333 replies to this topic

[justiceseeker]

On november 8th 1992 in phoenix arizona,Angela Brosso left her apartment she shared with her boyfriend Joseph Krakowiecki for a bike ride through cave creek park at aprx 7 pm.The next mourning at aprx 9am she was found decapitated and disemboweled in the park next to her apartments.Her bike was missing and was never recovered.It had apeared the murderer had attempted to skin the body like buffalo bill in the film silence of the lambs.The head was found by fisherman Mark"the fisher king" Qualls 10 days later in a canal 2 miles south of the crime scene and the day after Angelas mother went to the apartment to pick up her things.Krakowiecki was never charged and Qualls for a short time became a local celebratie.Evidence indicated that Angela was not decapitated where her body was found and the boyfriend reported her missing at 11:40 pm aprx when she hadnt returned to the apartment.Also,biological evidende linked this crime to another crime from 1993 involving another young female cyclist near where Angelas head was found.Does anybody have any thoughts on this horrible cold case?

Edited by justiceseeker, 22 October 2011 - 11:51 PM.

[JonathanVonErich]

Hey Justiceseeker, thanks a lot for sharing. Indeed, it's a fascinating case.

The first time I heard about this case was when I was reading my Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes, there's a small entry about the case in that book.

Like you said, in March 1994 DNA testing revealed that a link can be made between this case and the murder of 17 years old Melanie Bernas, in September of 1993. Melanie's body was found near the spot where Angela's head had been found. Biological evidence ( we don't know what kind ) found on both corpses is proof that both women wre killed by the same man. However the Killer's DNA profile has been entered into the National Database, but to this day no match was ever made.

Both cases are very strange. In both cases their bikes were stolen; is that the motive ?? Did the killer committed these horrible murders just to steal their bikes ?? Or was he keeping the bikes as souvenirs, or "treasures" ??

One important detail: The second victim's body, Melanie Bernas', was not decapitated or mutilated like Angela's body was. She had suffered stab wounds similar to the wounds Brosso suffered, but she wasn't decapitated, meaning that decapitation may not be part of the killer's MO or signature. It's very unusual to see a killer changing his MO like that, not impossible but unusual. It could possibly means that the man knew Angela and that he had personnal reasons to hurt her. I may be wrong, but that's how I see it. It's the only reason I see why he would decapitate a woman and not doing it to another.

There's always the possibility that Angela might have been decapitated by somebody else, or that the killer was rushed and didn't had enough time to decapitate or mutilate the body of Melanie, it's very possible.

The fact that, after all these years, no match were made is really really strange. Authorities have the killer's DNA, but still don't know his identity, it must be very frustrating for the families of the victims.

[justiceseeker]

 justiceseeker, on 22 October 2011 - 11:34 PM, said:

On november 8th 1992 in phoenix arizona,Angela Brosso left her apartment she shared with her boyfriend Joseph Krakowiecki for a bike ride through cave creek park at aprx 7 pm.The next mourning at aprx 9am she was found decapitated and disemboweled in the park next to her apartments.Her bike was missing and was never recovered.It had apeared the murderer had attempted to skin the body like buffalo bill in the film silence of the lambs.The head was found by fisherman Mark"the fisher king" Qualls 10 days later in a canal 2 miles south of the crime scene and the day after Angelas mother went to the apartment to pick up her things.Krakowiecki was never charged and Qualls for a short time became a local celebratie.Evidence indicated that Angela was not decapitated where her body was found and the boyfriend reported her missing at 11:40 pm aprx when she hadnt returned to the apartment.Also,biological evidende linked this crime to another crime from 1993 involving another young female cyclist near where Angelas head was found.Does anybody have any thoughts on this horrible cold case?

Also,Krakowieckis behavior was very suspicious after the murder of Angela Brosso.He aperently didnt leave the apartment until around 1996,4 years after the killing.Right after the murder he switched apartments with friend so he could "avoid the media".He also fairly quickly after the murders got into a new relationship with a woman who is his current wife and now lives in gilbert arizona.I recently watched the film "silnce of the lambs"for the very first time.The one thing that stuck me was buffalo bills first victim in the movie,he lured her into a van outside her apartment.The november 11 1992 arizona republic article about the murder reported"a handfull of telephone callers reported seeing a "viechle"in the park next to the apartments" on the night Angela was killed.It was the only mention of the "viechle" I found in any of the articles about the case,police didnt explain or describe it for some reason.Also interesting is that the bike ride Angela took each night was "90 minutes" and she left at 7pm which means she should have been home around 8:30pm.Krakowiecki reported her missing at 11:40 pm roughly 3 hours after she should have been home.That seems kind of late to report her missing.Also Krakowiecki attended devry university near the canal where Angelas head and Melanies body were discovered so he was familiar with the area.Also in the november 11th 1992 article coworkers of Brossos said she and Krakowiecki had been "having problems and she was planning to move out".Yet Krakowiecki told police they hadnt been having roblems.Why lie if you have nothing to hide?

[JonathanVonErich]

Krakowiecki's behavior is not that strange. Maybe he wanted to avoid the media because he knew he was the only "logical" suspect in the case, and that he knew that most people would point the finger at him. That's probably why he lied to everybody about his relationship with Angela, he was aware that saying they had "problems" would have made him an even more obvious suspect, most people in his situation would have done the same thing I guess, right or wrong. And you said it yourself: he "apparently" didn't leave the apartment for 4 years. Apparently doesn't mean that this is true, he could have left the apartment on a daily basis without being seen by anybody. We have no evidence that this is true, and I doubt somebody would stay in the same place for 4 years without going out, it's not credible to me.

My question is: If indeed Krakowiecki is such a good suspect then why did the authorities never got a sample of his DNA to compare to the killer's DNA ?? If he was such a good suspect the authorities could have asked for a sample of his DNA, even would have forced him to give a sample.

Because all we have is the killer's DNA, and since no match were made I guess they never got Krakowiecki's DNA. Or maybe they tested Krakowiecki's DNA and simply never found a match, and ruled him out as a suspect.

It's strange that, in my Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes, the author don't say a word about Krakowiecki. The book was written in 2009. Also the most recent article I have found about the case, written in 2010, say nothing about this Krakowiecki. And of course: Did he had any reasons to kill Melanie ?? Because the only thing we know for sure is that both women were killed by the same killer.

I just think that the evidences against this Krakowiecki are really weak. But glad you shared informations about him, I'll look more into this.  

Edited by JonathanVonErich, 24 October 2011 - 08:41 PM.

[justiceseeker]

 JonathanVonErich, on 24 October 2011 - 08:17 PM, said:

Krakowiecki's behavior is not that strange. Maybe he wanted to avoid the media because he knew he was the only "logical" suspect in the case, and that he knew that most people would point the finger at him. That's probably why he lied to everybody about his relationship with Angela, he was aware that saying they had "problems" would have made him an even more obvious suspect, most people in his situation would have done the same thing I guess, right or wrong. And you said it yourself: he "apparently" didn't leave the apartment for 4 years. Apparently doesn't mean that this is true, he could have left the apartment on a daily basis without being seen by anybody. We have no evidence that this is true, and I doubt somebody would stay in the same place for 4 years without going out, it's not credible to me.

My question is: If indeed Krakowiecki is such a good suspect then why did the authorities never got a sample of his DNA to compare to the killer's DNA ?? If he was such a good suspect the authorities could have asked for a sample of his DNA, even would have forced him to give a sample.

Because all we have is the killer's DNA, and since no match were made I guess they never got Krakowiecki's DNA. Or maybe they tested Krakowiecki's DNA and simply never found a match, and ruled him out as a suspect.

It's strange that, in my Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes, the author don't say a word about Krakowiecki. The book was written in 2009. Also the most recent article I have found about the case, written in 2010, say nothing about this Krakowiecki. And of course: Did he had any reasons to kill Melanie ?? Because the only thing we know for sure is that both women were killed by the same killer.

I just think that the evidences against this Krakowiecki are really weak. But glad you shared informations about him, I'll look more into this.  

When I said he didnt leave the apartment for 4 years,I ment he didnt move out of the apartment complex not stayed inside for 4 years,then he aparently moved to gilbert.More info about Krakowiecki:he studied telecomunications at devry just like Angela and also is originaly from New Jersey.Brosso was originaly from Camp Hill Pensalvania a suburb of Harrisburg.She and Krakowiecki met while at the devry branch in Newark New jersey sometime in 1990.After that Brosso transfered to the devy branch in Los Angeles Califorinia and stayed there until she graduted in may of 1992.In june of 1992 she moved to Phoenix and into woodstone apartments with Krakowiecki,whotransfered to the devry branch here in phoenix.In july 1992,Brosso took a job with Phoenix based Syntellect inc. which is a telecomunications firm.She was a trainer and was supposed to be going accross the country and overseas to give seminars.I found all this information out by reading old articles from november 1992 issues of the Arizona Republic and the now defunct Phoenix Gazzette.If he killed Melanie,it was probably to relive the expirience of killing Brosso.I believe he may of had an acomplice if he did kill her.The reason I say that is because where is he going to hide the head and the bike? Also,if the"viechle" mentioned in that article was his then they would have reconized it and he would have been caught.The police said brosso wasnt decapitated where her body was found so maybe Krakowiecki and his acomplice took her to a house in the area and did it there using the acomplices viechle.

Edited by justiceseeker, 24 October 2011 - 09:48 PM.

[justiceseeker]

 justiceseeker, on 24 October 2011 - 09:46 PM, said:

When I said he didnt leave the apartment for 4 years,I ment he didnt move out of the apartment complex not stayed inside for 4 years,then he aparently moved to gilbert.More info about Krakowiecki:he studied telecomunications at devry just like Angela and also is originaly from New Jersey.Brosso was originaly from Camp Hill Pensalvania a suburb of Harrisburg.She and Krakowiecki met while at the devry branch in Newark New jersey sometime in 1990.After that Brosso transfered to the devy branch in Los Angeles Califorinia and stayed there until she graduted in may of 1992.In june of 1992 she moved to Phoenix and into woodstone apartments with Krakowiecki,whotransfered to the devry branch here in phoenix.In july 1992,Brosso took a job with Phoenix based Syntellect inc. which is a telecomunications firm.She was a trainer and was supposed to be going accross the country and overseas to give seminars.I found all this information out by reading old articles from november 1992 issues of the Arizona Republic and the now defunct Phoenix Gazzette.If he killed Melanie,it was probably to relive the expirience of killing Brosso.I believe he may of had an acomplice if he did kill her.The reason I say that is because where is he going to hide the head and the bike? Also,if the"viechle" mentioned in that article was his then they would have reconized it and he would have been caught.The police said brosso wasnt decapitated where her body was found so maybe Krakowiecki and his acomplice took her to a house in the area and did it there using the acomplices viechle.

Also,there was another dismemberment murder in arizona just weeks before the murder of Angela Brosso.In tuscon on october 24 1992 a woman searching for aluminum cans in a downtown tuscon dumpster found the arms of Diana Dawn Vicari,a 19yo student at a local community college.Lemuel Prion was convicted of the murder in 1999 but was released from death row in 2003 after evidence surfaced that he was wrongfully convicted.Dianas sister believes the people responsible are Robert Encila,who was having an afair with Diana at the time,as well as his fiance.Dianas car was found abandoned near the fiances mothers house.This murder could be connected to Krakowiecki and his acomplice.

Edited by justiceseeker, 26 October 2011 - 01:39 AM.

[JonathanVonErich]

As a student in criminology I love working with facts, and I have some questions for you Justiceseeker:

Why are you convinced that Krakowiecki was involved in the murders ?? Nothing you wrote tells me that he might have been involved. Where are the evidences ??

What's so suspicious about the fact he didn't move out of the apartment complex for 4 years ?? It's not like he wanted to go to another State or flee to another country, what's so strange about that ??

I have read that the authorities have eliminated 16 possible suspects through DNA evidence. I'm convinced that Krakowiecki was eliminated as a suspect. Why ? Because the husband or boyfriend is always the first logical suspect, and I would be shocked if Krakowiecki is not one of these 16 people who were ruled out. You never answered my question about Krakowiecki's DNA; do you know if the authorities asked for a sample of his DNA ?? The fact no articles or any of my Encyclopedia even mention his name is, to me, proof that he was ruled out as a suspect.

And how can the murder of Diana be connected to Krakowiecki and his "accomplice". First of all you have no proof that Krakowiecki had an accomplice. Secondly the murder of Diana is proof that Angela might have been the victim of somebody other than Krakowiecki, proof that a madman was in the area even before Angela's murder.

Just show me the evidences that Krakowiecki was involved. To me the facts prove that he was not involved.

[justiceseeker]

 JonathanVonErich, on 27 October 2011 - 05:01 PM, said:

As a student in criminology I love working with facts, and I have some questions for you Justiceseeker:

Why are you convinced that Krakowiecki was involved in the murders ?? Nothing you wrote tells me that he might have been involved. Where are the evidences ??

What's so suspicious about the fact he didn't move out of the apartment complex for 4 years ?? It's not like he wanted to go to another State or flee to another country, what's so strange about that ??

I have read that the authorities have eliminated 16 possible suspects through DNA evidence. I'm convinced that Krakowiecki was eliminated as a suspect. Why ? Because the husband or boyfriend is always the first logical suspect, and I would be shocked if Krakowiecki is not one of these 16 people who were ruled out. You never answered my question about Krakowiecki's DNA; do you know if the authorities asked for a sample of his DNA ?? The fact no articles or any of my Encyclopedia even mention his name is, to me, proof that he was ruled out as a suspect.

And how can the murder of Diana be connected to Krakowiecki and his "accomplice". First of all you have no proof that Krakowiecki had an accomplice. Secondly the murder of Diana is proof that Angela might have been the victim of somebody other than Krakowiecki, proof that a madman was in the area even before Angela's murder.

Just show me the evidences that Krakowiecki was involved. To me the facts prove that he was not involved.

[justiceseeker]

Ok,I didnt say its suspicious about him not moving out of the apartment complex for 4 years.I forgot to add in my previous replys that several woodstone residents said they were suspicious of him.I am sure that if Krakowiecki did in fact kill his girlfriend he did so with an acomplice.The police said that the evidence at the crime scene indicated that she was not decapited where the body was found.If he did do it he  had a 4 and a half hour window of time from when she left the apartment at 7pm to 11:40 pm when he called police to report her missing.A witness who lived in the complex said he and his girlfriends mother saw Brosso carry her purple 21 speed diamondback bike downstairs around 7pm.The witness also said Brosso seemed to be "upset about something" and apeared to be"paranoid and looking around".The murder seemed personal,and police said themselves that the killer and Brosso likely new each other.Angela wasnt the type of person to have enimies,everyone liked her.Also she only lived in the area for aprx 5 months since june of 1992 so she probably didnt know that many people in phoenix outside of her apartment and her work.So who would want to kill her.The reason I think that Krakowiecki would have had an acomplice is because if Brosso wasnt decapitated in the park then where? Witnesses said a "viechle" was in the park that night,but they would have reconized it if it was Krakowieckis viechle.Also,I am sure the police checked the apartment where Angela and Krakowiecki lived.The first place they would have went to would have been the freezer because where would he store the head? They obviously didnt find it because Krakowiecki would be in prison right now.The acomlice helped him to hide the head.So the question is,who is Krakowieckis acomplice? It obviuosly would have been somebody he was close to,someone he trusted.After the murder,her switched apartments to "avoid the media"with a friend.Maybe this friend of his was the acomplice.The artice that mentions him is the november 25 1992 issue of the phoenix new times entitled"sunshine and sadness".His name was not mentioned in the article.Also suspicious is that the head was found the mourning after Angelas mother came to phoenix to pick up her belonings from the apartment.I have no idea if Krakowiecki attended Brossos funeral in Penselvania or was one of those 16 suspects they eliminated.But if he was eliminated that doesnt mean he wasnt involved.It could have been the acomplices dna.And the acomplice could have just killed Melanie by himself and maybe he was involved in Dianas murder.I myself dont believe Krakowiecki went down to tuscon and killed Diana,but you never know.

Edited by justiceseeker, 27 October 2011 - 09:36 PM.

[JonathanVonErich]

Thanks for sharing.

I agree with you on two things: I agree that Angela was probably killed by somebody she knew, or to the very least by somebody who knew her well. I also agree that it's possible that Krakowiecki might have had an accomplice, it's a good theory.

I just don't understand how you can be so sure that Krakowiecki might be guilty, when you don't know if he is one of the 16 people who were ruled out via DNA testing. You seems to know a lot about the case, it would be great if you could try to have the information about Krakowiecki's DNA. I just said that it'a possible that he had an accomplice, but still, it would be great to know if he was ruled out as a suspect. I think it's very logical that he was one of the 16 people who were ruled out, after all the husband/boyfriend is always the prime suspect in a case like this.

I'm not convinced of Krakowiecki's guilt, but it's a fascinating case, one that I'll share with some of my fellow students.  

[justiceseeker]

 JonathanVonErich, on 28 October 2011 - 12:29 AM, said:

Thanks for sharing.

I agree with you on two things: I agree that Angela was probably killed by somebody she knew, or to the very least by somebody who knew her well. I also agree that it's possible that Krakowiecki might have had an accomplice, it's a good theory.

I just don't understand how you can be so sure that Krakowiecki might be guilty, when you don't know if he is one of the 16 people who were ruled out via DNA testing. You seems to know a lot about the case, it would be great if you could try to have the information about Krakowiecki's DNA. I just said that it'a possible that he had an accomplice, but still, it would be great to know if he was ruled out as a suspect. I think it's very logical that he was one of the 16 people who were ruled out, after all the husband/boyfriend is always the prime suspect in a case like this.

I'm not convinced of Krakowiecki's guilt, but it's a fascinating case, one that I'll share with some of my fellow students.  

Thats great that your going to share it with your students.I am going to try and contact Charlie Minh who makes documentary films on crime,most recently the Robert Fisher case.I am shocked that this case hasnt been on shows such as americas most wanted and unsolved mysteries given the nature of the murders.This case needs a documentary and needs exposure,thats why I am doing this.Back to Krakowiecki,the reason I am so sure he was involved despite no knowledge of who was dna tested is simple.Like you said when a woman is murdered the first place an invesgigator should look is the boyfriend/husband.Everything I have read on Angela Brosso suggests she wasnt the type to have enimies.Everyone liked her and had kind words to say about her.The way the killer murdered Brosso tells you it was personal.I think if Krakowiecki did do this it was with the help of a close friend or a brother or cousin of his.It would have almost certainly been somebody he trusted and knew well.The november 11th 1992 article of the arizona republic stated that two of Brossos coworkers said that she told them they were having problems and she was planning to move out.Look,maybe I am wrong,maybe Krakowiecki is innocent.But in all my research everything points to my theory of him murdering Brosso with an acomplice.I think the reason this case is cold today is because the police back then went down the wrong path,looking for a serial killer who travels the country instead of looking in their own back yard.Whatever the reason doesnt matter.What does matter is this case is forgotten and unsolved.That needs to change.

[JonathanVonErich]

I agree, this case should have been profiled on Unsolved Mysteries, Dateline, 48 Hours or America's Most Wanted. I have seen all the Unsolved Mysteries segments you can find on Youtube and I have seen nothing about this case, in fact I have seen nothing on Youtube about this case, and it's a real shame, this case is really fascinating.

I doubt that he could have had help from somebody in his family, I'm sure the authorities would have asked at least his brother for a DNA sample, knowing than a family member would be a logical choice to help. A friend seems to be a more logical theory.

I think the authorities had good reasons to investigate the "serial killer" theory, simply because of the murder of Diana. The murder of Diana might be proof that a serial killer was running wild in the area. The fact they were looking at a serial killer is probably proof that Krakowiecki was ruled out as a suspect via DNA testing, because the boyfriend is always the first suspect in a case like this one.

[justiceseeker]

 JonathanVonErich, on 29 October 2011 - 01:25 AM, said:

I agree, this case should have been profiled on Unsolved Mysteries, Dateline, 48 Hours or America's Most Wanted. I have seen all the Unsolved Mysteries segments you can find on Youtube and I have seen nothing about this case, in fact I have seen nothing on Youtube about this case, and it's a real shame, this case is really fascinating.

I doubt that he could have had help from somebody in his family, I'm sure the authorities would have asked at least his brother for a DNA sample, knowing than a family member would be a logical choice to help. A friend seems to be a more logical theory.

I think the authorities had good reasons to investigate the "serial killer" theory, simply because of the murder of Diana. The murder of Diana might be proof that a serial killer was running wild in the area. The fact they were looking at a serial killer is probably proof that Krakowiecki was ruled out as a suspect via DNA testing, because the boyfriend is always the first suspect in a case like this one.

If he was ruled out by dna that doesnt mean he didnt do it.I think maybe it was a contract killing,maybe a cowerker,family member,fellow student or close friend of his.The school Krakowiecki attended at the time of the murders is very close to the canal where Melanies body and Angelas head were found.In addition to calling the police over 3 and a half hours after she was due home.If I was in Krakowieckis position and I was innocent why would I act like I was guilty? We know he lied to police for a fact.We know he got on with his life pretty quickly with a new girlfriend who became his wife.I know if I was in his position,I wouldnt have moved on so quickly,not until the killer was found.It was obvious that the relationship between Krakowiecki and Brosso was serious.They lived together for 5 months,dated for 2 years and moved across the country together.I just couldnt move on if I was innocent,not until the man who killed her was free.I think this was a classic"If I cant have her,nobody can"senario where he knew Brosso was leaving him and so he put a plan into action.Maye he got the idea to mutilate her from watching the movie silence of the lambs and did it that way to make it look like it was a serial killer to divert suspision away from him.Krakowiecki is a smart guy.He runs his own graphics desing bisuness and has a degree in telecomunications.He was 24 years old at the time of the murder,about to turn 25,so we know he is mentaly capable of planning the perfect crime.

[JonathanVonErich]

I agree that he could have committed the murder of Mélanie just to prove that a serial killer was in the area. Then again the murder of Diana is, to me, proof that a serial killer may have been in the area at the time of Angela's death.

I would still like to know if he was cleared via DNA testing, just by curiosity. I would like to know who are the 16 persons ruled out as suspects via DNA testing. 16 persons is a lot of people, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most of them were friends and family members of both Angela or Krakowiecki.

Sadly these informations are confidential, so it's impossible to know.  

[justiceseeker]

 JonathanVonErich, on 31 October 2011 - 04:26 PM, said:

I agree that he could have committed the murder of Mélanie just to prove that a serial killer was in the area. Then again the murder of Diana is, to me, proof that a serial killer may have been in the area at the time of Angela's death.

I would still like to know if he was cleared via DNA testing, just by curiosity. I would like to know who are the 16 persons ruled out as suspects via DNA testing. 16 persons is a lot of people, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most of them were friends and family members of both Angela or Krakowiecki.

Sadly these informations are confidential, so it's impossible to know.  

Did you find out they were confidential by contacing police?About Diana,I think her murder is connected to Robert Encila or his fiance or both.Diana and Robert were having an afair and Robert was Dianas drama class teacher at the community college in tuscon where she attended.Dianas sister Debbie Vicari believes so because Dianas car was found abandoned near a house in escrow belonging to the fiances mother.I think its a possibility the murders could all be connected,but they may not be.