Kajetan Poznanski, 26, said by Polish media to be a fan of fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter, is suspected of murdering the 30-year-old Italian language teacher in her apartment on February 3 and cutting her head off before trying to burn the remains.
Polish police spokesman Andrzej Borowiak said officers had tracked Poznanski through Germany and Italy before tracing him to a hotel in Malta, where he was detained by local police.
The case has shocked Poland, where media reported that in addition to his admiration for "Silence of the Lambs" cannibal Lecter, Poznanski also gave poetry courses illustrated with macabre photos.