What really happened to Magdalena Żuk?
The death of Magdalena Żuk in 2017 is an odd case that remains a mystery to this day. While the theories surrounding Magdalena’s death are purely speculative, there is no doubt that the situation as a whole is incredibly strange.
Polish national Magdalena travelled to Egypt in 2017 to go on holiday, but she never made it home. After increasingly erratic behaviour, Magdalena jumped from a window and passed away from her injuries. The circumstances of the case led to an investigation by the Polish and Egyptian governments.
Join us here at Crime+Investigation as we examine the case and mysterious death of Magdalena Żuk.
Magdalena Żuk and the trip to Marsa Alam
Magdalena Żuk was a 27 year old woman who lived in south west Poland and worked as a beautician. On 25th April 2017, Magdalena was due to fly to a tourist town called Marsa Alam in Egypt with her boyfriend Markus. They were meant to stay at an all-inclusive resort for a week on a package holiday, as a surprise for Markus. However, Markus was unable to travel due to problems with his passport, leading to him being unable to receive a visa. As the trip was booked and paid for, Magdalena travelled to the resort by herself.
Magdalena’s erratic behavior
Despite Magdalena showing no signs of distress on the way (though she was reportedly upset at the airport as she had to go alone), she began to exhibit strange behaviour. She messaged her friends in Poland, acting as if they were with her. She also reportedly told others that she could hear voices while in her hotel room and was shouting down the phone in the lobby. A video also showed her behaving oddly, as she is seen lying down and not moving in the doorway to her hotel room.
The unusual behaviour that Magdalena was displaying led to concern from the hotel staff. Her parents were contacted, and they agreed for her to come home three days after her trip began. However, Magdalena’s behaviour only got worse, making it so she was not allowed to get onto the plane to return home. Instead, a friend was scheduled to travel from Poland to collect her.
In the meantime, Magdalena was sent to a private hospital. While there, Magdalena was constantly fighting with the staff and trying to run away, so much so that they were forced to restrain her by tying her to her bed with linen. CCTV footage can be seen of Magdalena doing this. She also tried to jump from the window.
The death of Magdalena Żuk
Magdalena managed to free herself by attacking a nurse who untied her so she could use the bathroom. She then threw herself from a second-storey window and landed on the concrete steps below. Magdalena was taken to Red Sea Hospital, but she died a couple of hours later.
Investigations into Magdalena’s death
Investigations began soon after Magdalena’s death, with an autopsy conducted in Egypt. The findings were that Magdalena died from falling due to suicide from unstable mental health. Sexual assault or murder was denied, with no evidence found. Another autopsy took place in Poland, but the results were not released with detail.
Theories surrounding Magdalena’s death
Despite her death being ruled as a suicide, there has been much speculation surrounding what happened to Magdalena. There have been several theories, including murder, human trafficking and sex crimes. These theories were emphasised by Polish tabloids, some of which published news of Magdalena claiming she had been murdered.
Other tabloids published articles claiming she had been sexually assaulted by hotel workers. A far-right Polish website called StormFront went a step further with these claims, posting an article with the headline, 'Polish girl raped and killed in Egypt during holidays'.
Phone call with Markus
The rumours circulated significantly in Poland after details of a FaceTime conversation that Magdelana had with her boyfriend surfaced. The conversation took place a few hours before her death, and in it, Magdalena seems incredibly confused and stressed. She also answers with the letter 'M' when Markus asks her what has happened.
Tour guide Mahmoud Khairy ends the call after telling Markus in Polish that the call is a 'waste of time'. He arranges for Magdalena to call him later before the phone hangs up. Rumours surrounding tour guide Mahmoud then cropped up because of Magdalena’s odd 'M' response, though there is no official transcript of the conversation.
Magdalena’s death became a media circus spectacle, with people around the world making claims and detailing theories, none of which have been substantiated. The most likely scenario is that Magdalena suffered from a severe mental health crisis triggered by her boyfriend not being able to come with her to Marsa Alam.
We will likely never know exactly what happened, but here’s hoping that Magdalena’s family and friends can get closure at some point.
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