Thomas Gacek Dead: Mother, Katarzyna, Charged With Murder

Thomas Gacek's Mother Charged With His Murder
Police tape on Bristol Road, Birmingham as two men are being treated in hospital after suffering stab wounds during a dispute at a convenience store.
Police tape on Bristol Road, Birmingham as two men are being treated in hospital after suffering stab wounds during a dispute at a convenience store.
Joe Giddens/PA Archive

Katarzyna Gacek, 24, from Oldham, has been charged with the murder of seven-week-old baby Thomas Gacek, Greater Manchester Police said tonight.

Darren Butterfield, 35, of Ross Avenue, Chadderton, and Dawid Mokrzanowski, 26, of Hillside Avenue, have been charged with child neglect.

Thomas was taken to Royal Oldham Hospital last Saturday with serious head injuries.

He was transferred to The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital where he died on Tuesday.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Thomas died as a result of serious head injuries "consistent with a non-accidental injury", police said.

In a statement, Thomas' family said: "As a family, we are all truly devastated and deeply shocked by the tragedy we have all suffered and the loss of our little baby boy.

"We are a private family and, as such, we would ask the media allow us time to grieve in peace and come to terms with this tragic situation we have all found ourselves in.

"We are aware that there are numerous stories in circulation at present. However, we would ask that only official police statements given by Greater Manchester Police are taken as factually correct."

Gacek, Butterfield and Mokrzanowski will appear at Oldham Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Det Insp Andy Cunliffe, from GMP's Major Incident Team, said: "This is a tragic case in which a very young baby has lost his life and we are determined to find out exactly what the circumstances were that led to him suffering such injuries.

"News of the death of such a little boy will no doubt come as a great shock to people and I would like to try and reassure the community as much as I can that we have a team of detectives dedicated to working on this investigation."

The boy's mother and her boyfriend were originally arrested for assault and bailed. They were then re-arrested on suspicion of murder and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

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