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Killer stepfather of schoolboy Daniel Pelka found dead in prison Killer stepfather of schoolboy Daniel Pelka found dead in prison
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Mariusz Krezolek, who killed his four-year-old stepson Daniel Pelka, has been found dead at Full Sutton prison in Yorkshire. The killer stepfather of schoolboy Daniel Pelka has been found dead in prison six months after his partner and Daniel’s mother, Magdelena Luczak, killed herself in her jail cell, the Prison Service said.
The 36-year-old was discovered unresponsive in his cell at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire on Wednesday morning and pronounced dead shortly after, the Prisons Service said on Friday. Mariusz Krezolek is thought to have killed himself at Full Sutton prison, in Yorkshire, two and a half years after the couple were jailed for life for murdering the four-year-old by battering him to death.
His death comes six months after his partner and Daniel’s mother, Magdelena Luczak, was found dead in her prison cell. An inquest found that she had killed herself. For the six months prior to Daniel’s death, they had systematically denied him meals and force-fed him salt to make him vomit when caught sneaking extra food. Daniel stole sandwiches from other children at school and dug through bins for discarded apple cores. His body was so emaciated that one experienced healthworker compared it to that of a concentration camp victim.
The couple were jailed for life in August 2013 for the “incomprehensible cruelty” leading to the boy’s death. A statement from the Prison Service on Friday said: “HMP Full Sutton prisoner Mariusz Krezolek was found unresponsive in his cell at 8.30am on Wednesday 28 January.
A Prisons Service spokeswoman said: “HMP Full Sutton prisoner Mariusz Krezolek was found unresponsive in his cell at 8.30am on Wednesday 28 January. Staff immediately attempted resuscitation but he was pronounced dead shortly after. “Staff immediately attempted resuscitation but he was pronounced dead shortly after. As with all deaths in custody, there will be an investigation by the independent prisons and probation ombudsman.”
“As with all deaths in custody, there will be an investigation by the independent prisons and probation ombudsman.” Luczak hanged herself on 14 July 2015, two years into a life sentence with a minimum of 30 years in custody.
Daniel died of a head injury at his home in Coventry in April 2012 after a campaign of abuse at the hands of his mother and stepfather. The couple kept Daniel locked for long periods in a small, unheated room, which he had to use as a toilet, at the family home in Coventry. Officers found hand and fingerprints on the inside of the door, which had no handle, indicating Daniel had desperately tried to get out.
Luczak and Krezolek, both originally from Poland, went on trial for his murder the following year, making headlines for one of the most harrowing instances of child abuse in the UK. When the pair believed Daniel had misbehaved they threw him into cold baths. His mother once boasted that she had almost drowned him, and his sibling – who cannot be identified – reported once having seen Daniel’s head being held under water. They also ordered him to adopt stress positions used by torturers and to go on endurance runs around the house.
The trial heard how Daniel was forced to kneel for long periods of time, run continuously around the living room, perform squats and swallow salt, poured neat into his mouth, causing him to vomit. He weighed just over a stone and a half when he died. In March 2012 Daniel died after being hit around the head by one or both adults. His body was laid out on a bed next to his terrified sibling. Luczak and Krezolek waited 33 hours before calling 999.
In her sentencing remarks, the judge Mrs Justice Cox said: “Harrowing details of the unimaginable acts of cruelty and brutality inflicted on little Daniel, over many months, have exposed both the torment and despair he must have suffered and your callous disregard for his pain and distress.” During the trial it emerged that professionals had had a string of contacts with the family and some had raised concerns.
The judge said that before their arrests the pair tried to hide evidence by deleting their computer search history and concealing a urine-stained mattress on which Daniel was made to sleep. But a serious case review published in September 2013 found teachers, health professionals, social workers and police officers treated Daniel as if he was “invisible”.
In December 2014, Luczak and Krezolek failed in appeals against their jail sentences. Lawyers for the pair argued that the minimum 30-year terms were excessive but three judges disagreed. The review team also accused Daniel’s school of having a “dysfunctional” approach to children’s safeguarding issues, highlighting that teachers had noticed injuries to his face and had locked away pupils’ lunch boxes to stop him stealing food, but had not taken effective action to help him.
The report said police attended Daniel’s “chaotic” household almost 30 times in response to reports of domestic abuse in the six years before his death, and it suggested officers could have done more to ensure he was being treated well.
A community paediatrician who saw Daniel a month before he was murdered was criticised for putting his weight loss down to worms rather than possible child abuse.
When Daniel’s body was examined he was 9.5kg (1 stone 7 ounces), the sort of weight normally associated with an 18-month-old.
One child protection expert who examined the boy said she had seen such emaciation only in pictures of concentration camp victims. A radiologist compared Daniel’s frame to that of a seriously ill cancer patient.
Both Krezolek and Lucak initially blamed each other during the trial and claimed Daniel collapsed after suffering chest pains. But detectives discovered texts exchanged between the defendants that indicated their abuse. One sent by Krezolek said: “Well now he is temporarily unconscious because I nearly drowned him.”
A postmortem examination revealed he died of bleeding and swelling in the brain.