933, Rita was sentenced to eight years.

Sentencing and time served

Rita was sentenced to death on May 14, 1932.

Her verdict was later changed by the Supreme Court due to legal mistakes and appeals by her defence.

On April 29, 1933, she was sentenced to eight years in prison.

She was to be released on May 24, 1940, but due to the German Invasion of Poland, she was released on September 3, 1939.

Release and aftermath

Her post-1939 fate had not been established.

Further fate of Rita Gorgonowa was unknown.

Her daughters claimed that she survived World War II.

According to some sources, she moved to Silesia or ran a newsstand in Opole.

Other sources claimed she left Poland and settled in South America.

In 2014, Rita’s daughter Ewa and daughter-in-law Margarita Ilic-Lisowska declared their intention to re-open the trial and change of the verdict, but it had not happened.

Film and later cultural references

In 1977, a feature film The Case of Gorgonowa was made by director Janusz Majewski, with Ewa Dalkowska playing the role of Rita.

Other details

Lusia Zaremba was identified as the teenage girl buried in the Lychakiv cemetery, with a placard that also included Henryk Zaremba.

Stanislaw Zaremba was the son born in 1917.

Romana was born in 1928.

Rita had a son and two daughters.

The winter period between Christmas and New Year’s in Poland was described as usually a time of relaxation, and the weather was described as snowy and cold during the 1930 holiday season.