Victoria Kotlinski

Victoria Kotlinski was a bright, seven-year-old girl and a second-grader at St. Francis Borgia School in Chicago, Illinois. Neighbors in her Belmont Heights community remembered seeing her and her younger sister playing, sometimes riding in a motorized toy car while their parents walked the family dog. The night before her death, a neighbor saw Victoria out for a stroll with her family, a seemingly normal Saturday evening scene that gave no hint of the tragedy to come.

The horrific discovery was made on the morning of Sunday, September 28, 2014. The chain of events began not in Chicago, but in the northern suburb of Waukegan. Victoria’s father, Maciej Kotlinski, 35, had driven to his parents' home with Victoria's younger sister, who was then three years old. He told his family that he had harmed his girlfriend, Ania Kosinska, 34, and Victoria, and that he was going to kill himself. His father immediately called the police. Waukegan officers found Maciej Kotlinski in his father's backyard with a knife to his own throat. After being tased twice, he dropped the weapon and was taken into custody. His younger daughter was found physically unharmed.

Alerted by Waukegan authorities, Chicago Police were dispatched to the family's home in the 3400 block of North Odell Avenue for a well-being check. Around 9 a.m., officers entered the residence and found a brutal scene. In the kitchen, they discovered the bodies of Victoria and her mother, Ania. Both had been viciously stabbed to death. The family’s dog and cat had also been killed. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed that both Victoria and her mother died from multiple stab and incised wounds, ruling their deaths as homicides.

The investigation by the Chicago Police Department quickly focused on Maciej Kotlinski. He allegedly confessed to both Waukegan and Chicago police. Prosecutors later revealed the horrific details of the attack in court. They stated that Victoria had been stabbed five times in the back, kicked in the head, and suffered a large incise wound to her neck that was described as an attempt to decapitate her. She also had defensive wounds on her hand and forearm. Her mother, Ania Kosinska, who had been with Kotlinski for nine years, was stabbed seven times in the chest and also had defensive wounds.

Maciej Kotlinski was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. During his initial court appearance, prosecutors detailed his confession and the brutality of the crime. Kotlinski, a construction worker, reportedly sobbed in court as the injuries were described. It was also mentioned that he had a history of mental illness, including claims of acute psychosis and schizophrenia. A judge ordered him held without bond and to be hospitalized while in custody.

Neighbors were left in shock by the violence that had shattered the quiet of their Northwest Side neighborhood. Several recalled that the Polish couple argued frequently, sometimes loudly enough for police to be called, but none had witnessed the disputes turn physically violent. One neighbor noted that just a month prior, Kotlinski had talked about seeking custody of the children, claiming their mother had harmed them. The couple was described as having an on-again, off-again relationship.

The community at St. Francis Borgia School, where Victoria was a student, was devastated by the news. In a statement, the parish and school expressed that they were heartbroken by the "sudden and senseless loss." As of September 2014, Maciej Kotlinski was facing a lengthy legal process. The case proceeded through the Cook County court system, with Kotlinski held in custody awaiting trial for the murders of his daughter and her mother.