Danuta Kaczmarska (Unsolved Murder)

Dr Danuta Kaczmarska was loved and respected by her patients. In January 1986  the 52 year old was found brutally murdered at her home in Hall Green, Birmingham, in what looked like a frenzied but premeditated attack. The community and police were baffled. Then sensational and often judgemental stories began to surface that the kind, amiable doctor was leading a double life. It is suspected that Danuta knew her killer.

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Danuta Kaczmarska

It was January 22nd 1986 and enthusiastic amateur photographer Paul Kernich was spending his Wednesday evening going through some slides on a home projector. At 9pm he suddenly became aware of a strong smell of smoke wafting through the living room. He quickly got on the phone and dialled 999 for the emergency services, requesting a fire engine be despatched to his property in Coniston Close, Hall Green, in the southeast of Birmingham. The response was prompt and a team of ten firefighters soon arrived at the scene. A cursory search discovered that the blaze was not at Mr Kernich’s home. The smoke was coming from a house a few doors away, which belonged to a popular local GP (General Practitioner), Dr Danuta Kaczmarska. The firefighters donned breathing apparatus and approached the house. They found the front door locked, so forced entry to the property. Visibility was extremely poor as the firefighters were enveloped in a thick, black, blanket of smoke. Even so, it was apparent that the fire was contained to the ground floor, specifically the kitchen. The blaze was able to be put out relatively quickly, within a matter of minutes. 

The fire crew began sorting through the wreckage of the fire to ascertain what had gone on and discover its cause. One firefighter crawled over a mound of cold and burned debris, not knowing what it was. A short time later, at 10pm, it was discovered to be the charred remains of a human skeleton. Station officer Steve Pearce who was in charge of the operation contacted detectives and the West Midlands fire investigation team. They were dispatched swiftly and an incident room was established at nearby Sparkhill police station. Attempts were made to formally identify the body. Police suspected the body to be the house owner, 52 year old Danuta Kaczmarska. Dental records soon proved that this was correct.

A pathology report showed that Danuta had been struck forcefully several times with a sharp, heavy object, probably a small axe or machete. Five wounds had been administered to the back of the head and at least one to the forehead. (Later at the inquest it was said a total of seven blows were counted). Blood found on the walls testified that the attack had happened in the kitchen.

The injuries to the head had rendered Danuta unconscious. The blow to the forehead had  fractured the skull and it was determined that Danuta would have died from this injury alone. However, she was still alive when doused in inflammable liquid and set alight. Before this had happened Danuta had first been placed atop a pyre of pillows and bedding. A tea-towel was found stuffed inside Danuta’s mouth. It had been used to gag her and prevent any screams or calls for help from being heard. 

Though the following information was not released at the time Pathologist Dr Keith Scott later revealed at the inquest there were signs of a violent struggle. Danuta had fought back hard. Knives and food items were strewn around the body as well as copious amounts of blood. There has never been any evidence released that suggests Danuta was sexually assaulted.

Police were at a loss as to the motive for such a brutal slaying. Robbery seemed unlikely as a large amount of cash and valuables were left untouched. Hundreds of pounds in notes and travellers cheques were found all around the house. A newspaper article in the Birmingham Post in March 1997 later said that a total of £800 was discovered at the scene. P.C. Jackson, who was one of the first officers at the house on Coniston Close said there was no sign of a break in. Therefore it was speculated that Danuta may have known the killer. Very early on police did say it was believed that Danuta had a number of male friends, and they were attempting to trace and speak with them.

Danuta was born in Poland during the mid 1930’s. Her father Stefan had been a judge there before emigrating with his family. I am unsure exactly when this happened but by the mid 1980s the Kaczmarska had been in the country for decades. By 1986 Danuta had been a General Practitioner (GP) in Birmingham for fifteen years. At the time of her death she owned two GP surgeries and personally oversaw around 4000 patients. One surgery was on Westfield Road in Acocks Green and the other on Addison Road, Kings Heath. Some of her patients had trouble pronouncing her last name, Kaczmarska, so she was known by patients and colleagues alike as Dr K. The amiable GP was held in high regard by the local community. Her neighbours said she was kind and would often give them presents and gifts. Danuta was loved and respected by her patients. She often went the extra mile for them and counted many as friends.

Danuta’s parents lived in Birmingham too. Her father, Stefan had been ill with cancer for some time and her mother Alina is described in one press report as having been suffering stress due to the strain of caring for a terminally ill husband. In a particularly cruel turn of fate, Stefan passed away just six days after his daughter's murder. Danuta had at least one sister, Alicja, who was a social worker living in Newcastle in the north of England. She travelled down numerous times over the first few weeks of the investigation to provide valuable information to the police about Danuta’s life. Confusingly, later newspaper reports from the 1990s refer to a sister named Irena who was then living in the south of England. Both Alicja and Irena mentioned have the same English surname (I'm guessing a married name) so I assume it is the same person but for some reason she is referred to by different first names.

Danuta was a wealthy woman. As well as the two surgeries and house in Green Hall she also owned two cottages in Stratford Upon Avon. I believe she may have owned another house in Birmingham too. Danuta enjoyed foreign holidays and went abroad two or three times a year. She had travelled extensively in India, China and Sri Lanka. When she died, Danuta left no will so letters of administration were granted to her 76 year old mother Alina Kaczmarska. Alina was left to decide what to do with her daughter's considerable estate. It totaled £202,384, the equivalent of over half a million pounds today. To put this into perspective the average house price in the UK in 1986 was a little over £30,000.

A woman named Edna who worked as a receptionist at Danuta’s doctor’s practice spoke to the Birmingham Metro News about the murder. She was in complete shock and could not fathom what could have happened to have led to her beloved boss being killed in such a gruesome manner.

What made this murder even more baffling and disconcerting was the fact that almost four years to the day another body had been found at the same address, also having been unrecognisably burnt in a fire. 

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Four years before the death of Danuta Kaczmarska, in March 1982, 40 year old solicitor Thomas Gleeson  had died at the Coniston Close three storey property. He was staying at the address at the time and was believed to have been Dr Kaczmarska’s boyfriend. His severely burnt body was found on the first floor of the house. It was hypothesised that Mr Gleeson had been drinking and accidentally started the fire himself with a lit cigarette. An inquest into the death concluded death by misadventure. With the obvious similarities to what had happened to Danuta’s body, police and the media began to speculate that perhaps something had been missed. The police notes from the former investigation were looked over by detectives to see if there were any clues that might connect the two horrific incidents. Investigators concluded just a week after Danuta had been killed that they were not linked, though as we shall see, the topic has resurfaced in recent years.

Thirty police officers set about working the case and completed door to door enquiries throughout the local area. Investigators also spoke at length with Danuta’s family and friends. They were soon able to create a timeline for the last 24 hours or so of Danuta’s life.

On the evening before the murder Danuta had telephoned her sister for a chat. As it happened, she was in the middle of watching her favourite cooking show on TV. She asked if she could call Danuta back. Danuta asked if she could refrain from calling the following afternoon as she was expecting company. Years later, Danuta’s sister talked to the Birmingham Post and said that some time after she had ended the call she had a premonition that it would be the last time she would speak to her sister. 

At 12pm on the day of the murder, (Wednesday January 22nd) Danuta made the four minute trip on foot to the Waitrose supermarket on Stratford Road. Danuta was renowned for her quirky but fashionable dress sense. That day she was wearing a beige jacket and tight beige trousers tucked into knee high boots. At the shop Danuta purchased groceries. On her walk back home she bumped into an acquaintance and mentioned she had bought the ingredients in order to make dinner for a friend who was coming over that evening. Danuta arrived back at her house at 1.30pm and proceeded to phone the receptionist at her GP practice. She was checking if any messages had been left or if she would be needed that afternoon. No one had requested her so Danuta was able to continue with her plan to prepare the meal. 

At 3pm Danuta again went out to the same Waitrose store. This time she purchased a bottle of red wine. The cashier on duty specifically remembered talking to Danuta as the kind Doctor had brought in some medication for another woman who worked at the store who was suffering from a bad cough. Neighbours then saw Danuta return to her house at 3.30pm. She was alone at this time. Police said based on evidence and their calculations Danuta was dead by 4pm. I am not exactly sure what led them to this conclusion. That left just a 30 minute window for the murder to have been committed. 

Sometime after this, the person who Danuta had invited over for dinner called at the house. It was a woman and her six year old child. They knocked on the door but got no reply. Just to add, I only came across one reference to this incident and the woman was not named. It seems strange that the fire wasn't discovered until hours later.  Doors and windows to the kitchen must have been secured and the fire contained to a relatively small area.

Less than a week after the murder police went public with information about Danuta’s private life which they believed could provide context for her murder. They went as far as calling her social life “weird”. Reading contemporary press reports there is a definite wisp of victim blaming and certainly open judgement and sensationalism when it comes to the way these details were presented in the press. 

The Birmingham Evening Mail ran an article on January 28th 1986 in which Danuta is described as leading a double life. By day she was a popular and successful Doctor and by night she was said to cavort with drug addicts, gay people, and other individuals on the margins of society. It was made clear that Danuta herself did not take drugs, nor did she supply drugs to addicts. It was claimed Danuta used contact magazines (basically dating apps for the pre-digital age) and spent her time at gay clubs and quote “seedy bars”. It was also stated that in the past Danuta had a long standing affair with a drug addict. At the time of her death Danuta was not believed to have had a regular boyfriend. She was described as a vulnerable, emotionally insecure person who was looking for love. 

Much was made of Danuta’s physical appearance. She wore her hair in a spikey punk style and often dyed it various bright colours. As I mentioned already, Danuta's dress sense also caused a stir and she was said to have dressed unusually. There was a clear derisory tone when Danuta was described as a chain smoker and regular drinker of alcohol. The police made the point that Dr Kaczmarska was not the quote “normal type of woman family doctor”. Some of the newspaper reports make for pretty uncomfortable reading and there is some clear sexism going on. It's probably a pertinent time to mention Danuta’s sexuality. Early newspaper reports seem to skate around it. In later years she is sometimes referred to as a lesbian. The honest truth is that we don't know how Danuta would choose to describe her sexuality. I'm certainly not going to put any labels on her. What seems clear is that in the past she had relationships with men and there is a possibility she also had romantic relationships with women. 

Only a couple of days after the murder Detective Superintendent David Speake of West Midlands Serious Crime Squad who was leading the investigation told reporters that the case had all the hallmarks of an Agatha Christie novel. In hindsight this seems a slightly flippant thing to say so close to such a tragedy. The Superintendent went on to describe Danuta as a “Jekyll and Hyde” type character. 

Investigators were confident that Danuta's private life was connected to her murder. The theory was that the killer was definitely known to Danuta. It was speculated that they had let themselves into the house using a duplicate key, when Danuta was out at the shops. Perhaps they were watching and had waited until she left. After the murder they picked up Danuta’s own set of keys and left via the front door. The key was turned twice to secure the double mortice lock.  

Following the murder, Danuta’s sister helped to go through Danuta’s house, including her paperwork. Here she came across a note which appeared to be a letter informing a person that they were required to resign from their job. The name of the person the note was intended for was not included. It was unknown what relevance, if any, this note had. A large collection of diaries and letters were also found at Danuta’s house. They all had to be read through carefully in case a vital clue lay within the pages.

As mentioned, Danuta used contact magazines and lonely hearts columns to meet people and go on dates. People who advertised in such publications were asked to come forward. For this purpose a special confidential hotline was set up at Sparkhill police station. When searching the house police came across an application to join a computer dating agency (remember this was before the internet). According to the BBC Crimewatch programme from February 1986 this form had not yet been posted. On the form Danuta had given herself the alias “Diane Ansell” and investigators wondered if she had used this pseudonym before.

A man came forward who had met Danuta through a contact magazine. They had met for a drink at the Robin Hood pub which was close to Danuta’s home.  Danuta had responded to the man’s advertisement through written means, describing herself as someone who was interested in people, travel, reading as well as food and drink. She added she did not enjoy sports. Danuta ended her written reply saying she was feeling bored and fed up.

This man was able to inform detectives that Danuta had used the name “Kate” in her introductory profile. When they met  Danuta and told him her real name. Danuta had also gone by the name “Jane” in the past when signing up to these services.

Six days after the murder police revealed that they had arrested three men in connection with the crime but they all were released on bail. The names of these people have never been released and no charges were made against them. This lead fizzled out and investigators claimed they were incredibly  frustrated by the lack of tips they were receiving from the public. The main thoroughways of Stratford Road and Fox Hollies Road boarded Coniston Close. Both saw a high volume of foot and vehicle traffic but produced no witnesses.

Detective Superintendent David Speake was strong in his criticism of the poor response the appeals for help were getting. At one point forty police officers spoke with parents whose children attended Hall Green primary school which stood across the road from Danuta’s house. Yet despite the murder taking place during the busy school pick time, no one had seen a thing. Police seemed to be foundering, then, at lunchtime on Monday February 5th, another man was arrested in connection with the case. 

The unnamed man was a Doctor. Under the police and criminal evidence act a special order was sought from City magistrates to extend the time the man could be questioned. This happened on two occasions over the period he was in custody. He was eventually released without charge after three days. We will come back to this man shortly.

In an attempt to find a breakthrough and trigger memories West Midlands police staged a reenactment of Danuta’s last known movements. PC Una Cooke took the role of Danuta and undertook the short walk to and from the local Waitrose shop. A friend of Danuta took the Police constable shopping so she could choose clothes similar to the ones worn by Danuta. During the 365m walk PC Cooke wore a purple punk style wig. A reconstruction using actors also featured on the BBCs Crimewatch program a week or so later. 

Police also decided to release more information about the crime scene. It was suspected that Danuta had enjoyed a glass of champagne with the killer shortly before the attack had taken place. A metal wire used to secure the cork in a bottle was found discarded on the floor. (A report from the Birmingham Mail in 2020 also mentions the finding of the foil wrap from the bottle neck). It was specified to have been Pink champagne. I believe small amounts of champagne were left in two champagne flutes at the scene. The bottle itself was not in the house and police believed the killer had taken it with them. They suspected it was then discarded. Attempts were made to track down where the champagne was purchased. If you remember, at the Waitrose shop Danuta had bought red wine not champagne. Had the killer brought it to the scene or had it already been in the house?

Developments were few and far between over the next few months and police inquiries began to stretch further afield. By May 1986 the hard work appeared to be paying off. That month an artist's impression of a man police were attempting to trace was released in the media. The lead came after several witnesses said they had seen a woman they believed to be Danuta meeting with a heavily built middle aged man at a hotel in Lincolnshire. The sighting was from October 1985, a few months before the murder. Danuta and the mystery man dined at the Humber Bridge Hotel, in the town of Barton upon Humber, near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. This location is a two and a half hour drive from Danuta’s home in Birmingham. 

Witnesses at the pub said it looked like Danuta and the man were well acquainted. At one point during the evening the mystery man got into a conversation with another diner and told her that he owned a butchers shop near Birmingham. He said that Danuta and himself had gone out for a drive that day and ended up in Burton-Upon Humber. The man was described as being chatty and well spoken. He sounded like he came from the south of England, possibly London. He looked to be in his 40's and was clean shaven with a sallow complexion. He had neatly styled brown hair that was receding slightly around the temples. He was dressed smartly and wore a dark jacket, white shirt and light coloured trousers.    

Danuta and the man arrived on a Sunday evening at around 7.30pm and stayed until closing time. This meeting could well have been completely innocent but police could not understand why the man had not come forward to clear himself and give potentially vital information. Police were also slightly sceptical about the man's story that the couple had happened upon the pub randomly after going for a long drive. It was a five hour round trip which seemed excessive for a Sunday afternoon drive.

I cannot find any evidence that this man, “the butcher” was ever traced. 

The inquest into Danuta’s death opened on June 5th 1986. Altogether, 22 witnesses were called to give evidence. Matters were presided over by Coroner Dr Richard Whittington. At the start of proceedings he told those assembled that this was an unusual case but facts should drive the course of the next couple of days. Speculation should play no part. 

Medical information was shared concerning the cause of death, which I detailed earlier. Again it is worth reiterating that the murder weapon was likely a small axe or something similar. The killer took this with them when they made their escape.

It was revealed at the inquest that Danuta was owed almost £3000 from a fellow Dr and partner at the surgery. This man's name has been made public but I’ve decided to refer to him as Dr N. Dr N was also said to have been Danuta’s lover in the past. Some of Danuta’s friends and family were under the assumption that at one point the couple had been engaged to be married. Though as we will see this is disputed by Dr N.

Dr N was 45 years old and originally from the middle east. He had trained in Spain and came to the UK in 1970. He first worked as an Obstetrician in Grimsby, before training as a GP in Hereford and Wales. In 1983 he moved to Birmingham, settling in the Castle Bromwich area of the city. The following year he became a partner in Danuta’s GP practice. Dr N was divorced and a father of two children. 

Danuta’s sister told the inquest that her sister became annoyed with Dr N around Christmas 1985 (just a month or so before her murder). The friction between the two Doctors was rooted in a debt that Dr N owed Danuta. Danuta had loaned Dr N £2000 plus a further £887 in the form of a personal cheque. Danuta believed she had been deceived over the loan. The details of this matter are a little confusing.

I do not know why Dr N borrowed the initial £2000, but regarding the £887,  it seems an administrative error meant Dr N was not paid his monthly salary in either November or December. To make up for  this lapse Danuta wrote a personal cheque of £887 to cover this mistake. It then seems Dr N was then paid his salary through the normal means. In effect he had been paid twice. Dr N said at the inquest he had been given until the end of January 1986 to pay the money back. Another Dr at the practice, Dr P, said Danuta had been upset and things had turned sour between herself and Dr N after this. 

Danuta’s sister told the inquest that Danuta was constantly being asked for money and she would never refuse anyone. She was owed money by lots of people. Though she was generous she did always want to be paid back eventually. Danuta could be sharp at times about this issue.

Details were given about Danuta and Dr N's professional and personal relationship. Dr N had been asked to join the practice because according to Danuta’s best friend Renata K he was unique and “mad”. Following Dr N joining the practice a romantic relationship developed between himself and Danuta. Though this was over long before the murder. In the meantime Dr N had briefly been engaged to another woman. 

The inquest heard that a month or so before she was murdered a man had attempted to strangle Danuta at her place of work. After the attack she had worn a scarf to hide the bruising Another of Danuta’s friends named Judy W said that Danuta had implied that her attacker had been Dr N. When Judy asked Danuta why he had done this she replied that “he’s mad”.

Dr N was called to share his version of events. It then became known that he was the Doctor who was arrested and questioned for three days in connection with Danuta’s murder back in early February. Dr N argued that he had been treated very poorly by the police. They had arrested him at the doctors surgery and he was shoved by a police officer in front of the receptionist. He claimed while in custody he had been hit by a police officer and was not permitted to contact his solicitor for ten hours. According to Dr N the whole ordeal and been the worst experience of his life and in his lowest moments he had contemplated suicide. He denied the allegation that he had strangled Danuta and told the coroner that he would not assault anyone. Regarding Danuta’s murder, the arrest and finger of suspicion pointed at him had ruined any future career prospects. He denied having anything to do with the murder. He categorically stated that he had not been at Danuta’s house in Coniston Close on the day she was killed. 

Dr N also said that he had never been engaged to Danuta and had never had any desire to marry her. He actually said he wished they had been married as he would now be about to inherit a large sum of money. He did admit that he and Danuta had sex twice but said he was not in any way a regular visitor to the house. Dr N was also upfront about having been briefly engaged to an 18 year old Polish girl over the summer of 1985. Danuta apparently attended his “disengagement” party when that relationship ended. 

Having listened to the evidence presented, coroner Dr Richard Whittingham concluded that Dr Danuta Kaczmarska was unlawfully killed. The most intriguing and puzzling part of the case was the champagne celebration that appeared to have occurred shortly before the murder, but nothing that Dr Whittingham had heard suggested he needed to refer the case to the Director of Prosecutions. He believed the killer was likely intelligent, devious, malicious, criminal and most chillingly, known to Danuta. 

Following the inquest Dr N made no comment in the media. 

In response to the coroner's conclusion Detective Superintendent David Speake went on the front foot and seemed to blame an apathetic public for a lack of resolution in the case. He did not hold back in his criticism. He talked of investigating officers being faced with a wall of silence in their efforts to solve the crime.

Over the next 12 months there was precious little movement in the case. The incident room at Sparkhill police station was closed over the summer of 1986 and it was announced in January 1987 that the hunt for Danuta’s killer had ground to a halt due to a lack of leads. One hundred and fifty police officers had been involved in the investigation and 6000 individuals had been questioned but inquiries had hit a dead end. The police were flabbergasted that no one had seen the killer enter or leave Danuta’s house, and there were no sightings of any suspicious cars or vehicles near the house. A last ditch plea was made for witnesses or a confidant of the killer to come forward. Detective Chief Inspector Clive Mole told the Birmingham Mail it was likely that Danuta had been murdered by a lover. His belief was that the killer had likely told someone about the crime, probably a woman whom he was close to - you will notice his assumption that the killer was a man. This person was in turn shielding the killer. Without this person coming forward the crime looked destined to remain unsolved.  

Dr N was still reeling from his arrest twelve months earlier. He was considering legal action against the police for being arrested without justification and for the alleged poor treatment he endured while in custody. Police refused to comment on the allegations but did say Dr N had never made an official complaint about his arrest, detention or treatment. In turn Dr N claimed he was still suffering the adverse effect of being wrongfully arrested. I am unsure if legal proceedings were ever put in motion by Dr N on this matter. In terms of Danuta’s murder, Dr N told the press that he wanted the killer to be found. 

Six years later in September 1993 coroner Dr Richard Whittingham (the same coroner who presided over the inquest into Danuta’s death) reported Dr N to the police and the General medical council (GMC)  following an inquest into the death of a 28 year old man. Peter Coles, a builder by trade and a father of two small children, died in December 1992 from undiagnosed diabetes. Mr Coles was a patient of Dr N and had visited the doctor on several occasions in the weeks prior to his death. He eventually became so ill he was admitted to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham. Mr Coles fell into a diabetic coma and passed away. Coroner Dr Richard Whittignham believed that a possible offence had been committed by Dr N as he appeared to have altered his medical notes, adding in references to diabetes only after Mr Cole's death.

Dr N refuted the allegation and many of his patients supported him in this position. Dr N told the Birmingham Post that the last decade of his life had been a nightmare, but was philosophical, saying he was a buddhist and whatever suffering came his way was decided by fate. Dr N was considering legal action against the coroner. His solicitor was confident that the police and GMC would vindicate his client. This turned out not to be the case.

In November 1996 Dr N stood in Birmingham Crown court and was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for the manslaughter of Peter Coles and for perverting the course of justice. Justice McCullough did point out that Dr N did not intend or foresee that Mr Coles would die but added that it should have crossed his mind. Mr Coles had displayed classic symptoms of diabetes that should have been picked up by Dr N. He later falsified his notes and lied under oath at the inquest to try to cover his mistake. By the time of the trial Dr N's patient list was relatively small, only around 900, but many of these people backed him throughout the ordeal. They even presented a signed petition to the court supporting the GP.  The judge responded to the well meaning supporters simply  saying they were wrong. Mr Cole's family were very angry at what they viewed as an extremely light sentence handed to the doctor. Due to a loophole in the law, Mr Cole's family received no compensation, as Dr N had not been insured. 

Due to a media blackout, the news of the verdict was not made public until February 1997. Dr N was also facing allegations of drug dealing, specifically unlawful prescription of the heroin substitute Methadone. This part of the case eventually collapsed.

In light of Dr N’s conviction for manslaughter there were questions in the media regarding whether Danuta’s case would be looked at again. Police confirmed they would not be speaking with Dr N again about the murder. A spokesperson for the police added there were no plans to review or reopen the case. Dr N was released after serving five months of his sentence. It is believed he then returned to Jordan. 

Danuta’s case slowly faded from the limelight, and there are scant references to it over the next twenty years. According to a 2010 Birmingham Post article the murder was again looked into by West Midlands police in 2000. This was possibly due to advances in forensic science. It is not known what forensic evidence was found at the crime scene. The fire may have destroyed much of it. Indeed it was likely due to the killer wanting to eradicate any forensic evidence that the blaze was started. 

DNA analysis was in its infancy but that year,1986, saw the UK’s first use of DNA finger printing in forensic science when it was used to clear a man was who had falsely confessed to rape. The following year Colin Pitchfork became the first person convicted for murder using DNA profiling. It seems the killer was switched on to the technological developments that were shaping how criminal cases were investigated.

Former detective John Plimmer was a chief of CID in the West Midlands police during the 1990s. When he was a young detective he was one of the first officers at the scene at Coniston Close when Danuta was murdered. In May 2020 he called for the case to be reopened, especially in light of developments in DNA analysis

Plimmer is convinced that the murder was planned in advance, as proved by the use of an accelerant to start the fire. Highly significant is the champagne celebration that was a precursor to the attack, which he calls frenzied in nature. This is a hallmark of murders motivated by jealousy or revenge. Interestingly Plimmer puts forward a theory that the evidence points towards the killer being a woman. Accordingly he states the suspect is likely a female associate of Danuta and most probably someone who is also of Polish nationality. 

He also believes that the death of Thomas Gleeson (Danuta’s former boyfriend who died at the house in 1982) was dismissed too readily as death by misadventure. At the very least he believes it should have been an open verdict. 

Sadly the case appears to be parked, gathering dust, and no suspects have ever been named publicly. Dr Danuta Kaczmarska was a much loved member of the community. In life she  showed genuine kindness to the patients she served and in death she was unfairly judged due to her lifestyle choices. One of the most frightening things about the crime is that it was likely perpetrated by someone she knew and possibly even cared for. If you are listening and you know who did this please phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Sources

https://tinyurl.com/re5tywct