Police worker gets misconduct warning over handling of 999 call before four deaths
Officers found the bodies of Bartlomiej Kuczynski, 45, his two daughters Jasmin Kuczynska, 12, and eight-year-old Natasha Kuczynska and their aunt Kanticha Sukpengpanao, 36, on January 19 2024.
The four were all found inside a property in Allan Bedford Crescent in Costessey, Norfolk.
Post-mortem examinations recorded that all four died of neck wounds.
The deaths of the two girls and their aunt were being treated as murder, while the death of Mr Kuczynski was not being treated as suspicious.
Norfolk Police said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the killings.
The force had received a 999 call from Mr Kuzcynski on the morning of January 19 but officers were not deployed to the address until an hour later when police were called by a concerned dog walker, watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.
In an audio recording of the call, Mr Kuczynski said: 'I am walking with the knife, I have just lost the plot.'
Mr Kuczynski expressed concerns about his own mental state and said he was confused.
The call handler advised him to seek medical advice and police did not attend the property as a result of the call.
When questioned as part of the IOPC investigation, the call handler said he did not hear the word 'knife' and would have acted differently had he done so.
The call handler was initially suspended but returned to work following a review and was put on restricted duties.
Norfolk Police said on Friday that a member of staff had been given a final written warning following a misconduct investigation into the handling of the 999 call.
The force said in a statement: 'The IOPC investigation concluded the call handler had a case to answer for misconduct based on their handling of the call and failing to record their risk assessment in their decision-making.
'The force accepted this conclusion, and a misconduct meeting was held on June 26 2025 where the chair determined misconduct to be proven and issued a final written warning for 12 months.'
The misconduct meeting was not held in public.
Norfolk Police said that the worker remains employed by the force as a member of police staff, and is no longer on restricted duties.
A full inquest into the deaths is anticipated to take place in 2026 pending the completion of a Domestic Homicide Review.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Man in his 50s dies after motorbike crash on motorway
Police are appealing for witnesses after a man in his 50s was killed in a motorbike crash last night. Emergency services were called at around 8.15pm last night (August 1) to reports of a crash on the M60. The incident took place on the clockwise carriage between junctions 18 and 19, and police have confirmed no other vehicles were involved. Tragically, the man was declared dead at the scene, despite the best efforts of paramedics to save his life. Police are now asking for witnesses to come forward so that they can understand the circumstances leading up to the crash. They said they are especially interested in any dash-cam footage of the incident and have asked for anyone with footage to get in touch. Have a story? Get in touch at A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: "Our Serious Collision Investigation Unit is appealing for witnesses following a collision on the M60 in which a motorcyclist died. "At around 8:15pm yesterday (1/8/25) we were called to reports of a single-vehicle RTC involving a motorcycle travelling clockwise on the M60 between junctions 18 and 19. "Despite best efforts of the emergency services, a male in his 50s sadly died at the scene of the collision. "No other vehicles were involved, and we are now appealing for more information to understand the circumstances that led up to the collision. READ MORE: Farnworth emergency service presence down to 'misunderstanding' READ MORE: Barrow Bridge Road blocked after police called to incidents READ MORE: Deane Road is centre of No More Flowers campaign today "We are particularly interested in anybody who may have dash-cam footage of the incident. "Anyone with information or footage should contact us on 0161 856 4741 quoting incident 3180-010825." Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'I was chilling in Erdington - then carjack gang with machetes smashed car window and beat me up'
A Birmingham driver was ambushed by an machete-wielding gang of carjackers as he sat eating in his prized motor with a friend. The balaclava-clad thugs smashed a window of his Volkswagen Golf before dragging him from the car to beat him up and demand: "What you got on you?" Despite telling them everything was inside the vehicle, the 22-year-old was struck in the ribs, kicked on the floor and punched in the face in a horrific assault near Perry Common Road, Erdington. READ MORE: Birmingham killer who stabbed neighbour to death dies in hospice with 'family by his side' The attackers fled with his £23,000 pride-and-joy, which he had worked hard for and saved for years since passing his test. Police responded to a 999 call, but the driver claimed officers had not been in touch since his ordeal early on Tuesday, July 15. "I can't sleep at night. I keep having flashbacks," he told BirminghamLive. "I've always kept myself away from this stuff, so when it does happen, it affects me because I'm not a violent person. I just work, come home, see my mates, that's it. "I just want them [the police] to crackdown on it, not just for me but for anyone else who goes through it." After the attack, the victim took himself to hospital with injuries including a bruised rib, swollen lip, stiff neck and grazed knees from the floor scuffle. "I was just chilling with my mate getting food. We were parked up, it was just a little car park - you could even see the main road from there," he recalled. "All of a sudden about five people came from the park behind us. "The first time I saw them they were by my driver's side window, they smashed it straight away, pulled me out of the car and started beating me up. "They had machetes on them. They hit that into my ribs and started kicking me on the floor, punching me in the face. I don't know why, everything - my keys, my phone, wallet - was in the car. "They never said much just 'what have you got on you, what have you got on you?' I said 'everything's in the car' and they were still beating me up. That's all they said to me." No-one was seriously hurt but the victim feared his new car was destined for a scrapyard to be sold off as parts. He said: "I called 101 because it was all over social media, someone said they saw it being taken into a scrapyard. Police said they couldn't do anything because they would need a warrant to go into the scrapyard. An officer said he would just 'pop it on the file.' "I'm assuming they'll take all the parts of the car and just sell them separately. "Police said they would take a statement the next day but I haven't heard back from them. It's like they don't seem bothered. "Everyone's like 'have you told the police?, I'm like 'yeah but I don't think they're going to do anything.'" West Midlands Police said officers had been carrying out a 'thorough' investigation. No arrests had been made and officers were trying to "identify the people responsible." "Officers have been exploring CCTV opportunities around the area, and have used a range of investigative tactics to try and find the car, which has been marked as stolen," a force spokesman said. "We've also made efforts to contact the person who reported the robbery as we try to identify the people responsible. "Anyone with information should contact us on 101 quoting crime reference number 20/309868/25."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Teenage waitress convicted in fast-track courts over mix-up with surprise 18th birthday gift
A teenage girl has received a criminal conviction for failing to get insurance on a surprise 18th birthday gift of a car – before it had actually been given to her. The waitress, from Poole in Dorset, said her family bought the Fiat as a present to celebrate her landmark birthday, but mistakenly did not insure it immediately. Last month, the DVLA charged her with keeping an uninsured vehicle and brought a criminal prosecution over the unpaid bill. She explained the mix-up in a letter to Ipswich magistrates court, saying she had never driven the vehicle as she does not yet have a licence and at the time of the offence she did not even know the car was hers. But it was not enough to spare her from a criminal conviction. It is the latest piece of harsh justice to emerge from the Single Justice Procedure, an under-fire fast-track court process where magistrates hand out convictions in private court hearings. The Labour government is dragging its feet on reforming the court process, despite lobbying from prosecutors, lawyers, and even magistrates themselves that the system is broken. The teenager wrote in her letter: 'My family got the car for me as my 18th birthday present. I was still 17 at the time of the offence and had not actually been given the keys to the car and was not aware that it would be mine.' She set out that she and her father have reading difficulties, and it was only when a friend read an official letter for them that they realised the car needed to be insured even if it was not being driven. She said they received a rebate on car tax after declaring the 17-year-old Fiat 'off road' with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN), and did not realise she could pay a fine to avoid a criminal case. 'I have never used the car as I have still not passed my driving test', she continued. 'My dad is willing to pay the fine for me as he thinks this is his fault. 'He receives Universal Credit and PIP for his mental health, and I have just finished college and currently have a part-time job as a waitress on the minimum wage for an 18-year-old.' She pleaded guilty to the offence, dated in January and just under four weeks before her 18th birthday, and added: 'I was a good student in school and college studying art and have never been in any trouble in my life. We just misunderstood the letter, I thought it said I had to SORN it or pay a fine if it doesn't get sorted. 'I am very sorry.' One of the flaws in the Single Justice Procedure is that prosecutors do not see mitigation letters, due to the fast-track nature of the process. It means they do not get the chance to assess the personal circumstances of defendants, and cannot decide if a prosecution continues to be in the public interest. The DVLA itself has called on the government to change the system, so that prosecutors see all mitigation before a magistrate is called on to decide a case. This reform has been backed by the Magistrates Association and the Bar Council, but is opposed by the BBC. The government closed a consultation on Single Justice Procedure reform in early May, and has repeatedly refused to set out a timetable for reform. In a statement to The Standard, it said it is 'currently evaluating responses' to the consultation. The system operates every week at magistrates courts across England and Wales, dealing with around 800,000 low-level criminal cases a year. It was also the subject of a damning recent report by think tank Transform Justice. Responding to the report, the Ministry of Justice claimed that there has never been a recorded miscarriage of justice due to the Single Justice Procedure. In the teenage waitress' case, a magistrate gave her a 12-month conditional discharge instead of a fine. But she chose not to send the case back to the DVLA for an extra public interest check. The teen will now have a criminal conviction, and must also pay a £20 court fee.
