Magdalena Zuk: Marsa Alam, Egypt

0:10 Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the fastened seatbelt sign. If you haven't already done so, please make sure the volume of this podcast is set perfectly to your listening enjoyment. Please take your seat, whether that's on the treadmill, car, sofa, or bed, and buckle in for the Last Trip. My name is Jamie Biebe and I'll be your tour guide recreating someone's last days in paradise on behalf of myself and everyone behind the scenes. Please enjoy the Last Trip podcast. And because nobody likes a long flight gets where they want to be, let's prepare for takeoff. On April thirtieth, twenty seventeen, twenty seven year old Magdalena Zook fell to her death from a hospital window in Egypt, just days into a week long holiday.

0:58 This case is rampant with conspiracy theories including sex, trafficking, murder, drugs, and suicide. What really happened to Magdalena Zuk? Why are there so many rumors about this case? And is Egypt safe to visit? Egypt is absolutely on my travel bucket list. Who doesn't want to see the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Luxor Temple, the Nile River, the Red Sea, or the White Desert. I looked at photos of Egypt and geography books as a kid and dreamed of going there. The most famous Egypt tourist attractions are the iconic Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza. Both are located just outside Cairo, with the Pyramids being the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. They were constructed as monumental tombs to house the bodies of deceased pharaohs and their treasures, as well as to facilitate their journey to the afterlife, according to ancient Egyptian beliefs. The large limestone statue with the body of a lion and the head of a human a hybrid creature combining elements of a lion symbolizing strength and power and a human head symbolizing intelligence and divine authority.

2:15 Its position facing the sun symbolizes rebirth and renewal. Those are two things I cannot wait to see in person. But what has tourism been like in Egypt? In the late nineteenth century, tourism was mostly European travelers that wanted to explore the mysteries of ancient Egypt, especially after they opened the Sioux's Canal in eighteen sixty nine, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The early twentieth century saw an increase in organized tourism like travel agencies and tour operators. Around this time, the Egyptian government recognized the economic potential of tourism and began investing into it with resorts, hotels, and other accommodations. In the mid to late twentieth century, there was a tourism boom and millions of visitors started exploring the ancient wonders and cruising down the Nile River.

3:09 But in the nineteen sixties and seventies, political instability and regional conflicts like the Arab Israeli Wars and the Yong Kippur Wars dropped the tourist numbers, and again in the early two thousands, tourism faced more setbacks from terrorist attacks, especially from the bombing of tourist sites in Luxor and Sham Alshaikh. In more recent years, there have been increased efforts to once again promote tourism and improve security in Egypt. So tourism is slowly growing, and it should because there are some amazing things to see and do in Egypt. I recently got my diving certificate, and I'd love to try the Red Sea blue Hole. I mentioned to the blue hole in Belize in an earlier episode. The Red Sea also has a blue hole, but much more deadly four hundred and sixty two foot deep blue hole known as the Divers Cemetery because at least forty divers have died there. The White Desert is a weird wonder of nature.

4:12 There's huge, odd shaped chalk boulders that loom over the desert, making it look like icebergs have stranded themselves in a sand dune. It's something out of a science fiction movie and what's in a lifetime experience. A lot of people even camp overnight so they can see it during sunset and sunrise. Saint Catherine's Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai, is one of the oldest in the world and where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. While you're there, you can hike up Mount Sinai to see the sunrise or sunset, either by taking a camel for the easy route or climbing the famous Steps of Repentance. If you want a better view, a visit to the resort town of Hergatta, along the gorgeous beaches of the Red Sea, is a great timeout from temple viewing bock out the smaller tourist town of marsa Alam, where Magdalena stayed on her fateful trip. It's located on the western shore of the Red Sea and one of the most attractive tourist areas because of its resorts, crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches. Also known as the Egyptian Maldives, Egypt looks like a magical land with natural beauty, history, and mystery around every corner, and I can't wait for the opportunity to visit. But although it looks amazing, it can be dangerous. Let's get to know Magdalena Zook and find out what happened on her Egyptian vacation, because there's a lot to unpack in this tragedy. There are a

5:45 lot of rumors and a lot of people involved in this tragedy. The media and the internet ran with this story and all the theories about what happened. But what I noticed was that very few sources talked about who Magdalena was or what type of person she was. Magdalena Zuk was born September nineteenth, nineteen ninety in Bogatina, Poland, to her parents Tadus and elsbta Zuk. She had several sisters, but the one we'll mention most in this episode is her sister Anna, who searched relentlessly for the truth surrounding her death. Magdalena left home when she was just seventeen, and several new sources said her father was an alcoholic and that she sought out therapy to deal with that in her late teens, but that didn't slower down. She was full of life, dreams and laughter. She was ambitious and smart, pursuing and achieving all the goals she set for herself. At the age of twenty two, she opened her own beauty salon while also studying for bachelor's degree in diocetics. She was a model and an athlete. She loved a jog, swim, and hike. She was also into fitness training and pole dancing. She didn't like sitting still for a minute. She was always working, studying, or trained.

7:00 When she was twenty seven, she moved to a small town called Roklaw in Poland and met her boyfriend Marcus Wodarski during a concert in a popular nightclub called Gray. He was a well known hairdresser in town that often worked with models, and the two hit it off right away. By the time her trip to Egypt rolled around, they had been dating for three to four months, and her friends said they planned to get married the next year in the United States, with his second wedding in Poland. Before her trip, she was happy and talked about her upcoming marriage and the wedding, as well as her desire to have children. Magdalena's friends and family said she had no history of mental illness or depression, never did drugs, and was adamantly against them, but she was known to be spontaneous. She secretly organized this all inclusive week long holiday to a resort in marsa Alam, Egypt, for her and Marcus to celebrate Marcus's birthday, but she didn't reveal the surprise until around one pm on the afternoon of the day of departure. This is when they realized his passport was valid for less than the six month cut off required, so there's no way he'd be allowed in Egypt.

8:10 Some rumors said she knew or should have known, because she'd been in touch with their mutual friend mache Sulchek, who would have told her about the passport issue. While that can't be confirmed, marche does end up playing a crucial character later on in the story, so we'll come back to him. The money was already spent and Marcus couldn't go. They checked if there could be an exception with his passport or if they could change the dates, but they couldn't. Four hours before the flight left, Marcus tried to sell the trip on Facebook, writing a post that said I am selling a holiday to Egypt. Departure is today from Kadaviza at eight twenty pm. The Egypt hotel has four stars and is all in the value of the trip is four thousand PLN, which is a little over nine hundred euros. I will sell it for half price for two people. A Polish YouTuber named tera Caaz claimed that three different people offered to buy the trip, but Marcus told them the trip was already sold. He even claimed they showed screenshots to the police, although none of this is confirmed. This YouTuber theorized that Marcus created the entire Facebook post as an attempt to buy himself an alibi, and that Magdalena going alone was the plan the whole time, but Magdalena also asked her circle of friends if anyone wanted to go with her, and unfortunately, no one was able to. According to her sister Anna, she asked her and their parents and none of them had valid passports. But in a later interview with her parents,

9:44 they said they had no knowledge that she had flown to Egypt for the trip. Her father even said had he known, he would not have let her go to that country, not alone and not with someone else either. Like I mentioned, there are a lot of conflicting stories in this case, lot of unconfirmed statements, making it hard to know what or who to believe. Another issue is that it's difficult and expensive, if not impossible, to change the names on a flight at the last minute. Megdalena booked the trip with a travel company called Rainbow Tours, so it's possible she spoke with them and they told her they could change the names. And they also play a big role in this case. We'll get to that soon.

10:26 When I looked up Rainbow Tours, it was hard to get much information. What I did learn is that they are a Poland based travel company that books travel throughout most of the world. They offer all types of travel, accommodations, last minute bookings, family vacations, tours, all inclusive. If you can dream it up, they can make it happen. What I couldn't find were any company reviews. Even searching through their Facebook page. There were very few posts around the time of Magdalena's death, and the ones I saw didn't mention her or allow comments. Either way, Magdalena ended up taking the trip by herself, and while a lot of women go on solo trips, I'm not sure if this is something she'd normally do. The trips she bought included a full time guide from Rainbow Tours, so she'd have someone to help her out once she got there. That spoke Polish, which probably made her feel safer about going alone, and that guide was named Mamod Carrie. So to break it down, Magdalena took a solo vacation in Egypt and never came back. Marcus was her boyfriend back in Poland Marche is their mutual friend. Ma Mood is the travel company guide and Anna is Magdaliena's sister. Let's get into it after these messages from our sponsors, Well, this case is full of rumors and gossip. I do have a pretty good day by day's schedule of what took place from when she landed in Egypt and tell her death.

11:54 On Tuesday, April twenty fifth, twenty seventeen, Magdalena's boyfriend Marcus takes her to the Katapiza airport for her eight twenty pm flight to Egypt. Witnesses said she was crying and sad, but otherwise wasn't acting strangely. She lands in her Gada, Egypt, just after midnight on April twenty sixth, and calls Marcus when she lands to check in. According to Marcus, she doesn't sound nervous or anxious, and no witnesses came forward saying they noticed anything unusual about her, but rather that she acted completely normal during the flight and landing at the airport. After landing, she goes to Marsa Alam, approximately two hundred and eighty six kilometers or one hundred and seventy eight miles away to the Three Corners Atquinox Resort Beach Hotel and checks in. The Three Corners is an all inclusive four star resort. They're a family friendly resort with a club atmosphere, a full weekly program with various sports and entertainment, and a water park. The rooms all have a balcony overlooking the sea or garden. There's a buffet, restaurant and plenty of entertainment shows. It's facing the open sea with a large beach front and located with an a leisurely stroll of the Blue Lagoon beach. Sounds like paradise for only about eighty two one hundred dollars a night.

13:12 So I looked for the bad reviews like I always do. The negative reviews complained about unprofessional staff, no privacy for guests, rooms were outdated, and bad food at the buffet. Almost every complaint was centered around the entertainment and shows, as well as the beach vendors harassing the vacationers, and quite a few complained about racism, saying the staff would only serve certain nationalities like Italian, French and English. The complaints I found interesting were about privacy and unprofessional staff. I'm not sure what they meant by no privacy for guests because no one elaborated, but it's definitely suspect. On Wednesday, April twenty sixth, at three am, just a couple hours after checking in, Magdalena calls Marcus again and tells him she's frightened. She says she heard voices in her room and asks him to talk to the hotel staff to find out what's going on. So Marcus talks to the staff and they tell him everything is fine, and eventually Megdalena agrees everything is fine shortly after that. From there on out, Marcus said they were in near constant contact, but in a contrasting twist, her friends said they could barely reach her on the phone while she was there.

14:25 Over the course of that day, Megdalena pleads with Marcus to come and get her as soon as possible and take her home. This is when Megdalena starts acting really strange. Hotel staff said she was running around accusing gifts of things they weren't doing, that, she was acting aggressive and wouldn't accept anyone's help. She was also crying that her boyfriend needed to be there with her and she wanted to go back to Poland. They said she was wearing long pants despite the intense heat, and frequently taking off her blouse to reveal her bare breasts. Hotel staff and guests said she she was acting sullen and withdrawn One moment refusing to answer questions, and the next moment she was acting lively and extroverted, even trying to set up a party in the hotel with other Polish speaking guests.

15:13 One female guest at the hotel who tried to help her, claimed she would only say do you believe in life after death? And then go back to running through the hotel and asking me go back to Poland. At some points on Wednesday, hotel staff calls the travel agency, Rainbow Tours, and they send Mamood, the guy who speaks Polish, to keep an eye on her. Also at this time, Magdalena starts reaching out some of her friends, sending them strange texts, but she's sending most of the texts from Mahmoud's phone, even though her phone works just fine. When her friends try to reach her on her own phone, they can't. She was sending them texts as if they were on vacation with her, asking where they are and demanding they come to her room, and that she was waiting in her room for them. They set her message were mysterious and hard to understand. When she finally calls one of her friends, they said she spoke very strangely, she was mumbling and told them that someone had probably spiked her drink.

16:11 Her friends all agree she sounds erratic and confused, and she tells them she is still hearing voices in her room. As this information starts reaching her parents on Wednesday, they were understandably worried, and, after speaking with Marcus, thought someone should go there and bring her home. The problem was that none of them had working passports, so Marcus reaches out to his and Magdalena's mutual friend, Marche, who agrees to fly there and help. Her parents also speak to the travel agency. They ask a Polish woman staying in a nearby room to help, and reach out to the Polish embassy in Egypt, also asking for help. The embassy tells them everything is okay with Magdalena and they aren't going to intervene at this point. I'm not sure how they made that determination, because she didn't go to the embassy and they didn't go to her, so I assumed they spoke with the travel agency, who told them she was fine. But guys, things only get worse. On Thursday, April twenty seventh, she is seen shouting on the phone in the lobby and making wild arm movements and again running around the hotel showing her breast to other guests.

17:21 Marcus decides she should come home right away and buys her a plane ticket. The problem was that there were no flights Thursday or Friday, so he isn't able to get her a flight until Saturday. But her condition is deteriorating fast. Back at the hotel, Mamood is not letting Magdalena out of his sight. He tells people he's taking care of her and trying to keep her calm. He even asks other Polish guests in the hotel for advice on what to do for her. He said he offered to call a doctor, but that Magdalena adamantly refused and said she didn't need any help. But this can't be confirmed. Hotel staff says she's crying a lot and seems very confused about what's going on. By now, her parents are out of their minds with worry because they've never known her to be mentally unstable or act like this, and there's no history of depression or mental illness. She's always been upbeat and positive. Her friends and family have her phone location, and that night, as they're watching they see that she goes to the beach and is transported to what they believe is a ship and spends the entire night on that ship. They took screenshots of her location in the Red Sea, about twenty kilometers off shore, but they can't get any answers to what she was doing on this boat, who she was with, or even how she got on the boat. In fact, they can't even confirm she was on a boat, only that her phone location said she was out in the sea. There were later rumors that the clothing she was wearing on the boat was examined and found to have forensic evidence of

18:51 at least a few unidentified men's DNA. From this, her family assumed she was drugged and gang raped on the boat. This this isn't confirmed, and any evidence of it was omitted from court proceedings. The Egyptian medical examiner said there was no indication of rape or even consensual sex before her death, but her phone location was definitely out to sea according to screenshots, which I'll post on my Patreon. Egyptian officials have refused to reveal anything about that night and wouldn't confirm whether she was on a ship, saying we have not confirmed she was on the ship. Her phone was locked into the BTS station that covered the range of the hotel she was registered in. Now I think it's likely she was in the sea. I've looked at the location on my phone before and you can see when I moved from one part of my house to the next. It's that accurate. She could still be on the hotel's WiFi but also be on a ship in the sea. On Friday, April twenty eighth, her family and friends can't reach her at all. In the morning, the hotel staff and Mamood start sending them videos of her lying motionless in the doorway to her room, dressed just in a bathrobe, saying they found her there unconscious.

20:03 The video shows her curled up and lying on the floor in almost a fetal position with her head down. They also send another one of her lying on the bed, covering her face with her bathrobe. Eventually, her family manages to tell her they've arranged a plane ticket for her to fly home. The following day. Things continue to go downhill for Magdalena, and shortly before three pm, she's taken to a local hospital in Port Ghalib by Mahmoud and several other men, but it doesn't go well there at all, and it's hard to figure out what exactly happened because the stories conflict with a footage from the hospital. The head of the hospital, doctor Ahmed Shaki, said that Magdalena wouldn't get out of the ambulance, but there's video footage of Magdalena walking into the hospital willingly, not forced or being held up. She looks slightly disoriented in the video, but she's walking by herself and not acting out in any significant way. Once inside, she isn't examined by a doctor, but again there's conflicting stories why that is. One of the doctors claimed she refused to be examined, while another said doctors refused to examine her because that hospital does not deal with mental health patients. Although if she wasn't seen, how would they know if it was a mental health issue, especially if they told the doctors that earlier in the day she was unconscious on the floor, That doesn't sound like a mental health issue to meet. Either way. She was not seen by a doctor and no tests were done, including any kind of toxicology tests, and they wouldn't keep

21:36 her there under surveillance, even though she was obviously suffering from some type of crisis, so she returns to the hotel without being helped from There is a big unknown time gap from when she left the hospital Friday until the early morning hours of Saturday. On Saturday, April twenty ninth, Magdalena is scheduled on her new flight home to Poland, but the day began with a very rocky start. At six a m, hotel staff allegedly prevents Megdalena from jumping off the roof of the hotel. A report from Mahmoud said hotel security observed that Magdalena left her room and went to the roof of the building. The accounts of the facility's staff told us she was trying to get closer to the edge of the roof, and employees brought her back to her room. After that, they said she stayed in her room alone until two PM, when she checked out of the hotel. By this time, Mahmoud had been with her for three days, barely leaving her side.

22:35 This seems like suspicious behavior for a travel agent who is supposed to be working. Regardless, Mahmoud and his friends take her to the airport after checking her out, of the hotel. She looks better, her hair is done, and she is presentable. This isn't the airport she flew into, but rather the smaller airport near the resort. At the airport, things go sideways again, more conflicting stories that don't add up. Some sources said she was trying to take her clothes off at the airport and was in a bad mental state and being aggressive. Some reports said an airport doctor would not give her permission to travel. The Travel agency claimed it was the pilot and aircrew who decided she wasn't allowed to board. They claimed the pilot saw her behaving strangely and called the airport doctor to assess her medical state, and he advised them not to let her on.

23:29 Another witness said the whole situation with the doctor never happened because there was no doctor there at all, but rather she was led around the building and circles by Mahmoud and his friends who kept her from boarding the flight. Regardless of the story, the outcome is the same. Magdalena does not get on her flight home to safety. Missing her flight, Mahmoud and his friends drive her back to the Three Corners resort, but they refused to check her back in because of her previous behavior, so the group goes to a second hotel, but they also won't let her check in because she doesn't want to be alone and the hotel staff thinks she could bring other guests safety into danger. The third hotel they go to lets her check in. Around five PM, Magdalena, Mamod, and Mamud's male friends are in a parking lot and they use Mahmoud's phone to FaceTime Marcus in Poland. Marcus is with one of his friends who videotapes the call from Marcus's end on another phone. The video eventually gets leaked and it only adds more mystery. I'll post the link to the video with English subtitles on my Patreon. The video less around fourteen minutes, and honestly, it's uncomfortable to watch.

24:44 Magdalena looked terrified. Someone presumably Mamood, is holding the phone for her while she's clearly nervous, tearful, and anxious. She's babbling, distressed, and incoherent. She seems to be either heavily drugged or severely traumatized. She's rocking back and forth and pacing, and is mostly unable to talk. She's crying and says very little, and what she does say doesn't make sense. The call is started by Mamood, and when Megdalena comes on, Marcus continuously asks her what's going on and to tell him what happened. She says things like they have different tricks here. Take me away from here, please, they will do something to me. She said, they're holding and then I can't tell you. Marcus asks her to speak frankly to him and tells her he loves her no matter what, but Magdalena is obviously too scared to speak. She finally says, I won't come back from here. It's useless. I cannot talk.

25:45 I'm sorry. Marcus asks her if she trusts him, and she pauses before telling him yes. Around the thirteen minute mark near the end of the video, Marcus asks again what happened, and Megdalena only answers, cryptically saying the letter M and M could really mean anything. Her name, Mahmud's name, Marcus's name, their friend that is flying to Egypt Marche all begin with the letter M. After she says this, Mamod is heard saying I thought you were only going to talk about the hospital, and then Mamod comes back on the phone and says in Polish, Marcus, by it seems like a waste of time. I will now call the embassy here in Egypt to this. Marcus asks him, can you ask Megda to turn the phone on? Requesting her phone be turned on so he can call her.

26:37 Mamod turns to Megdalena and says, Magda, do you want to turn on the phone because Marcus wants to call you. Please switch on your telephone now. In the background of that conversation between Marcus and Megdalena, the manner speaking in Arabic, which also has been translated in the video, and they're basically talking about Marcus. They're saying his dick is the size of a pinky, fing and calling him a pussy, saying he can't do anything for Magdalena. This is an extremely strange conversation for the men to be having while all this is going on, and while it's hopefully out of context. I can't come up with a context that would make sense. One strange thing I noticed about the call was that Marcus was shielding his side of the video with his finger while it was being recorded, and I also can't come up with a plausible reason for that.

27:28 After the FaceTime video was leaked, more rumors started. One of the main ones was that Marcus and Mahmud actually knew each other and were Facebook friends before this trip. But as soon as that rumors started, both men wiped their social media clean, with ma Mood even deleting his entire Internet presence. This video also made Marcus the target for suspicion, with people thinking he made the video as an alibi because he seemed oncaring as he talked over her and repeatedly asked her to tell him what happened, but not really waiting for a response. Something doesn't sit right with me regarding the FaceTime and the leaked video, but I can't exactly put my finger on it. After this conversation, Mahmood and his friends bring Magdalena back to the hospital in Port ga Lib because he said she passed out in the car, and they admit her as a patient. This time, she's seen on surveillance video arriving at the hospital in a wheelchair around seven pm, which supports Mamod's account that she was passed out. The next time, she's on surveillance video is shortly before midnight. First she's stumbling through the corridor, then in a hallway where she's running from the hospital room, with a group of four men and one woman chasing her. While some of them looked like hospital staff, others are dressed in plain clothes and could have been Mamod and his friends. They chase her into how she falls and then circle her. She gets up from the ground, clearly focused on one man in a checkered shirt, and throws herself at him him,

29:00 but he shields her from the camera as she goes back down to the ground. From there, the group circles her again, and still shielded from the camera, it looks like she's punched in the head. Then they pick her up as a group, grabbing her arms and legs to carry her while she's kicking and trying to get away. The hospital staff reportedly gives her some type of medication to help her calm down and sleep, and her phone and handbag are taken away from her. She is dragged into a hospital room and tied to the bed with towels. They said they don't normally deal with psychiatric patients, so they had nothing else to tie her down with and towels won't make marks. Hospital staff said she was screaming, acting violently and aggressive, and they were unable to make normal contact with her. They also said either she or Mahmood told them she had not eaten in three days, but she was abnormally strong when they were trying to subdue her. While all this is happening, their friend Marche is on a plane headed to eat to get Magdalena and bring her home. On Sunday, April thirtieth, around two am, Magdalena asks her nurse to untie her from the bed so she can use the bathroom. After she was ontied, she attacked and broke free from the nurse, armed herself with a drip stand, ran to the window and threw herself out. The nurse said, I was in the room with Magdo when she jumped out of the window. I tried to stop her, but unfortunately I failed. Magda kicked and hit me. I am very sorry. It's reported that

30:33 it was a second floor window in some sources and a first floor window in others, but that could be because floors are counted differently in different countries. Some start with the ground floor, then first, then second, while others start with the first floor. Then second doctor Shocky told the media he heard a sound at two fifty am and looked out the window as office to see Magdalena lying on the concrete steps, but she didn't die right away. Hospital staff ran outside and within six minutes of her fall they had her in intensive care trying to stabilize her injuries. At five am, she was rushed by ambulance to the larger red Sea Hospital, about one hundred and eighty miles north of the city of Hergatta, arriving at eight am. There's video of her arriving with several men.

31:21 She's on a stretcher, going in and out of consciousness. Mache arrives at the hospital soon after all this happens, and he's initially told that she's in stable condition and can be transported to Poland very soon, but when he's able to see her, she's in an induced coma due to her injuries. He later told the media that the doctor said she had a problem with her right lung which was very dangerous and caused her to lose a lot of blood and she would need an operation within two days, but that he could take her back to Poland for that. The other interesting thing Marche said was that Mahmoud had been badly scratched on his face, although that's never been confirmed or seen on any of the videos or photos. Magdalena died at the hospital on April thirtieth at five thirty pm, fifteen hours after she fell from the window. Her death was recorded as a suicide, and while that could be the case, when her injuries were recorded, they were not consistent with a suicide. The medical report detailed a shattered left leg, a pierced left lung, and severe left side head damage. She had extensive injuries to her face, head, chest, arms, and legs, but all on the left side of her body. Why is this unusual because when someone jumps to end their lives, they fall in a frontal way and will usually hit their legs first as a last resort to save themselves, even if they want to die. The fact that her whole left side was shattered indicates she was thrown out of

32:52 the window, possibly well unconscious. The director of the hospital, doctor Mohammed Sammy Goma, said, all so tragic, it was just a normal accident, but there were absolutely no tests done at the hospital, not a rape kit, not a blood test, not a drug or alcohol test, nothing, and no one from the hospital asked her if anything was wrong, so how would they know if she was suicidal? Immediately following Magdalena's death, then news media went crazy. It was a major story. Rumors and fake news were fast to follow, hurting the case and hurting the relationship between Poland and Egypt, causing everyone involved to go on the defense. Mahmood was interviewed by police, but no charges were filed. He was then ordered by the Egyptian police and the travel agency not to speak to the press or anyone else about what happened. He then removed all his social media accounts, quit his job, moved away, and pretty much simply disappeared.

33:55 Magdalena's family and friends cried out for answers, but were told over and over that she killed herself, even though the evidence doesn't entirely support that. Blame was being thrown in every direction online. Mahmood was often suspect number one, but rarely did people think he was acting alone. Many thought he was working with her boyfriend Marcus in a sex trafficking ring. Some even thought her sister had something to do with it because she supported Marcus's innocence. On May tenth, twenty seventeen, Egyptian authorities performed Magdalena's autopsy. Two Polish officials were allowed to watch, but not participate in the autopsy, and they couldn't do their own testing or findings while this was taking place. Egypt concluded her death was suffocation caused by an embolism in the lungs as a result of a fall. Her family wanted a second autopsy to get more clarity and because Egypt wasn't forthright in handing over their findings, but when they sent the body back to Poland, it was already cleaned and embalmed, so there was no way to do any testing for drugs or evidence of rape or sexual assault. Their hands were tied. On Tuesday, May twenty third, Magdalena was laid to rest in Poland. Family, friends, acquaintances, and random people attended to pay their respects. Her boyfriend Marcus did not attend the funeral, although it's not clear what that reason was.

35:21 The family also turned away anyone with cameras and journalists from attending. As of now, the official investigation is still ongoing. No one has agreed on a cause of death, and no one has been arrested. In March of twenty twenty four, trials started in the lawsuit between Magdalena's parents and the travel agency. They're asking for compensation due to negligence and not providing appropriate conditions during her trip. They're also upset that the travel agency contributed to the denigration of Magdalena's memory because they told the media she killed herself due to mental illness, even though that has never been confirmed. While nothing will bring Magdalena back, I hope someone comes forward with more details surrounding her death so her family can get the closure they deserve. There are so many rumors surrounding this case that it's hard to figure out what the facts are. But a lot of times rumors are grounded in truth. So let's go through the theories that sound the most plausible. The first is suicide. This could easily be a suicide case, even with the evidence of her landing on her side, which is unusual. She could have lost consciousness after she jumped, or she could have just landed on her side in one of those rare occurrences. I think the real question with this theory is why why would a young successful girl on vacation purposefully jump to her death. Two reasons. She was either in the throes of a mental breakdown that no one

36:54 saw coming, or something happened to her drugs trauma and she thought this was the only way out. Her parents said she had no history of mental illness or depression and it didn't run in the family. But mental health issues sometimes don't surface and tell your twenties. Depression has a typical onset during the mid twenties. Schizophrenia normally surfaces in the late twenties to early thirties and women, while bipolar disorder normally begins in the late teens or early twenties. Symptoms of schizophrenia include bizarre behavior, delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, and thoughts of persecution. Those are all symptoms that Magdalena was showing, but guys, those can also be symptoms of drugs or severe trauma. There were two things that nagged at me about her mental health before she went to Egypt. First was planning the trip. It was impulsive in last minute.

37:47 Several sources said she had to borrow the money to pay for it, and we know she bought the tickets and only told her boyfriend. They were going within hours of the flight leaving. This could be seen as manic, but on the other hand, I've definitely woken up and decided to buy a same day flight. In fact, most of my travel is decided at the last minute, and I can be pretty impulsive about it. I think it depends on if this trip is the type of thing she's done before, or if it was out of character. The other thing that strikes me was that she started acting erratically almost immediately when she got to the hotel. This could be mental illness or drugs, but unlikely to be a sign of severe trauma because she was fine on the flight. There. Many people online think she had a mental breakdown brought on from sexual assault, but by all accounts, she started acting out before that could have happened, which brings us to the second theory that this was some kind of human trafficking or sex crime that ended in murder, and everything here is just rumors because there was no confirmed sexual assault by authorities. This is when a man named Christoph Rukowski enters the story. He's a Polish reality TV star who was on the show Detective, which follows the exploits of his detective agency Rutowski Patrol.

39:08 He's a former riot policeman but not a licensed detective, and in two thousand and seven he was sentenced to fourteen months in prison for illegally arresting a man in Antwerp. He claimed that Magdalena's parents approached him to launch an investigation into her death. From his investigation, he told the media that Magdalena couldn't have died by falling from the second floor due to her athleticism and marathon training. Instead, he said she had been drugged by an organized rape gang, which Mahmoud played a key role in, and it was also Mahmoud who prevented her from boarding the plane back to Poland. But his reputation has come under intense scrutiny, and during one of his discussions about the case, he even proposed to his then girlfriend on air, which is inappropriate, to say the least. Later on in his investigation, he did a one eighty and said the Egyptian authorities were right all along and she had mental illness resulting in suicide.

40:07 Most people think he was paid off to change his tune, and Magdalena's parents have cut all ties with him. Another theory is that her mental breakdown was brought on after she was gang raped in a sado masochistic ritual called the taharush game. That phrase literally means group harassment in Arabic, and according to Wikipedia, it's a form of mass sexual assault that has been documented in Egypt since two thousand and five. The incidents involve groups of men surrounding and sexually assaulting women by groping, molesting, and sometimes raping them. These assaults typically occur in crowded public spaces where it's difficult for victims to escape or receive help. They used the chaos of the crowd to carry out their attacks, and it's basically a ritual organized public raping of lone women.

40:59 It's horrific and would definitely cause severe trauma. Another theory accuses Marcus of grooming and then selling Megdalena to Mahmoud to work as a prostitute along the Red Sea. This she was drugged and repeatedly raped, resulting in severe mental trauma. Mahmood's role in all this definitely looks suspicious, from using his phone to contact her friends and family, to always being right next to her, to the things he said on the taped FaceTime call. It gives reasons to think he was up to no good, and there are several variations to this story, including a criminal network led by a local mob boss named Captain Khalid that this group targets European women traveling alone, drugs them in their hotel rooms, and then charges rich sheikhs to have sex with their unconscious bodies. Along those lines was another rumor that Marcus was a drug dealer using Megdalena to smuggle narcotics into Egypt and something went wrong with her, either in testing the drugs or being assaulted, leading her to have a mental breakdown. The Egyptian autopsy official ruled that she had no sexual intercourse and despite having several unknown men's DNA on her clothing, they said there was no DNA under her fingernails, on or in her body, and although the autopsy report could have been faked. The problem I have with the human trafficking and sexual assault theory is with them taking her to the hospital. Why take her to get help if you are the cause of her needing

42:30 to get help. Several stories say she was thrown out of the window rather than jumping, but if they plan to kill her, then why take her to the hospital and throw her out of a window. There are much easier ways that don't involve so many witnesses. They could have taken her there as an alibi, but there are easier alibis as well. The third theory is that this was some kind of a drugging gone wrong, either resulting in her complete mental breakdown and suicide or her murder. According to most reports, her autopsy showed several drugs in her system, but it's hard to tell if those drugs were there prior to her hospital visit or if it's something they gave her at the hospital. On May second, twenty nineteen, the media reported that traces of a very popular African medication called KOT was found in her body.

43:22 According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, KOT is a stimulant and the short term effects include increased talkativeness, energy alertness, faster heartbeat and breathing, higher temperature and blood pressure, and a reduced appetite. They also said that KOT is associated with mental health conditions such as psychosis, depression, mood swings, and violent behavior. But it should be noted that chewing the leaves has traditionally been used for medicinal purposes for stimulant and euphoric effects. Another drug that was reportedly found in her system was flakka, sometimes called bath salts in the United States, and this one is much more dangerous. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The effects are paranoia and hallucinations that may lead to violent aggression and self injury, and has been linked to suicides and heart attacks. There were also official reports of unnamed powerful psychiatric drugs found in her body, including a substance used to treat psychosis, schizophrenia, and or depression. The drugging theory fits her behavior and the fact that she told her friends and family she thought her drink had been spiked, but the question remains who drugged her and why. Her sister Anna thinks she was murdered because she was given drugs by people who wanted to abuse her in hopes that she wouldn't be able to remember anything, but that she had a different response than they expected, so in the end they chose to throw her out the window to cover their tracks. The argument against her being drugged

44:54 is that they have very strict drug policies in Egypt. That's not to say there aren't drugs there, and it could give even more reason for whomever gave her the drugs to murder her in a cover up. Unless someone involved comes forward, we will not get answers in this case. And if Meddelina was having a mental health crisis, there's no way to prove that now, so we're unlikely to have any answers from that either. But a lot of questions remain. By now you're wondering is Egypt safe to visit? According to the US Travel Advisory website, Egypt has been at Level three reconsider travel since July thirteenth, twenty twenty three.

45:36 It says, reconsider travel to Egypt due to terrorism. Exercise increased caution in Egypt due to the embassy limited ability to assist dual national US Egyptian citizens who are arrested or detained, do not travel to the Western desert due to terrorism. Do not travel to Egyptian border areas due to military zones. They go on to say terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Egypt. Terrorists may attack with little to no warning and target diplomatic facilities, tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets and shopping malls, Western businesses, restaurants, resorts, and local government facilities. That's a pretty serious warning. That being said, the main tourist resorts of Egypt, like Cairo and the Nile cruise stops including Luxor and Aswan, and the Red Sea resorts of Hergatta and sham Al Shic are all considered safe to travel, but there is always a threat of terrorist attacks, so stay vigilant. I would definitely suggest working with a reputable tour company in Egypt to get the most out of your experience and keep yourself safe.

46:43 That way, you'll have everything taken care of for you and be able to relax and enjoy your trip. The culture and customs in Egypt are probably a lot different than what you're used to, and it's always best to thoroughly research before going. I know, sometimes the best part about exploring a new country is getting really cool photos, but if you're in Egypt, be careful where you point your camera. It's illegal to photograph government buildings, police officers, airports, railway stations, military installations, children unless given permission from parents, archaeological sites without a permit, and people without their consent. It's also technically illegal for unmarried couples to share a hotel room, but this doesn't apply to foreigners. If one or both of you holds an Egyptian passport, though, you'll need to provide proof of marriage in order to stay in the same room. While homosexuality isn't technically illegal in Egypt, many in the community have been questioned and arrested under debauchery laws. Most view it as im moral and a crime, so be careful what you say and how you act.

47:52 This doesn't mean people from the LGBTQ community shouldn't go to Egypt. It just means that vocally supporting it in a public setting shouldn't be done, and any PDA should be strictly avoided. Don't speak badly about Egypt while you're there, but also don't post anything negative on social media either. In June twenty eighteen, a Lebanese tourist was sentenced to eight years in prison because she posted a Facebook video calling Egypt a son of a bitch country, and was arrested in Cairo airport on her flight home. Pack the right kind of clothing. Egypt is a conservative country. Keep your shoulders and knees covered and wear loose fitting clothes for a mosque visit. You'll need clothing that covers from ankle to elbow, and you'll need to cover your hair.

48:41 Other than mosque visits, women aren't expected to wear headscarves, although women who are covered more on the streets have less harassment from men. It's always good to carry a shawl or scarf with you in case you need more coverage, and ladies bring your own tampons in period items because it could be a expensive and difficult to find any supplies while you're there. There is public transportation, and if you're taking the Cairo metro system, look for the women's only carriages to stay safe and limit any harassment. Don't get in a taxi without first agreeing on the price. Also, if you're a woman, you must sit in the back seat and limit speaking to the driver. Just agree on the price and pay when you get out. No small talk because it can be taken the wrong way. They also have uber in Egypt, and most people say it's safer than a taxi. Don't drink alcohol in public places or in front of religious buildings. You can only drink alcohol in licensed restaurants and hotels. Also, illegal drugs are an extremely serious crime, and some medicines that are legal in your country may not be in Egypt, so check before you pack anything. Don't accept food or drinks, even water, from strangers. There have been reports of women being drugged and assaulted. When you're eating, only eat with your right hand.

50:05 The left hand is reserved for toilet duty, and leave a small amount of food on your plate when you've finished eating. This symbolizes abundance and serves as a compliment to the host for providing so well. Lastly, don't eat, drink, even water, or smoke in public during Ramadan because that would be considered impolite and probably offensive. Public displays of affection, even hugging and kissing, is not acceptable in Egyptian culture, so just don't do it. And ladies do not shake hands when greeting men. Instead, you can show friendliness by nodding or smiling. Also, be careful when making eye contact. While it's okay to make some eye contact, don't stare because that's a sign you're available and want them to talk to you. And if you're talking to a man you don't know, keep your distance even in public places, because it can give the wrong impression if you speak too closely. Wearing a wedding rink can help avoid unwanted attention, and if asked, make up a husband and a couple kids so you don't look available. If you're traveling alone or even just walking around alone, you can be perceived as available and you might get unwanted attention. If you're being harassed, the best way to deal with it is to ignore it. Be careful when talking to strangers. Don't tell anyone if you are traveling alone where you're staying the reasons for your visit, and avoid sharing personal information or making a lot of small talk where personal information

51:35 might slip out. Never walk alone at night. It's another invitation for harassment that could possibly get out of control. A good rule of thumb is that every surface worker should get some type of tip. So carry some cashion coints with you and just tip as you go. And for my shoppers out there, go ahead and haggle for those bargains. It's important that you learn and respect their laws, cures, and customs. It's a privilege to visit another country, not a right, so whether you agree with their beliefs and way of life, you must still show respect for it. Egypt may not be the easiest place to travel, especially as a woman or solo traveler, but the good far outweighs the bad. I would definitely go, but I'd be sure to hire a reputable guide, and like I always say, no matter where you're traveling, make sure you inform someone about your plans before going anywhere. Tell someone reliable where you're going and what you'll be doing and when to expect you back. And my number one tip to staying alive on vacation is to pay attention to your gut.

52:43 If something doesn't feel right, it isn't. Magdalena Zuk traveled from Poland to marsa Alam, Egypt, on April twenty fifth, twenty seventeen, after booking a last minute trip. By April thirtieth, she was dead. There were so many witnesses and people involved in this story. Someone knows more than they've said. If you have any information that can help, now is the time to speak up so her family can have the closure they deserve. And finally, remember to leave a review and rate this podcast five stars if you like the show, or hell even if you don't, but either way, feel free to let me know what you think. Please follow the Last Trip on Instagram at The Last Trip Crime Pod and subscribe on Patreon to support the show.

53:36 You'll get extra research, videos, photos and updates, and even learn more about my personal travels. That's patreon dot com slash The Last Trip Podcast. I'm Jamie Bbe, bringing you your last trip and signing off until the next one. Thanks for listening.