Norfolk house deaths: Tributes to ‘lovely, lovely’ girl found dead along with three others
A mother who knew one of the children found dead along with three others at a home in Norfolk has described her as a “lovely, lovely girl”.
Officers discovered the bodies of 45-year-old Bartlomiej Kuczynski and two girls – thought to be his two young daughters – after forcing their way into the property in Allan Bedford Crescent, Costessey, near Norwich, on Friday morning.
Alongside them, the body of a 36-year-old woman, said to be part of the same family, was also discovered.
Norfolk Police said all four had injuries. A post-mortem is set to take place to investigate the cause of their deaths.
Meanwhile, the force has also referred itself to the police watchdog after revealing an emergency 999 call was earlier made by a man from the address, but police failed to respond.
Nina Crisan, whose son knew one of the girls
Nina Crisan, whose son knew one of the girls, named Jasmine, described her as a “very, very sweet girl”.
“She had very calm and cool energy, as my son would say,” she told Sky News. “She was just a lovely, lovely, lovely kid.”
She said the incident had come as an “absolute shock” to those who lived in the area.
“[It’s just] absolute shock, absolute shock and devastation.
“This is a really close community. And we all, even if we don’t know each other directly, sort of know each other through, the children, or through dog walking.”
Police forced their way into the house in Costessey, near Norwich
‘She never held a grudge’
A boy who knew Jasmine, speaking anonymously to Sky News, said: “We grew up together. She never held a grudge, she was always kind and caring to everyone.”
He added: “I never really thought what my last words to her would be.”
Another said: “She used to play with my little sister in the park, she used to look out for her. It is really sad for the whole community.”
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An emergency 999 call was made from the address at around 6am, by a man, but police failed to respond.
Officers later forced their way into the property after being alerted by a member of the public, who was concerned for the welfare of the people inside, shortly before 7am.
The Norfolk force has referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog in relation to the 6am call, “to which police resources were not deployed”.
Police had already contacted the IOPC over the incident because officers attended the property on 14 December last year in relation to a missing person inquiry.
Police ‘not looking for anyone else’
Detectives have been carrying out house-to-house inquiries, speaking with witnesses and examining CCTV footage.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Burgess, who is leading the investigation, said on Friday: “We’ve spoken to witnesses and neighbours, carried out house-to-house inquiries, examined local CCTV and completed initial scene investigations.
“As a result of this, we’re not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
“This is a tragic incident, distressing for all involved and it is clear from the reaction it’s caused a lot of shock and upset in the local community.”
UK
Urgent letter to home secretary over violence against women and girls strategy – as it omits child abuse
Ten child protection organisations have written an urgent letter to the home secretary expressing concern about the omission of child sexual abuse from the government’s violence against women and girls strategy, following a Sky News report.
Groups including the NSPCC, Barnardo’s and The Children’s Society wrote to Yvette Cooper to say that violence against women and girls (VAWG) and child sexual abuse are “inherently and deeply connected”, suggesting any “serious strategy” to address VAWG needs to focus on child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The letter comes after Sky News revealed an internal Home Office document, titled Our draft definition of VAWG, which said that child sexual abuse and exploitation is not “explicitly within the scope” of their strategy, due to be published in September.
Poppy Eyre when she was four years old
Responding to Sky News’ original report, Poppy Eyre, who was sexually abused and raped by her grandfather when she was four, said: “VAWG is – violence against women and girls. If you take child sexual abuse out of it, where are the girls?”
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, which is funded by the Home Office and a signatory to the letter, estimates 500,000 children in England and Wales are sexually abused every year.
The NSPCC “welcome” the government’s pledge to halve VAWG in a decade, but is “worried that if they are going to fulfil this commitment, the strategy absolutely has to include clear deliverable objectives to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation too”, the head of policy, Anna Edmundson, told Sky News.
Poppy is a survivor of child sexual abuse
She warned the government “will miss a golden opportunity” and the needs of thousands of girls will be “overlooked” if child sexual abuse and exploitation is not “at the heart of its flagship strategy”.
The government insists the VAWG programme will include action to tackle child sexual abuse, but says it also wants to create a distinctive plan to “ensure those crimes get the specialist response they demand”.
“My message to the government is that if you’re going to make child sexual abuse a separate thing, we need it now,” Poppy told Sky News.
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Rape Crisis, which is one of the largest organisations providing support to women in England and Wales, shares these concerns.
It wants plans to tackle child sexual abuse to be part of the strategy, and not to sit outside it.
“If a violence against women and girls strategy doesn’t include sexual violence towards girls, then it runs the risk of being a strategy for addressing some violence towards some females, but not all,” chief executive Ciara Bergman said.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government is “working tirelessly to tackle the appalling crimes of violence against women and girls and child sexual exploitation and abuse, as part of our Safer Streets mission”.
“We are already investing in new programmes and introducing landmark laws to overhaul the policing and criminal justice response to these crimes, as well as acting on the recommendations of Baroness Casey’s review into group-based Child Sexual Exploitation, and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse,” they added.
UK
Man and boy arrested on suspicion of arson after restaurant fire leaves two in critical condition
A 54-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after a restaurant fire in east London on Friday.
Three people were taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition after the fire at the Indian Aroma in Ilford.
Two remained in a critical condition on Sunday morning, according to the Metropolitan Police.
The restaurant suffered extensive damage in the blaze.
Two further victims are thought to have left the scene before officers arrived, Scotland Yard said.
Woodford Avenue from above. Pic: UK News and Pictures
Police are still trying to identify them.
CCTV footage seen by the PA news agency appears to show a group of people wearing face coverings walk into the restaurant and pour liquid on the floor.
Seconds later, the inside of the restaurant is engulfed in flames.
“While we have made two arrests, our investigation continues at pace so we can piece together what happened on Friday evening,” said the Met Police’s DCI Mark Rogers.
“I know the community [is] concerned and shocked by this incident.
The moment the fire broke out.
“I would urge anyone with any information or concerns to come forward and speak to police.”
Hospital porter Edward Thawe went to help after hearing screams from his nearby home.
He described the scene as “horrible” and “more than scary and the sort of thing that you don’t want to look at twice.”
He said: “I heard screaming and people saying they had called the police.”
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The 43-year-old said he saw a woman and a severely burned man who may have been customers.
Another witness, who did not want to be named, said he saw three “severely burned” people being doused by the emergency services and given oxygen.
“I can only imagine the pain they were going through,” he said.
On Saturday, the London Ambulance Service told Sky News: “We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and paramedics from our hazardous area response team.
“We treated five people for burns and smoke inhalation. We took two patients to a major trauma centre and three others to local hospitals.”
The police investigation is continuing.
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