A DEPRESSED mum-of-two stabbed both her kids to death then turned the knife on her own throat because she mistakenly feared the eldest child had cancer.
An inquest heard tragic Marta Galikowska, 27, carried out the killings on October 12 last year after discovering a lump on five-year-old Maja’s jaw and becoming convinced she had the killer disease.
Marta’s husband, Marcin, 28, found the bodies of his wife, Maja and 20-month-old Olga when he returned from work to the family’s semi-detached home in Stoke-On-Trent.
Cops arrested Mr Galikowski after the deaths, but the bereaved dad was later released without charge.
The Coroner’s court heard that Marta had been prescribed antidepressants by a GP a week before the killings after telling her husband that she wanted to kill herself and the children.
Social workers had visited the family, but claimed to have no immediate concerns over the children’s safety.
The family moved to the UK from Poland in 2010 with Marta working as a waitress and then a shop assistant before becoming a full-time mum.
Neighbours spoke of their shock at the time of the tragedy. Matthew Houghton, 30, 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 unnamed resident spoke of the family: “We used to see them in the street and they were perfect. The little girl had a beaming smile. It is absolutely heart-breaking.”
A post-mortem report revealed that all had died from stab wounds to the neck.
Verdict: Marta Gailkowska - suicide, Maja and Olga - unlawful killing.
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