Reprimand over 999 call before man killed family

Bartlomiej Kuczynsk and his daughters Jasmin and Natasha were found dead, along with his sister-in-law Kanticha Sukpengpanao

A police call handler has been given a final written warning after a man phoned 999 then killed three family members.

Bartlomiej Kuczynski warned he "had a knife and had lost the plot" before his body and those of his sister-in-law and his daughters, aged 12 and eight, were found at their home in Costessey, near Norwich, in January 2024.

The call handler was temporarily suspended and then investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

It concluded the call handler had a case to answer for misconduct based on their handling of the call and failing to record their risk assessment in their decision-making, Norfolk Police said.

The force accepted the conclusion and issued a final written warning for 12 months.

The bodies of all four were found at a house in Allan Bedford Crescent

Mr Kuczynski called 999 from the family home in Allan Bedford Crescent shortly before 06:00 GMT on 19 January, but was directed to NHS 111.

The 45-year-old was later found dead at the address, along with his sister-in-law Kanticha Sukpengpanao, 36, and his daughters Jasmin Kuczynska, 12, and Natasha Kuczynska, eight.

Post-mortem examinations found the two girls and Ms Sukpengpanao, who had been visiting, all died from stab wounds to the neck.

Police have been treating Mr Kuczynski's death from stab wounds as not suspicious, but the other three as murder.

A pre-inquest review hearing in April was told the call handler would have acted differently had he heard the word knife.

The inquest was adjourned while awaiting the outcome of a domestic homicide review.