The stepfather of murdered four-year-old Daniel Pelka has been found dead in his prison cell. It’s reported Mariusz Krezolek was found hanged at Full Sutton prison in Yorkshire.
His death comes just six months after his partner, Daniel’s mother, Magdalena Luczak, who was serving time for Daniel’s murder, also committed suicide.
Daniel’s death, in March 2012, shocked the nation after it was revealed that the little boy had suffered years of abuse at the hands of his mother and stepfather.
Daniel was starved, locked in a box room and regularly beaten. At the time of his death, the jury who convicted Luczak and Krezolek heard in court that Daniel was so malnourished he looked like a ‘famine victim’. The abuse left Daniel’s growth severely stunted. Reports at the time claimed he weighed just 1st 5lb and was six inches shorter than average.
His shocking case caused public outcry after it's claimed numerous government bodies seemingly missed the abuse he was suffering.
Krezolek was serving a life sentence with a minimum of 30 years after the court decided he was the one who delivered the fatal blow to Daniel.
“Your campaign of cruelty, as it has accurately been described, culminated in the severe blow or blows to his head that killed [Daniel],” Mrs Justice Laura Cox said at the time. “He was just four and a half years old.”
On hearing the news, campaigner Nicci Astin, who created a group to try prevent similar cases told of her anger.
“If he's killed himself then he's a coward but it may have been the best thing he ever did in his horrible little life,” she told the Mail. “I suppose at the moment I'm in shock. Part of me is relieved that Krezolek is dead but part of me wanted to see him rot in jail.
“It is a terrible waste of a family. Poor Daniel slipped through the cracks of the system and we will continue to fight to make sure it doesn't happen to other children.”