Mother ‘tried to name for assist’ as husband killed her and two youngsters
A mother-of-two desperately tried calling for help as she and her children were stabbed to death by her builder husband before he killed himself, an inquest heard.
Michal Wlodarczyk, 39, stabbed wife Monika, 35, son Dawid, three, and 11-year-old daughter Maja to death before turning the knife on himself on June 16 last year at their home in Bedfont, Hounslow, an inquest at West London Coroner’s Court was told today.
It was revealed how Mrs Wlodarczyk appeared to be attempting to get assistance, with police finding her lifeless body with a mobile phone pressed close to her ear and chin.
Days earlier the mother-of-two, who was a chambermaid at a Heathrow airport hotel, abruptly rushed out of work an hour early without telling bosses.
She had been sending a string of frantic messages to Maja in which she seemed ‘concerned’ about her children while also receiving a nine-second phone-call from her husband, coroner Dr Anton Van Dellen said.
Monika Wlodarczyk, 35, (right) was killed along with 11-year-old daughter Maja (left) and son Dawid, three, by her husband Michal at their home in Bedfont, west London, in June last year
Police were called and floral tributes left on June 17 after the bodies were found the day before
Michal Wodarczyk, pictured with his wife Monika and their two children Dawid and Maja, stabbed his family to death before killing himself with the same knife, a coroner has ruled
Just three days before the shocking killings, a neighbour reported being woken up in the early hours of the morning by a female voice, thought to belong to Maja, loudly screaming ‘Get off me’ in English.
Police forced entry to the property on June 16 to find the entire family dead.
Mrs Wlodarczyk was discovered sprawled between the hallway and the bathroom with Dawid lying next to her, Detective Sergeant Allen Windsor said in a written witness statement read in court.
Mr Wlodarczyk stabbed himself with the same knife while lying on the sofa bed where the couple usually slept in the living room.
The little girl was found in her bedroom with ‘an apparent stab wound to her chest and injuries to her arms and hands’, the hearing was told.
Police found Mr Wlodarczyk in the living room, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts with an apparent stab wound to the neck and ‘a large amount of blood pooling on the duvet’ he was on top of.
Next to his left hand was a 19cm long kitchen knife covered in blood.
Forensic investigators identified his bloody fingerprint on Maja’s bedroom door and three of his bloody footprints in the living room.
Making a finding of unlawful killing, Dr Van Dellen said Mr Wlodarczyk ‘intentionally stabbed’ his wife and children, causing their deaths.
Today’s inquest at West London Coroner’s Court heard that Monika Wlodarczyk appeared to have tried calling for help moments before being stabbed to death
The couple’s two children Maja and Dawid are pictured here together
Monika with daughter Maja – the girl’s schoolfriends paid tribute after the killings to their ‘really beautiful’ and ‘really kind’ friend
Dawid died from multiple stab wounds, Maja from a stab wound to the chest and their mother from multiple sharp force injuries. The three victims all had defensive injuries to their arms and hands.
The coroner concluded Mr Wlodarczyk died by suicide, adding: ‘He probably died due to self-inflicted stab wounds to the neck after he had stabbed his entire family, killing them.
‘At the time that he stabbed himself, he probably intended that the effect of stabbing himself would be to end his life.’
The alarm was first raised by the Maja’s school after she did not attend classes or reply to her friend’s messages for days, having last been seen alive on June 12.
School truancy officers called her parents and attended the family home but alerted police when they received no response.
Police kicked down the front door to discover the ‘harrowing scene with all members of the family deceased with grievous injuries’, Dr Van Dellen said.
He said: ‘From the evidence that has been obtained, it is believed that Michal killed his wife Monika, daughter Maja and his son Dawid.
‘He then moved Dawid’s body post stabbing and laid him next to Monika before he stabbed himself with the same knife whilst laying on the sofa bed, leading to his own death.’
The coroner added: ‘I am very grateful to Detective Sergeant Windsor for his extremely detailed report conducted into these tragic deaths.
A coroner has delivered a verdict of unlawful killing, saying Michael Wlodarczyk (left) ‘intentionally stabbed’ his wife Monika (right) and children, causing their death
Floral tributes were left at the scene of the house in Hounslow, west London in June last year
A card left outside the family home was believed to be from Maja’s school teacher, who is said to have called police after she had been absent from class for several days
‘I accept his conclusion that Michal murdered Monika, Maja and Dawid before taking his own life.’
He said of Maja: ‘It is difficult to comprehend the sheer terror that she must have experienced being repeatedly stabbed by her father in her bedroom.
‘A neighbour was awoken at about 04.50 in the morning on June 13 2023 by a female voice screaming in English, “Get off me”.
‘Given the police description of needing an interpreter to speak to Monika, I consider it is likely that it was Maja screaming.
‘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.
‘I have no doubt that the deaths have sent a shockwave not only through the Polish community but all those who knew the family and my thoughts are with all of them.’
Dr Van Dellen said there was ‘a history of domestic violence’ by Mr Wlodarczyk against his wife, ‘including a concerning incident when Mrs Wlodarczyk was ‘headbutted’ by him on September 8 2016, which led to him being cautioned by police.
She later fled the family home with her daughter to go and see a friend but returned when her husband alerted police and they found her at a train station.
Eleven-year-old Maja Wlodarczyk was found dead along with mother Monika, 35, and brother Dawid, three, after they were killed by father Michal in June last year
Michal Wlodarczyk had a ‘history of domestic violence’ against his wife, a coroner said – the killer is pictured with his wife Monika and their daughter Maja
Police and forensics at the scene in Hounslow where the four people were found dead
Later, in January 2017, she went to a police station with a friend acting as an interpreter saying she wanted her husband removed from their home, but police told her as the tenancy was jointly in his name they could not do so.
She told police her husband ‘gets angry with her and did not like her going to work and tried to stop her from doing so’ but stated he was ‘not violent and had not made any threats of violence’.
Police recorded the incident as coercive and controlling behaviour and wanted to do a risk assessment, the inquest heard.
Mrs Wlodarczyk is said to have left the police station and failed to return further calls, with the investigation closed later that month.
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