A baby girl was returned to her parents after 4 months in foster care, and 9 months later her mother allegedly killed her

A 13-month-old girl who was returned to her parents after four months in foster care died nine months later, and prosecutors allege her mother inflicted the fatal injuries. Kinga Wydrzynska, 26, and Michal Stasiak, 28, have pleaded not guilty to charges related to the death of their daughter, Isabella Stasiak, at Warwick Crown Court.

As reported by The Guardian, prosecutors told the court that Isabella was subjected to physical and sexual abuse by her parents before her mother allegedly inflicted the fatal injuries. Prosecutor Annabel Darlow KC said neither defendant has ever provided any explanation for their daughter’s injuries.

Wydrzynska is charged with Isabella’s murder, and both parents face charges of causing or allowing the death of a child. Each also faces four counts of causing or allowing serious physical harm to a child, two counts related to the sexual assault of a child, and three counts of child cruelty.

The court heard how the months before her death unfolded

Emergency services were called to Wydrzynska’s home in the early hours of January 7, 2025, where they found Isabella “grey and lifeless,” Darlow told the court. Isabella died in the hospital, and the court heard her injuries included a fractured skull and ribs, a broken arm, and a burn across her face. Darlow said medical experts concluded she died from injuries consistent with a forceful direct impact of her head against a hard surface.

The prosecution claims Wydrzynska was the only adult present in the home when police found Isabella. Darlow described the injuries as the “devastating culmination of systematic physical abuse.” She told jurors that by the time Isabella died, there was an entrenched pattern of abuse, neglect, and mistreatment of which both parents were entirely aware.

The court heard that Isabella was born in December 2023 and was immediately taken into the care of social services. After a stay in emergency accommodation, she was looked after by foster parents for four months before being returned to her parents in April 2024, nine months before her death.

Both parents were already known to social services and the police, jurors were told. In October 2024, officers attended the family home after a complaint from a neighbor and only got a response when they threatened to force entry. They spoke to the parents and saw Isabella, but the court was told they had no immediate safeguarding concerns following that visit.

On December 14, 2024, less than a month before Isabella’s death, Stasiak was arrested for common assault after Wydrzynska made a report. Jurors heard that Wydrzynska later made repeated attempts to withdraw her report. Stasiak was nonetheless placed on police bail and prohibited from living at the family home or contacting Wydrzynska.

Both parents have faced charges over a young child’s death in other cases too, including when Utah parents pleaded guilty in toddler’s death. Stasiak and Wydrzynska have pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the trial continues at Warwick Crown Court.