In 2026, a 12-week criminal trial commenced at Warwick Crown Court where two parents stand accused of the systematic physical abuse, sexual violation, and murder of their 13-month-old daughter.
Kinga Wydrzynska, 26, residing at Johnson Avenue, Rugby, and Michal Stasiak, 28, residing at Blackwood Avenue, Rugby, both Polish nationals, appeared before the court assisted by Polish interpreters.
The prosecution, led by Annabel Darlow KC, outlined that 13-month-old Isabella Stasiak died on 7 January 2025 at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire following catastrophic injuries sustained inside the Johnson Avenue address. Post-mortem and clinical examinations established that the infant sustained a fractured skull, a subdural brain haemorrhage, fractured ribs, a fractured right arm, multiple bruises, and a severe burn covering her entire face. Further examinations confirmed that the child had also been subjected to penetrative sexual abuse.
Medical experts concluded the fatal injuries were consistent with a forceful, direct impact of the head against a hard surface combined with severe, violent shaking inflicted less than 12 hours before death. Ms Darlow told jurors that rather than an isolated incident, the injuries represented the culmination of systemic physical abuse inflicted over a period of at least five weeks.
The court heard that Isabella had been an “unwanted” child from conception, with Wydrzynska concealing her pregnancy under loose clothing before leaving her home with a rucksack to give birth in December 2023. The baby was initially placed into care. However, she was returned to her parents in April 2024 after Stasiak approached a social worker to ask whether the couple would qualify for housing assistance if they agreed to take the child back rather than proceed with adoption.
Jurors were told the child was made to sleep in a flimsy collapsible travel cot within a room cluttered with household rubbish. At the time of Isabella’s death, Stasiak was residing at a separate address under bail conditions following an arrest for common assault against Wydrzynska the previous month, though prosecutors stated he had seen the child and the obvious, untreated burn to her face.
On the morning of 7 January 2025, 17 minutes before calling emergency services at 4:37am, Wydrzynska recorded videos on her phone of the unresponsive infant. Ms Darlow described the footage as a self-pitying monologue in which Wydrzynska adjusted camera angles and complained about the personal consequences she would face, allegedly stating: “I don’t want it to be messed up because of you. Please, don’t you understand, I’m trying to save you.” After emergency services arrived within five minutes, Wydrzynska stepped out into the rear garden to smoke a cigarette while police officers performed emergency resuscitation on her dying child.
Digital forensic checks uncovered online searches performed on Wydrzynska’s phone in late December 2024, including “can a child die from a degree of facial burns”, queries on wound infection and sepsis, and searches asking “how long do you get in prison for beating a child”.
Both defendants entered formal not guilty pleas to:
- Causing or allowing the death of a child
- Four counts of causing or allowing serious physical harm to a child
- Two counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration
- Three counts of cruelty to a person under 16
Wydrzynska entered a further not guilty plea to an individual count of murder.
The trial before Warwick Crown Court is ongoing and scheduled to sit for approximately 12 weeks.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
For the latest updates and offender details, follow us on the Offender Database Facebook Page. If you or anyone you know has been affected by the individuals highlighted on this website, please report them to the Police on 101 (999 in an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details on how to report a crime. You can also report to Crimestoppers if you wish to remain completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.