Catalin Ciolpan: Killer on the Roads

Send us a textThe highways of post-communist Romania held a deadly secret. For years, a predator lurked along rural roads, targeting women who were simply trying to get from one place to another. They called him "The Husi Monster" - a nameless, faceless threat that haunted the countryside around the town of Husi.We journey back to the early 2000s, when Romania was still finding its footing after decades under communist rule. Cars were scarce, public transport unreliable, and hitchhiking wasn't just common – it was necessary. Every town had designated spots where travelers would wait with an extended hand, hoping for a ride. It was against this backdrop that women began to disappear.Marcela, Safta, Maria, Mioara – mothers, daughters, workers – all vanished while hitchhiking. Their bodies, when found, revealed little about their killer. The investigations moved slowly, hampered by limited resources and experience with serial crimes. For seventeen years, the murders went unsolved while families waited for answers that never came.The breakthrough arrived from an unexpected source. In 2017, German authorities arrested Romanian truck driver Cătălin Ciolpan for similar murders in Austria and Germany. As suspect #4,334 in a massive European investigation, his capture finally cast light on the forgotten Romanian cases. The evidence was compelling – he grew up near where the crimes occurred, drove through the region for work, and once owned a car matching witness descriptions.Today, Ciolpan serves a life sentence in Germany, while in Romania, justice remains incomplete. This episode explores how ordinary actions became deadly in the shadow of a predator, and how some monsters hide in plain sight until someone connects the dots. Join us as we unravel the twisted path that finally led to the Hush Monster.Support the show