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Depressed Mother Stabbed Two Daughters To Death Because She Feared One Had Cancer – Then Takes Her Own Life

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 23:10 PST, Dec 9, 2015

A depressed woman who become convinced that one of her daughters had cancer after ascertaining a lump under her jaw, stabbed both of her daughters to death before taking her own life, according to the Mirror. On October 12 of last year, 28-year-old Marcin Galikowski of Stoke-on-Trent returned home from work at 6:45 p.m. where he discovered the bodies of his wife, Marta, and two daughters, Maja, 5, and 20-month-old Olga, in a pool of blood.

However, a week before the murder-suicide, Marcin stated that his wife was prescribed anti-depressants when she confessed to wanting to kill herself and the children. The information was turned over to social services, who visited the home but were convinced that the two children weren’t in any danger.

When police officials arrived at the home on Sherwin Road that fateful day, they discovered that the two children had been stabbed to death and Marta had committed suicide by slitting her own throat. Marcin was arrested following the incident, but was soon released without charge.

Marcin told investigators that “Marta got herself into a state and convinced herself it was cancer. She started to talk about killing herself and the children. She talked about us all jumping off a bridge. I tried to reassure my wife and give her support. I believed she was depressed so I took her to see a doctor.”

“Marta was a fantastic wife and a loving mum who worshipped our daughters Maja and Olga. My wife was a very special person who lit up my life. Maja and Olga were wonderful children whose smiles still shine brightly.”

After a local medical examined the bodies, it concluded that Marta’s decision to kill her two children as well as herself was in vain as the lump she discovered under her five-year-old daughter’s neck was not cancer – it was a benign cyst, according to the Daily Mail. The Senior Coroner for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire, Ian Smith, stated during the court hearing on Wednesday that “These were killings and suicide out of love – a perverse sort of love. I accept in Marta’s mind she ‘knew’ Maja had got cancer. She was completely wrong in that regard, but that was what she believed.”

“She didn’t want her daughter to die of cancer, and if she couldn’t prevent her daughter dying of cancer she would take her life. She took Olga’s on the same occasion, and having committed that she felt she had no other alternative than to take her own life.”

Neighbor Matthew Houghton, 30, remembers the day the bodies of the mother and two children were discovered. He said, “My brother said he heard a woman screaming, that someone was being killed, so we ran up the street. There was a woman already on the phone to the police. She was hysterical, saying they were all dead, that they’d all been stabbed. She’d been in the house and seen it.”

Another neighbor who opted to remain anonymous said that “They adored little Maja. She was so pretty and lively so when they had another little girl everyone was pleased for them. We used to see them in the street and they were perfect. The little girl had a beaming smile. It is absolutely heartbreaking.”

“Marta kept to herself and they were a normal family,” said a local resident. “There are quite a few Polish people living in the area and I think they socialized with people living nearby. After we heard what had happened, one of my neighbors said they remember hearing shouting coming from the house.”

“They said it sounded like a blazing row but that’s not necessarily unusual around here especially because there are a lot of families living close together.”

Officials are now undergoing a serious case review to determine if anything could have been done to prevent Marta from taking her own life, as well as her two children. All findings are due in court December 18.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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