Swansea woman Karolina Zurawska admits killing son, six
A woman has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her six-year-old son.Alexander Zurawski was found at a property on Cwm Du Close in Gendros, Swansea, on 29 August 2024.Speaking through an interpreter at Swansea Crown Court, Karolina Zurawska, 41, also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of her father Krzysztof Siwy.The court heard that she was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and therefore entered the pleas on the grounds of diminished responsibility. She was remanded in custody until her sentencing on 25 April.
Paying tribute to Alexander, his family said he was a "very kind child" who was always well behaved and "never naughty"."He loved playing with his little sister and playing with his dog, Daisy," they added."He was amazing [and] always helpful. Always eager to assist with cooking and cleaning."
They added he was "very clever and mature for his age" with a "great understanding of facts" and spoke both English and Polish.Alexander was a pupil at Whitestone Primary School in West Cross, Swansea, where head teacher Bethan Peterson said he was "popular among his peers"."He was an extremely loved and popular boy... with all who knew him," she said.She added he was a "delightful, determined little boy whose tenacity and positive demeanour ensured his success in all he undertook".Ms Peterson said Alexander would be "sadly missed" and the school community was "devastated" by the news of his death.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Courier
14 hours ago
- The Courier
Boy, 9, died trying to escape abuse at Fife school as family make 'cover-up' claim
The brother of a nine-year-old boy who died while trying to escape a Fife residential school has accused the UK Government of a cover-up. The youngster was knocked down and killed as police chased him along the M90 in April 1972. It was the 13th time the boy had run away from Corsbie Hall, in Thornton, amid claims of horrific abuse. A Fife MP later claimed the school could be part of 'a major education scandal'. However, Secretary of State for Scotland Gordon Campbell rejected calls for an inquiry. The family of the youngster who died told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry they were astonished at Lord Campbell of Croy's reaction. They claim documents suggest the secretary of state and George Taylor-Bryant, Corsbie Hall's headteacher, were friends. Francis, the boy's brother, said: 'They've airbrushed everything out of existence and it will come back to haunt them. 'My reaction is it's a cover-up.' Corsbie Hall was located in the old Thornton Fever Hospital, near Glenrothes, from 1970 to 1972. The inquiry heard children were regularly beaten, starved and forced to take cold showers at the school for 'mentally and socially disturbed pupils'. And Margaret Thatcher, education secretary at the time, stopped English youngsters from attending. The nine-year-old boy who died cannot be named due to legal restrictions. However, the inquiry heard he was removed from his Stirling home against his family's wishes because was dyslexic. Francis and sister Sharon, both pseudonyms, said their brother complained of being locked in a cupboard in just his pants almost every night. He spoke of being hit with sticks, refused food and forced to scrub floors and carry rocks. Then, in a letter home, the youngster told how he had run away 12 times but promised not to do it again. However, Sharon said: 'He ran away one more time and that's when he was killed.' The youngster's death had a devastating impact on his family and many years later they started looking for answers. They discovered Parliamentary records which show Fife Labour MP Willie Hamilton pushed several times for an official inquiry into Corsbie Hall. He said the situation was 'extremely unsatisfactory'. However, a letter from the secretary of state described their brother running away as 'no more than a boyish escapade'. And Lord Campbell, who died in 2005 aged 83, said: 'No blame can be attached to the school.' He later accused Mr Hamilton of 'being a little hard on the school', adding: 'I don't think an inquiry will serve any useful purpose.' The records show Corsbie Hall headteacher Mr Taylor-Bryant had no teaching or childcare qualifications. They also revealed one of the teachers had previously been charged with sexual offences against children.
Edinburgh Reporter
16 hours ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Calls for the government to address demand for prostitution
The MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, Tracy Gilbert today led a parliamentary debate on Tuesday in Westminster Hall calling for urgent government action to address the demand driving prostitution and sex trafficking in the UK. Ms Gilbert said that the debate, 'That this House has considered the matter of tackling demand for prostitution and sex trafficking', focused on the urgent need to adopt a demand-reduction approach to tackle the exploitation of women and girls who are coerced, trafficked, or driven by poverty into the sex trade. Her speech highlighted the issue in Edinburgh, and some of the vulnerable women who have been affected by it, including Fiona Broadfoot who has spoken out about her treatment whilst working in an Edinburgh brothel. Tracy Gilbert said: 'In Edinburgh over the weekend (7 –8 June 2025), 142 women were being advertised for prostitution on one pimping website alone. Five of the top ten adverts are explicitly posted by so-called 'agencies' – so the site isn't even trying to hide the organised nature of this exploitation.' She outlined that current legislation fails to effectively deter those who purchase sex and called on the Government to explore legislative models that criminalise the buying, not the selling, of sex, as adopted in countries such as Sweden and Norway, and she gave examples of reviews made after the buying of sex including the following: 'Bad attitude. Everything was off limits.' 'Finally got her to lay there but it's like shagging a dead fish.' 'No smile, her atrocious English made the interactions even more impossible.' Tracy added: 'Men who buy sex are reviewing women as if they are reviewing an Xbox game. These comments prove that men who pay for sex treat women as subordinate sex objects whose role is to service their sexual desires.' Watch the debate online here: Like this: Like Related
North Wales Chronicle
17 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Two in court over teenager's hit-and-run death ‘highly likely' to deny murder
Zulkernain Ahmed, 20, and Armaan Ahmed, 26, did not enter any pleas when they were remanded in custody at Sheffield Crown Court, where they appeared briefly in connection with the death of Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Al Yazidi. The teenager was walking along Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield last Wednesday when he was hit by an Audi car and suffered fatal injuries. Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said he had been told both men were 'highly likely to plead not guilty' to the murder charge. There was no application for bail and he remanded them in custody ahead of a further hearing on October 3. During the 15-minute hearing on Tuesday, the men, both of Locke Drive, Darnall, confirmed their identities and agreed that they understood the judge's directions after he had addressed them. Relatives of Abdullah said last week that he had recently arrived in the UK from Yemen 'for a better future' and was devoted to his family. He arrived in the UK two or three months ago, and was enjoying learning English ahead of starting at college in September. Abdullah's relative Saleh Alsirkal said: 'His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything.' Two people, a man aged 46 and a 45-year-old woman, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, have both been bailed pending further inquiries, police said.
