Suspect recognized for homicide of mum present in shallow grave 20 years after she vanished
Malgorzata had last been seen going to get a bus home after leaving her workplace in Braunstone Frith, Leicester, on May 31, 2006. She sent a text message to her family two days earlier
A murder suspect has been identified after a mum’s skeleton was found buried in a “shallow grave” almost 20 years after she disappeared, an inquest heard.
Malgorzata Wnuczek, 27, vanished on her way back from work in Leicester in 2006 and her remains were found in October this year, buried in a shallow grave in woodland near the Freeman’s Meadows neighbourhood in the city.
An inquest into her death heard Polish police have since identified a suspect when it opened at Leicester Town Hall this week.
Senior coroner Professor Catherine Mason said there would be a meeting between police and prosecutors from both countries to decide whether to prosecute the suspect and whether the case should be dealt with in Poland or England.
The brief hearing heard Malgorzata’s remains were found in a “shallow grave” during a police search in October, which had been based on information from Polish police.
Cops found bones, women’s clothes and a watch in the grave, which matched one that Malgorzata was seen wearing in an online photograph, the court was told.
The inquest opening heard DNA from the femur bone found in the grave was matched to a national database, proving the remains were those of Malgorzata. The remains have been examined, but no cause of death has been established.
Professor Mason said Malgorzata, born in June 1979, had been in regular touch with her family in Poland while she was living and working in Leicester.
Her family reported her missing to Polish police in May 2006 after they lost contact with her, and what began as a missing persons inquiry turned into a “no body murder inquiry” in 2009.
That inquiry was closed by Leicestershire Police in 2013. Then, in 2021, new information from Polish police led to further inquiries and a joint investigation between police in Leicester and Poland.
More information from Poland in 2024 included a possible location of where Malgorzata was buried. Further digs took place in the autumn of this year, and the remains were found on Tuesday, October 7, along with the watch.
Professor Mason said: “The watch appeared to be the same as a watch Malgorzata can be seen wearing in a picture on the internet.”
The coroner then adjourned the inquest until any criminal cases had been resolved, adding: “The police investigation has identified a suspect who now resides in Poland.
“A meeting will be held with the Crown Prosecution Service and Polish police to review the evidence to consider prosecuting the suspect in Poland or England. As a person may be charged with a criminal offence, accordingly, I must suspend this inquest.”
Malgorzata had last been seen going to get a bus home after leaving her workplace in Braunstone Frith, Leicester, on May 31, 2006. Two days before boarding that bus, Malgorzata sent a text message to her family, which was the last they heard from her.
She had been living in a shared house in Mill Hill Lane, Highfields, working long shifts at the warehouse and saving money to visit her daughter Ola back in Poland.
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