July 14th 2015: Magdalena Luczak was found unresponsive in her cell at 7:15 this morning – Paramedics attended and she was pronounced dead at the scene at HMP Foston Hall Prison in Derbyshire

December 2014

Daniel Pelka’s stepfather loses murder conviction appeal

Mariusz Krezolek, the stepfather of murdered four-year-old Daniel Pelka, has lost a Court of Appeal bid to challenge his conviction.

He and the youngster’s mother Magdelena Luczak, who is also having an appeal heard by leading juges, were convicted over the boy’s death.

They were sentenced to life in August last year and ordered to serve at least 30 years each behind bars before they can apply for parole.

A judge at Birmingham Crown Court said that “unimaginable acts of cruelty and brutality” were inflicted on the child.

‘Doting’: Daniel’s stepfather Mariusz Krezolek cradles a baby in this family photo. His treatment of the child is a far cry from the abuse he meted out on Daniel

• November 2014

Killer stepdad Mariusz Krezolek to appeal guilty verdict of Daniel Pelka’s murder

Convicted child killer Mariusz Krezolek will try to appeal against the guilty verdict for the murder of Coventry schoolboy Daniel Pelka.

The stepfather of the four-year-old will appeal against his sentence before Christmas.

Daniel died at his home in Coventry in March 2012, after what a judge described as a ‘campaign of cruelty’ at the hands of his mother and stepfather.

Magdalena Luczak, and Mariusz Krezolek, were each convicted of murder and jailed for life last year.

But now Krezolek is trying to appeal the guilty verdict, yet it’s not clear on what grounds the murder conviction is being challenged.

Both he and mother Luczak will also attempt to get their minimum 30-year jail terms reduced.

During the trial the court heard how Daniel had become emaciated and left to scavenge for food in bins at school and stealing from classmates lunch boxes.

He was also subjected to horrific psychological and physical abuse, said sentencing judge Mrs Justice Cox.

It included being locked in a tiny box room, subjected to cold water punishment and forced to swallow salt.

He eventually died from a hard blow or series of blows to the head.

The appeal cases are due to go before three senior judges in London’s Criminal Appeal Court in mid-December.

July 2013

Daniel Pelka murder: Mother and partner given life

The mother of Daniel Pelka and her partner have both been given life sentences.

Magdelena Luczak and Mariusz Krezolek were convicted of four-year-old Daniel’s murder at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday.

Mrs Justice Cox said the sentence reflected the ‘”incomprehensible brutality by both of you up to his death”.

She ordered that both must serve a minimum term of 30 years.

Luczak, 27, and Krezolek, 34, had denied murder and blamed each other.

The judge told the pair they had “caused [Daniel] severe physical and mental suffering”.

Mrs Justice Cox said Daniel’s punishments were “designed to humiliate” and that he was “a victim of chronic and systematic starvation”.

The judge said the two had killed Daniel in a “campaign of cruelty”.

“Complicity in ill treatment started with a broken arm when he was just three and a half.

Filthy: A dirty mattress Daniel Pelka was forced to sleep on during his confinement in the box room in his home

He was also subjected to cold water punishment.

“We will never know exactly what form it took because you have not explained it – he must have been absolutely terrified,” Mrs Justice Cox said.

The judge said the level of culpability of Luczak and Krezolek was “extremely high” and that there was “minimal mitigation in this case”.

Stephen Linnehan, representing Luczak, told the court: “This young woman is 28, came to his country in search of a better life, faces a life sentence and has now lost everything.”

Krezolek’s barrister told the court he did not have the intention to kill and was “deeply ashamed” of his conduct [towards Daniel].

Daniel Pelka trial: Timeline of events leading to death of schoolboy, 4, at hands of mum and stepdad

Magdelena Luczak and Mariusz Krezolek have been found guilty of murdering the four-year-old, who was subjected to a six-month campaign of starvation and cruelty

A mother and stepfather who starved and beat their four-year-old son to death have been found guilty of murder.

Daniel Pelka was the victim of an “incomprehensible cycle of cruelty and violence” which left him looking like “a concentration camp victim” before he died of a head injury in March last year.

Magdelena Luczak, 27, and Mariusz Krezolek, 34, who arrived from Poland in 2006, had denied subjecting Daniel to a campaign of punishment which reduced his weight to only 10.7kg (24lbs) by the time of his death.

Further cruelty involved being submerged in a cold bath and sent to school with only half a sandwich in his lunchbox.

He was so desperate for food he would steal from other lunchboxes at his school in Coventry. Other children had to lock their food away.

Staff said he picked up muddy and dirty pancakes from the floor, ate out of bins and even tried to eat beans which had been planted in soil as part of a school experiment.

His stepfather was accused of checking Daniel’s stomach for swelling when he arrived home from school to discover whether and how much he had eaten.

Dr Karen McLachlan had told the court that over a 30-year career she had never seen a child so emaciated.

“I think most of the jury will have seen pictures of children and adults who have been victims of concentration camps, that’s what Daniel looked like.”

She added that Daniel’s ribcage and hip bones were sticking out. Skin was hanging in folds from his thighs and arms.

Giving evidence during their trial Luczak and Krezolek blamed each other for the ordeal Daniel suffered.

His sibling, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, gave evidence to the court.

The child said Daniel would often ask for extra food but was not allowed to go downstairs or leave his bedroom to go to the toilet. Daniel had been put in a “really, really cold bath”, his head was banged against the bath and it was left to the sibling to try to look after Daniel.

The youngster described how on one occasion Daniel could not be woken up.

“I tried to wake him up but I didn’t, I couldn’t. I listened to his heart but it didn’t. It couldn’t beat. I shouted and shouted ‘what’s the matter?’ but they didn’t come to see.”

Text messages between Luczak and Krezolek were read to the jury.

The boy’s mother wrote: “Daniel is crying because he wants to eat.”

Another text read: “Well now he is temporarily unconscious because I (nearly) drowned him … I won’t be hitting him but if I hear when / as he later wakes up / regains consciousness then he’s going back into the bathtub I didn’t let the water out.”

Daniel’s stepfather claimed in court that the four-year-old had fallen accidentally on the floor on March 1.

He said his partner prevented him from calling an ambulance immediately because social services would notice bruising. A 999 call was made 36 hours after the alleged fall and Daniel was declared deceased at a local hospital.

School staff had been alarmed by Daniel’s dramatic weight loss. They phoned his GP and spoke to his mother. A full review is under way.

The jury at Birmingham Crown Court reached a unanimous verdict in under four hours and the pair will be sentenced on Friday.

Here is a timeline of events leading to the death of Daniel Pelka

Rest in peace Daniel

2005: Krezolek comes to the UK seeking a better life and finds employment within three days.

February 2006: Luczak comes to England to live with Eryk Pelka and another friend, and initially finds work as a cleaner. Soon after her arrival, she begins a relationship with Mr Pelka, sharing a house with him in Foleshill, Coventry. In the same month, Krezolek is convicted of drink-driving and given a 16-month driving ban. The following month, he is fined £50 for theft from a shop.

May 19, 2006: Krezolek is convicted of driving while disqualified and given a 16-week jail sentence, suspended for a year.

August 14, 2006: Krezolek is again convicted of driving while disqualified and the suspended jail term is activated. He is sentenced to serve 18 weeks in prison.

September 21, 2007: Krezolek is again guilty of driving while disqualified and sentenced to 16 weeks in prison.

February 13, 2008: Krezolek is given a further 20 weeks’ jail for a fourth offence of driving while disqualified.

December 6, 2009: Luczak meets Krezolek for the first time, hours after he spilt from his previous partner after finding her in bed with another man.

January or February 2010: Luczak and Krezolek move into a flat in Bedworth together, assuming joint care of Daniel.

January 5, 2011: Daniel suffers a broken arm at Krezolek’s hands and is not taken to hospital for at least 12 hours despite being in pain each time the broken bones grind together. Luczak and her partner tell doctors, police and social services the injury was sustained accidentally when Daniel fell off a sofa. They also enlist the help of Daniel’s sibling to lie to the authorities about the incident. Daniel’s weight is recorded at 14.8 kg.

January 17, 2011: Daniel has surgery on his arm.

March 14, 2011: Luczak and Krezolek move into the three-bed property in Coventry where Daniel will later be “imprisoned” in a box room and subjected to a fatal assault.

June 14, 2011: Social services close their case on Daniel after the medical evidence relating to the broken arm is reviewed.

July 13, 2011: Luczak saw a health professional at her “spotless” home in connection with a matter unrelated to Daniel. During the home visit, Luczak, who had no injuries to her neck, claimed that Krezolek had tried to strangle her and pulled her hair. The same health worker also saw Luczak on February 9, June 23, August 16 and August 19, 2011.

August 26, 2011: A health visitor went to Daniel’s home on a matter unrelated to the four-year-old. Luczak told the female health visitor that her son had a problem with his “excessive appetite” and a referral was made to the school nurse.

September 14, 2011: Daniel starts as a reception class pupil at Little Heath Primary School in Coventry.

October 7, 2011: Text messages between Krezolek and Luczak show that Daniel is being routinely “imprisoned” in a box room with no handle on the inside of the door. The same text messages also prove that the couple have begun their campaign of starvation.

October 11, 2011: A school nurse and a school health support worker make a home visit and are told that Daniel is eating excessively every night. The school nurse refers Daniel to a community paediatrician after being told that he has punched Luczak when not given food.

October 18, 2011: The school health support worker makes another visit to Daniel’s home, which is noted as being clean and tidy. Luczak said Daniel did not want to go to school and that Krezolek “treated her like a princess”.

October 31, 2011: The same support worker makes a further home visit to speak to Luczak. They discuss Daniel’s walk to school and Luczak is advised to give him some fruit or a snack on the way to Little Heath.

November 2011: Daniel’s teacher starts to notice that he is eating a lot of fruit at school and “stealing” food from other pupils. Luczak tells the teacher he has been “raiding the fridge” at home and is going to see a doctor.

November 15, 2011: Daniel missed an appointment with consultant paediatrician Dr Supratik Chakraborthy. A text message on that day from Luczak to Krezolek reads: “I’ll call this clinic and change this appointment for him because he’s even more ill than he was.”

November 16, 2011: The support worker goes to the house for an appointment with Luczak but no one is in.

November 28, 2011: Luczak is telephoned by the health support worker. Krezolek answers the call and says Luczak will ring her back but she fails to do so.

November 29, 2011: Luczak fails to turn up with Daniel for an appointment at Dr Chakraborthy’s clinic.

December 2011: Daniel’s school attendance rate has slipped to 63% and he is continuing to take things from other pupils’ lunchboxes, as well as eating food which had been thrown in bins.

December 7, 2011: The school health support worker cannot make contact with Luczak by telephone and sends her a letter.

December 14, 2011 : An educational welfare officer makes a home visit and was told that Luczak was unwell and was unable to take Daniel to school. Daniel is seen sitting at a kitchen table eating cereal. Luczak later texts Krezolek: “I was telling you I’d be having problems. The hags from the council were here.”

December 20, 2011: Another appointment at Dr Chakraborthy’s clinic is cancelled by Luczak, who claims Daniel’s sibling is unwell.

January 2012: Daniel, who appeared to have lost weight when he returned to Little Heath after the Christmas holidays, is found to have secretly eaten half a birthday cake that had been brought into school by a teacher. A bump was also seen on the boy’s forehead.

January 16, 2012: Teacher Lisa Godfrey recorded that she had seen bruising around Daniel’s neck which she thought resembled finger pressure marks.

February 2012: Miss Godfrey spoke to Luczak and drafted a letter on February 8 to the community paediatrician. At some point in February, Daniel attends school with what appear to be two black eyes.

February 2, 2012: A text message sent by Luczak to Daniel’s stepfather shows that he has been subjected to a form of water torture which left him, in his mother’s words, “temporarily unconscious”.

February 10, 2012: Daniel, whose weight has dropped by around 1kg in a year, is seen by Dr Chakraborthy, who carries out a full examination and sees no injuries. He is said to look thin but not to appear “wasted”. Further investigations are said to be warranted and the doctor issues a prescription to treat worms.

February 22, 2012: Daniel is spotted eating a pancake, covered in grit and mud, which he had pulled from a rubbish bin at Little Heath.

Tuesday February 28, 2012: Daniel is said to appear “pasty” and was not interacting with other pupils. He is also observed to be pale and his eyes were sunken.

Thursday March 1 2012: Daniel attends school, where he is seen to take a half-eaten piece of fruit out of a bin, and to eat play jelly which other children were making shapes with. After being collected from school by Luczak, who was caught on CCTV, Daniel was beaten about the head at his home at about tea-time, suffering a fatal brain injury. He is then left to die alone in a box room.

Friday March 2, 2012: At 11.25am, Luczak, with Krezolek present, conducts a Google search for “care – patient in a coma”. At 4.30pm, Luczak texts Krezolek, who had left the house, to say that Daniel would “get over” his injuries and that an ambulance should not be called.

Saturday March 3, 2012: Krezolek dials 999 at 3.07am and hands the phone to Luczak, who tells the operator her son is no longer breathing. A senior paramedic arrives at the property at 3.14am. The schoolboy, whose mother claimed he had been complaining of chest pains, was formally pronounced dead in hospital at 3.50am. At about 6am on March 3, an initial examination of Daniel’s body found 10 bruises to his shoulders and back. It was also noted that he was “very emaciated” and his hair was thin. At 9am Krezolek and Luczak were allowed to leave the hospital as neither child protection specialist Dr Karen McLachlan, nor a police officer, had seen the body.

Monday March 5, 2012: Luczak and Krezolek visit Little Heath to speak to the headteacher, informing him that Daniel had suffered “heart failure”. A strategy meeting involving police and representatives of other agencies started at 2pm. After the meeting, Dr McLachlan went to the hospital mortuary at 3.40pm to view Daniel’s body and was “horrified” by what she saw, recognising immediately that he was extremely emaciated. Luczak and Krezolek were then arrested at around 7pm. The kitchen cupboards at their home were full of food and a large bowl of fresh fruit was also present.