Four members of Decapitated, a popular Polish death metal band, stand accused of kidnapping a woman from Washington State in Spokane during their “Double Homicide” North American tour. The kidnapping allegedly happened following their concert at The Pin concert venue in Spokane on August 31, where they played with the band Thy Art is Murder.
Cpl. Teresa Fuller of the Spokane Police said the woman had attended the death metal concert and reports of her kidnapping came in at around 2 a.m.
The woman was not identified and it is currently unknown where she was taken and held during the alleged kidnapping, but she reported the incident to police on September 1.
Decapitated on North American tour
Following the alleged kidnapping, the band Decapitated has since played concerts in Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver B.C. They are scheduled to perform in New York City at the Gramercy Theater on September 21.
Band members taken into custody in Santa Ana
According to authorities in Spokane, Decapitated performed in Santa Ana on Friday night, leading to California police arresting the band members early on Saturday morning.
Fuller said in a statement that police had identified the arrested band members as Polish nationals as Waclaw Kieltyka, 35, Michal Lysejko, 27, Hubert Wiecek, 30 and Rafal Piotrowski, 31. All four are currently being held on suspicion of kidnapping at the Los Angeles County Jail. It is planned for them to be extradited back to Spokane.
The Miami Herald quotes Santa Ana Police Sgt. Javier Aceves as saying the band had finished playing when police arrived and were “hanging out.” He added there was nothing dramatic about the arrest.
Decapitated’s lawyer says there is another side to the story
The Spokesman-Review quotes the band’s lawyer in Spokane, Steve Graham, as saying there is another side to the story.
According to Graham, the alleged kidnapping victim had visited the musicians of her own accord and had left them “on good terms.” Graham added that the band members had offered to surrender to authorities before after hearing the news, but hadn’t heard back from police.
Graham added that he does fear the four members of Decapitated will have to spend some weeks in Los Angeles County Jail prior to their extradition, but added they will willingly return to Spokane.
According to the report by the Miami Herald, Decapitated was formed in Poland in 1996 and has since garnered critical acclaim for its music with death metal fans.