A convicted murderer’s recent foray into online dating is causing a stir on social media, where outraged commenters who learned of his connection to a grisly 1993 suburban slaying are warning women in search of love to swipe left.
Paul Modrowski was 18 years old when prosecutors charged him and a co-defendant with the murder of a friend, Dean Fawcett, whose headless body was discovered months earlier near railroad tracks in Barrington.
A jury later convicted Modrowski under the legal theory of accountability, as authorities were unable to prove he was there when the victim was killed. But, after serving more than 30 years of a natural life sentence, Modrowski won back his freedom in summer 2024 when a judge ruled he had been too harshly punished and resentenced him to a 60-year term.
Under sentencing laws in place at the time of the crime, Modrowski was eligible for day-for-day credit, allowing for his release days later. In the last 18 months, the now 51-year-old Modrowski has earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, where he is working as an academic researcher, and appears to be living a relatively quiet life.
That changed earlier this week when internet sleuths found him on the League, a popular online dating app, and began sharing screenshots of his dating profile across various social media platforms. The profile includes Modrowski’s photo, first name, town, the incorrect age of 37, and an “about me” bio that reads: “Astrophysics by day & good vibes by night. Match if you want to connect.”
It does not mention his criminal history, prompting widespread online backlash with some posts logging millions of views. “Women of Chicago: Be careful!” warned one online commenter. “Heads up – single ladies,” wrote another. Many of the posts linked to Tribune coverage published in July 2024 about Modrowski’s prison release, prompting a sudden spike of more than 30,000 pageviews since Sunday, according to the media outlet’s content analytics.
Much of the online activity appears to have started on Facebook in the private, women-only group, “Are We Dating the Same Guy?,” which includes about 140,000 Chicago members, with other subgroups across the country, where cautionary dating tales may be shared anonymously.
In an emailed statement to the Tribune on Thursday, Modrowski acknowledged his efforts to date as he attempts to rebuild his life. He verified he wrote a public statement on his blog earlier this week in response to the online fervor. On his blog, “Paul Modrowski – On the Outside,” he denied that he acted deceptively by participating on dating platforms and said the posts are misleading and “omit critical legal and factual context.”
He maintains his innocence and cites his efforts to better himself through education and work.
“I did not include my conviction history on my dating profile because it is complex and deeply personal, and I believe it is best discussed privately once there is mutual interest and context,” he wrote to the Tribune. “My intention was not to mislead, but to allow connections to develop before addressing a legal history that cannot responsibly be reduced to a label.”
He addressed the age inaccuracy contained in his dating profile, which includes recent photos, saying, “there was no intent to misrepresent my identity.”
“With respect to my age, I did not list it accurately on the platform,” he told the Tribune. “Online dating environments are highly filter-driven, and I believed that if my profile did not appear in searches, I would not have the opportunity to have conversations with many wonderful women in the first place. I am sorry if women feel that I have acted deceptively.”
According to the League’s online terms of use agreement, potential members who have been convicted of a violent crime are not allowed to join, but the company also states it does not perform criminal background checks.
One member of the women-only Facebook group — who asked not to be publicly identified due to her safety concerns and to respect confidentiality rules — told the Tribune she reported Modrowski’s profile to the League. She said the company responded to her that it had “taken appropriate action based on the information you provided.”
In an emailed statement to the Tribune, a spokesperson for Match Group, which owns several dating apps, including the League, noted its policy that bars those convicted of violence from using its services. The company declined to comment on individual accounts, citing privacy and safety reasons.
“The safety of our community is a top priority,” the statement said. “We will continue to enforce our policies to help maintain a safe and respectful environment.”
Modrowski is halfway through serving three years of mandatory supervised release. He also is required to register annually on the Illinois State Police’s public registry of convicted murderers. An online search shows he is compliant, and a state police spokesperson said “there is no law that would prohibit (Modrowski) from using the internet.”
In vacating the life prison term in 2024, Cook County Judge Marc Martin found in part that Modrowski had been unfairly portrayed as emotionless and cold during his 1995 trial and sentencing proceedings when the characteristics were likely due to his autism.
Martin also found not enough weight was given at the time to Modrowski’s proven role in the crime. He also cited Modrowski’s efforts to better himself in prison.
Modrowski had been a model inmate during his three decades of incarceration, according to court records. He was among 20 inmates out of about 400 applicants admitted into Northwestern University’s Prison Education Program, in which he maintained a straight-A average.
Nearly two dozen faculty members and tutors wrote letters of support or testified regarding his academic pursuits, and the Tribune confirmed he now works at the university, where Modrowski said he is fortunate to still receive support as he navigates a vastly changed world that did not have cellphones or online dating when he went to prison.
“Since my release, I have focused on rebuilding my life in a constructive and stable way,” he told the Tribune in an email, citing his bachelor’s degree and a recent Yale University internship. “Reentry after a long period of incarceration presents challenges, and I have been fortunate to receive meaningful support from the Northwestern (program) … and members of the university community.”
On Jan. 18, 1993, two hikers found Dean Fawcett’s dismembered body without its head, left arm and right hand on the snowy embankment. Prosecutors charged Modrowski and a co-defendant, Robert Faraci, with the 22-year-old LaGrange Park man’s murder that April.
Faraci was found not guilty during a dual-jury trial, but a separate panel convicted Modrowski two days later. Prosecutors had argued the men killed Fawcett to silence him because they believed he was about to implicate them in an illegal check-writing scheme in which all three men had bought thousands of dollars in jewelry and other merchandise.
Barrington detectives were led to Modrowski and Faraci after finding written items in the victim’s frozen pants pocket. Both defendants blamed each other. A mutual friend testified that when she last saw Fawcett it was Modrowski who had his hand on the victim’s shoulder and “slightly pushed him into the back seat” of a car. Faraci also was in the car, she testified, and Fawcett appeared scared.
While Faraci took the stand in his own defense, Modrowski did not testify at his monthlong trial. Police testified that he had made statements to them that he let Faraci use his car and later concealed the gun, which was never recovered.
Decades later, Faraci cooperated with Modrowski’s lawyer during the post-conviction proceedings and submitted two affidavits in 2019 and 2011 denying Modrowski was involved, court records show.
Attorney Thomas Brandstrader, who successfully petitioned for Modrowski’s freedom, said while he no longer represents him, he is convinced of his innocence and noted he “used his unjust incarceration to better himself.”
But Kevin Croke, a retired Barrington detective sergeant who was one of the police detectives in Fawcett’s murder, told the Tribune that Modrowski is a convicted murderer regardless of the legal theory under which he was found guilty.
“If you share in the hunt, you share in the kill,” said Croke, who still keeps in touch with Fawcett’s elderly mother.
Croke noted evidence presented during Modrowski’s sentencing hearing of other violence, including uncharged allegations that he stabbed an ex-girlfriend’s dog while ransacking her home.
Fawcett’s mutilated body was found 10 days after the massacre of seven people inside the Brown’s Chicken & Pasta restaurant in nearby Palatine. Authorities briefly considered Modrowski and Faraci possible suspects in the now-solved case.
This is far from the first time Modrowski has found himself in the spotlight. Besides the murder case, he gleaned some national exposure while incarcerated from his prison blog, then entitled, “On the Inside,” sharing his experiences behind bars. He also was featured on the Investigation Discovery television show “Dead of Winter,” and on a four-part podcast with the same title as his prison blog.
Shortly after his release from prison, he thanked Judge Martin in an August 2024 letter for giving him a second chance at life, and promised to make the most of it.
“I fully intend to try to make the best of what is left of my life,” he wrote in the letter, according to court records. “I know it’s going to be extremely difficult and I hope I don’t give up. I’ve lost so much time.”
