Another crime finally brought him down.
On Sept. 22, 2002, Kunowski was loitering in the London Underground station at Ealing Broadway, probably looking for potential victims.
He spotted a young woman, a recent arrival from Korea who looked younger than her 21 years.
Kunowski moved close enough to see that she was looking at advertisements of rooms for rent.
He struck up a conversation with the woman, whose English was even more halting than his.
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| Andrezej Kunowski |
Kunowski explained that he could help her find a cheap room at his boarding house in Acton, and she agreed to accompany him there.
Once inside his room, Kunowski attacked. He tied the woman up and subjected her to a brutal three-hour rape.
She said he choked her until she nearly passed out. She talked her way to freedom by promising to phone Kunowski the next day to schedule another visit.
As noted, he wasn't a clever criminal.
Instead, the victim went to police, and Kunowski was arrested and charged with rape.
At trial in May 2003 at London's Old Bailey, Kunowski claimed the sex was consensual — a "thank you" because he helped her find a place to stay.
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| London's Old Bailey |
The judge dismissed his alibi as absurd, and Kunowski was convicted and sentenced to nine years.
But even then, the British had no reason to believe that Kunowski was a serial rapist and murderer.
Only after the conviction did the extent of his predation — and the government bungling that allowed him to attack again and again — become clear.
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