The Death of Ewa Tylman

Ewa Tylman, 26, disappeared in Poznań during the night of November 22–23, 2015 while returning home after an evening out. She was last known to be walking with a colleague, identified in Polish reporting as Adam Z.

Disappearance and search

The disappearance triggered a major search focused in part on the Warta River. In early December 2015, police detained Adam Z., who had been the last known person accompanying Ewa. Prosecutors later charged him with murder committed with eventual intent. He denied the accusation.

From the beginning, the prosecution's account was an allegation that required proof in court. It alleged that Adam Z. caused Ewa to fall from a slope, moved her while unconscious and put her into the river. That narrative has never produced a final conviction.

Recovery of Ewa's body

On July 25, 2016, a body was recovered from the Warta near Czerwonak, around 12 kilometers from where Ewa had last been recorded by surveillance cameras. Personal belongings and clothing indicated it might be her, and DNA testing later confirmed the identification.

The condition of the remains created a central evidentiary problem: forensic experts were unable to determine a definitive cause of death. That uncertainty has continued to matter throughout the criminal proceedings.

The first two trials

The first trial began in January 2017. In April 2019, the Regional Court in Poznań acquitted Adam Z. of murder. In January 2020, the Court of Appeal overturned that judgment and ordered a retrial.

The second trial began in 2021. In May 2022, the Regional Court again acquitted Adam Z. The prosecution appealed, and in December 2023 the appellate court again set aside the acquittal and returned the case for another trial.

The third acquittal

A third first-instance trial followed. On March 25, 2025, the Regional Court in Poznań acquitted Adam Z. for a third time. The court also found no basis to convict him of failure to provide assistance.

In explaining the judgment, the court said it had not found evidence proving Adam Z. was Ewa Tylman's killer. The prosecution and Ewa's father appealed.

March 2026: a fourth trial is ordered

On March 17, 2026, the Court of Appeal in Poznań overturned the third acquittal and sent the matter back to the Regional Court for a fourth trial. The appellate ruling itself was final as a procedural decision, but it did not convict Adam Z. of murder.

That distinction is critical. As of the latest sources reviewed for this page, Adam Z. remains an accused person whose case is pending. He has not been finally convicted of killing Ewa Tylman.

What remains unknown

Ewa's exact cause of death has never been conclusively established by the forensic evidence described in the court reporting. The criminal process has also not reached a final merits judgment assigning legal responsibility for her death.

For those reasons, the archive classifies the case as Unsolved / Active proceedings, not solved and not adjudicated.

Timeline

1. November 23, 2015
   Ewa disappears

   Ewa Tylman disappears while returning through Poznań after an evening out. Adam Z. is the last known companion identified in the investigation.

2. December 2015
   Adam Z. detained

   Police detain Adam Z.; prosecutors later accuse him of murder with eventual intent. He denies the charge.

3. July 25, 2016
   Body recovered from the Warta

   A body is found near Czerwonak. DNA testing later confirms it is Ewa Tylman.

4. April 2019
   First acquittal

   The Regional Court acquits Adam Z.; the judgment is later overturned on appeal.

5. May 2022
   Second acquittal

   A second first-instance trial again ends in acquittal; the appellate court later orders another retrial.

6. March 25, 2025
   Third acquittal

   The Regional Court again acquits Adam Z. and also finds no basis for a failure-to-assist conviction.

7. March 17, 2026
   Fourth trial ordered

   The Court of Appeal sets aside the third acquittal and returns the case to the Regional Court for another trial.

Current status

The death of Ewa Tylman remains unresolved in the criminal courts. Adam Z. has been acquitted three times at first instance, but each judgment was overturned on appeal. The latest reviewed status is that a fourth trial was ordered in March 2026.