Donuta Kaczmarska

Donuta Kaczmarska was murdered in her home which was then set on fire on the night of Wednesday 22 January 1986.

Her remains indicated she had been struck on the head by an axe or meat cleaver and that she had been gagged and then set on fire after death. However, it was later reported that she had been set on fire whilst unconscious.

Her body was said to have been so charred that she had to be identified by her dental records.

The police said that they had narrowed down the time of her death to sometime between 3.25pm and 4pm.

The police were called out shortly after a neighbour called the fire brigade after smelling smoke and thinking that his house was on fire.

Donuta Kaczmarska was also known as Dr Kay as some patients had problems pronouncing her name. She was born in Poland and had been practising in Kings Heath and Acocks Green, dividing her time between them, having 4,000 patients. She had lived in the UK for over 20 years.

Three people were questioned over her murder, but there were no charges.

However, her personal life was described as having been a bit of a mystery and she was known to have contacted people through a lonely hearts column as well as to visit gay bars.

She was known to have contacted at least one person who she had met at the Robin Hood pub near her home.

Her letter in response to the man's advert read:

She was also found to have applied to a computer dating agency under another name, Dianne Ansell, however, she never posted the form.

She was also said to have gone to gay bars around Birmingham at night.

The police appealed for anyone else that had communicated with Donuta Kaczmarska under any of her names to come forward.

On Tuesday 21 January 1986 she had a telephone conversation with a Polish friend and talked about a forth-coming trip to London at the weekend.

The following day, 22 January 1986, around midday, she went to her local supermarket on the Stratford Road, about a four minute walk from her home. She met a person that she knew on the way home who said that she commented on all the food that Donuta Kaczmarska had been carrying and said that Donuta Kaczmarska told her that she had a patient-friend, a lady, coming over for dinner that evening.

However, it was noted that the dinner never happened, and the police appealed for anyone else that might have seen her on her way home to come forward, it being noted that someone could have gone back to the house with her. The lady that she had been due to have dinner was traced and ruled out of the murder enquiry.

However, it was known that she called her surgery at 1.30pm to check if she was needed that afternoon.

At 3pm she went back to the same supermarket to buy some red wine. The cashier said that she remembered her because she had brought in some tablets for another cashier that was not there at the time for her foot, and told her the instructions for them.

She was seen returning to her house at 3.30pm. She had been alone at the time, but it was noted that her murderer was almost certainly nearby and was possibly someone she knew and possibly already in the house. It was thought that possibly the last thing that she did then was to share a bottle of champagne with her killer.

It was said that she was dead within half an hour of that.

She was killed in her kitchen and her body set on fire.

The police said that they thought that she was killed by someone she knew, noting that there was no sign of any forced entry into the house.

It was also noted that whoever killed her locked the door and took away the doors mortice key, which the police said they were searching for.

It was thought that the champagne that Donuta Kaczmarska had been drinking before her death had been Rose Brut from Sainsbury's and that it was possible that it was bought by her murderer. However, it was added that it was more likely that it had been bought some other time, either by Donuta Kaczmarska, or a patient and that she had kept it in her kitchen. However, the police appealed for anyone that might know where the bottle came from to come forward. Further, the police said that they believed that the murderer took the empty bottle away, although the foil and wire cork holder was left behind.

The murder weapon was described as an axe or chopper and to have been only abut 9in in length. It had belonged to Donuta Kaczmarska, but the murderer had taken it away with him.

Whilst it was noted that the murderer had taken the keys, bottle and axe away with them, and might have appeared conspicuous, nobody saw anyone leave or anyone otherwise to note, and the police appealed for anyone that did ese anyone in the area of her house to come forward.

It was noted that following her death, her estate was valued at being more than £202,384.

However, it was noted that her mother had no idea how her daughter had accumulated so much money.

Her 76-year-old mother said:

She had had no will and letters of administration were granted to her mother.

A Home Office pathologist that went to her home following the discovery of her death said that he saw her skeleton in the kitchen and signs of a violent struggle.

He said:

He said that she had received five savage blows on the back of the head and another on the forehead which fractured her skull and caused her death.

He added:

However, the police noted that there was no sign of a burglary at her home.

The police found that she had hundreds of pounds in bank notes and travellers cheques in various rooms.

It was further noted that the police had previously been called out to the address in 1982 after Thomas Gleeson was found dead there following a fire in a room. It was noted that his inquest returned a verdict of misadventure, but an ex-policeman later commented that because of the circumstances he would have thought it should have been an open verdict at the least.

The police were said to have interviewed more than 6,000 people during their investigation into Donuta Kaczmarska's murder.

An ex-policeman later commented that the murder was pre-planned, noting that you wouldn't take petrol with you unless you were going to burn a body.

The case was reviewed in 2000, but with no new developments.