DR reports that seven Eastern European workers, six Poles and one Romanian, have been killed in Denmark since 2023, with experts pointing to isolation, alcohol and poor housing as recurring factors.
The count was published on October 11, 2026 by DR, alongside its program about the killings of Polish tradesmen. The cases include a man thrown into the Gudenå river tied to a car battery. Another involved dismembered body parts found in a nature area near Vejen.
According to DR, all seven victims were in Denmark because they had been hired to work here. Many of those convicted or charged in the cases also come from Eastern Europe. DR states there is no connection between the individual killings.
What the seven cases have in common
In five of the seven cases, the crime scene was the victim’s home in Denmark, DR reports. In the remaining two, the location is unknown. Several of the cases are described as involving alcohol or drugs.
Bent Isager-Nielsen, a former police inspector and head of the national mobile task force, said Denmark records 40 to 50 killings a year. On that basis, he said, Eastern Europeans are overrepresented relative to their share of the population. He also stressed that seven cases are relatively few to draw conclusions from.
One of the victims was Kamil Kaluzynski, 37. He was stabbed 25 times in November 2024 at the workshop in Holbæk where he both lived and worked. A Lithuanian man was sentenced to 12 years in prison, denied guilt, and appealed the verdict.
As reported by TV2 East, the prosecutor told the court the workshop was a chaotic place where several people were heavily affected by drugs. Per DR, Kaluzynski’s family and a former colleague said he stood out because he was not part of that environment.
Experts on housing, isolation and political responsibility
Katarzyna Szczygiel, a Polish interpreter and organizer for the trade union 3F, described a pattern of workers living in old houses or farms sublet to them by their employer. They often live close together far out in the countryside, she told DR. Free time is frequently marked by alcohol and conflicts that can escalate into violence.
Jens Arnholtz, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen who researches foreign workers, recognized the same picture. He said the workers live isolated and have little contact with anyone who could alert them when conditions are not in order. He added that employers carry part of the responsibility for living conditions, while individuals also bear responsibility for their own situation.
David Sausdal, a criminologist and police researcher at Lund University, said the number of killings is relatively high. If two or three Danish tradesmen died each year while working in Sweden, he said, Denmark would demand an investigation. The National Unit for Special Crime and Rigspolitiet both declined DR’s interview requests, with Rigspolitiet stating it takes all killings seriously and that the small number of cases makes trends impossible to establish with certainty.
What the cases mean for foreign workers in Denmark
Several of the cases involve accommodation arranged through the employer, a common setup for posted and migrant tradesmen in Denmark. According to the 3F organizer quoted by DR, that housing is often sublet by the employer and located in rural areas. Danish trade unions such as 3F employ Polish speaking organizers and interpreters, and workers can contact them directly about pay and conditions, including workers’ rights.
Arnholtz told DR that isolation means these workers rarely meet anyone who can tell them when something is wrong. No new investigation has been announced, and Rigspolitiet says police handle these cases no differently from other killings. What the authorities have not said is whether any broader review of conditions for Eastern European workers will follow.
