Hounslow deaths: deaths of mother and children in family-of-four found dead being investigated as murder

The mother and two children in a family of four found dead in a West London flat are believed to have been murdered, police say, with autopsies showing all three died of stab wounds.

The bodies of Michal Wlodarczyk, 39, his wife Monika, 35, and their children Maja, 11, and Dawid, three, were discovered at their flat in Hounslow on 16 June. Metropolitan Police officers forced their way into the home in Staines Road, Bedfont, but said nothing could be done to save the family.

Murder detectives said they were not seeking any other suspects in connection with the deaths, but were keeping an “open mind”.

Monika Wlodarczyk died from multiple sharp force injuries, according to a post-mortem examination carried out on Sunday. She was found with her children Maja Wlodarczyk, 11, Dawid Wlodarczyk, three - whose post-mortems took place on Wednesday (21 June).

Cause of death for Maja was given as a stab wound to the heart, and for Dawid as multiple stab injuries, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Michal Wlodarczyk died from sharp force injuries to the neck, the Metropolitan Police said, but the force was "not able to provide further details as to the circumstances of his death at this stage".

Detectives are not yet sure when the family died. The alarm was raised because Maja had not been to school since June 12, and the family had stopped replying to messages. Friends and neighbours of the victims have since paid tribute to the “lovely” family, who were originally from Poland.

Tributes paid to the family

James Hoopa, the father of Maja’s best friend, visited the family home where forensic searches were ongoing yesterday (Sat) to lay flowers with his family.

He told how his daughter, 11-year-old Jasmine Hoopa, ran home to him on Friday afternoon to tell him: “I think something’s happened to Maja.”

Mr Hoopa said: “My daughter goes to school with the little girl in the same year. Last night (Fri) I finished with about half six and I came down here and I saw the police cars and everything.

“I got home and I said well, have you contacted your friend? Is she okay? But you know what children are like, no notice. Then I come back from work today I find out that she’s dead. I found out Maja is dead. We know the parents as well, the dad and the mum, they all go out together.

He continued: “[Maja] was just a normal child, growing up, a lovely girl. She’s just a normal child, this is a shock.

“I don’t know how my daughter is going to get through this because my daughter is very best mates with her. For her to go through this experience, something else as parents that we’ve got to deal with.

“We’re neighbours, we live across the road, this is a shock - it’s going to take some time to settle into this one.”

His wife Mrs Hoopa added: “Occasionally I’d take them out, just me, Maja and Jasmine would go out together.

“We’d plan to go out, we went to McDonald’s, we went to Nando’s, not long ago we went to Staines shopping. This morning (Sat) she went out. Not long later she came home, I was a bit surprised she came home so quickly.

“She said to me ‘mum, mum, something’s happened, I think Maja, something’s happened to her’. I said let’s go and check, we saw the article online that they’d passed away.

“Me, Jasmine, and Jennifer, my daughter, we all rushed down to verify because the description matched them. I thought ‘no, no this is not right’. I just can’t believe it. She was a very brave girl, very mature for her age.

“It’s just a shock. I don’t know how we’re all going to pull through as family.”

Neighbours saw family playing just days before tragedy

Neighbours also told how they watched Monika playing “very happily” together with her two children just days before their tragic deaths.

Oana Petraru, 31, said she often saw the mum joking and laughing with the children in the evenings and weekends, but rarely saw the dad. She said: “I just saw the mum because the garden is just out there. I saw her sometimes with the kids outside.

“They were very happy. She was always playing with them, with the ball, just being a mum, you know? There was nothing strange with them. I don’t know them personally, but she seemed fine.

“They were laughing and playing in the garden a couple of days ago, the mum and the boy and the girl. They were playing with a ball, they have a trampoline. I can’t see everything because of the fence but I can hear them.

“She would play with them on the weekends, in the evening. She was always outside with them, as mums do. I saw her but not him. I never saw the dad, only maybe last week they were playing outside and he was up on the shed and he was climbing up to take the balls down.

“I never heard fighting. When you hear about adults it’s terrible, but when kids are involved.”

What have police said after the autopsies?

The Met's investigation is led by homicide detectives from the Specialist Crime Command, and enquiries continue.

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, who is leading the investigation, said: “Specialist detectives continue to investigate the circumstances which led to this tragic incident. We are continuing to support family members at this unimaginably difficult time, and we thank the local community for their understanding in recent days whilst we conducted enquiries at the scene.

“The situation remains that we are not currently seeking anybody else in connection with the incident," she added.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to call 101, quoting reference 5135/16Jun.