Dad stabbed wife & two children to death before killing himself in horrific murder-suicide at family home, inquest told
A DAD stabbed his wife and two children to death before killing himself in a murder-suicide at the family home, an inquest heard.
Monika Wlodarczyk, 35, was discovered dead in Hounslow, West London, after concerns were raised for the family’s welfare.
When police forced entry, they also found Dawid, three, and Maja, 11, with fatal stab wounds.
Dad Michal, 39, was lying on a bloodied sofa bed with a seven inch kitchen knife next to his hand.
An inquest heard how blood was also found on the walls and floor in what coroner Dr Anton van Dellen described as a “harrowing” scene.
He ruled Monika, Maja and Dawid’s deaths as murder and Michal’s as a suicide.
West London Coroner’s Court was told Michal and Monika had moved to the UK from Poland more than ten years before the horror.
The builder had a history of domestic abuse and had shown controlling and coercive behaviour towards Monika.
Police had previously been called to the family home after Michal – described as having a “short fuse” – headbutted his wife.
He was arrested for assault and later given a police caution, the court was told.
On June 12 – four days before the horror – Monika was seen leaving her job at the Marriott Hotel at Heathrow an hour early, which bosses said was unusual for the mum.
During this time, she messaged her daughter asking: “Everything is ok????
“Maja
“??????”
Maja then replied 12 minutes later, saying: “Yes.”
The court was told the following day, a neighbour was woken by a female voice repeatedly screaming in English “get off me” before it fell silent.
Dr van Dellen told the court it was likely Maja had screamed out as her mum’s English was not proficient enough.
The alarm was raised three days later when the youngster failed to show up at school.
After police gained entry, they discovered the family of four with “grievous injuries”.
Maja had been stabbed in her bedroom, while Dawid was knifed in the chest,
Monika was found with a phone under her chin and “appeared to have been trying to make a phone call”.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
All three had cuts to their arms and hands which suggested they had desperately tried to fight Michal off.
A post mortem found the dad had self-inflicted stab wounds to the neck and chest.
Dr van Dellen said in his conclusion: “What is likely to have happened in my view is that the children went to sleep that evening and at some point in the early hours a crisis erupted at home.
“The outcome of that was that the children and Monika were murdered by Michal before he took his own life.
“Such inquests are fortunately extremely rare in this court but I do not underestimate the distress to the extended family when they heard the news that the entire family was dead.
“I am satisfied that no party external to the family access the address and caused harm to the family and that Michal murdered his family.”