The face of a Kettering murderer who stabbed ex after she ended abusive relationship

He's pleaded guilty today
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This is the face of a man who is facing life in prison after stabbing his ex-wife to death because he couldn't accept she had left him.

Pawel Chmielecki, 39, today (Thursday) admitted murdering Marta Chmielecka after changing his plea weeks before a trial was due to start at Northampton Crown Court.

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Chmielecki subjected Marta, 31, to domestic abuse and was controlling when they were married before she ended their relationship.

Pawel ChmieleckiPawel Chmielecki
Pawel Chmielecki

She was starting to enjoy life again and coming out of her shell before her jealous ex-husband fatally attacked her in Kettering last year.

Police had received a missing person report from a family member who had not heard from much-loved Marta. They had received a text message that read like it wasn't from her.

Officers went to Chmielecki's Wood Street home at about midday on October 19 and forced entry, when the murderer stabbed himself in an attempt to take his own life.

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Police then found Marta's body and believe she may have been killed two days earlier. She had died from a stab wound to the neck, an inquest heard.

Marta was stabbed at the Wood Street property.Marta was stabbed at the Wood Street property.
Marta was stabbed at the Wood Street property.

Chmielecki was taken to hospital with serious injuries but survived and was charged with murder, which he eventually admitted today.

A relative of Marta wiped tears from her face as he entered his plea.

Chmielecki showed little emotion in the dock, where he appeared in a black and yellow sports jumper and green jogging bottoms and communicated through a Polish interpreter.

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His Honour Judge David Herbert QC told him: "You have pleaded guilty to murder. There can only be one sentence for the offence of murder, life imprisonment."

Police at the scene.Police at the scene.
Police at the scene.

Chmielecki was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on March 28.

After the hearing, Marta’s family said: “Marta was always smiling. She was a very kind and caring person and life will never be the same without her. We miss her every day.”

Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Pete Long, said: “Marta Chmielecka was a young, vibrant and much-loved woman who was killed at the hands of a jealous, controlling ex-husband.

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“She had broken away from a relationship of domestic abuse and was starting to enjoy life again, meeting new people and coming out of her shell once more. Pawel Chmielecki could not accept this and, at his hands, Marta’s promising future was extinguished.

Police at the scene.Police at the scene.
Police at the scene.

“He then tried to kill himself when officers forced entry into [his] Wood Street [home], however was unsuccessful and will now be looking at a long stretch in prison staring at the four walls of a cell.

“Violence against women, especially at the hands of a current or former partner, is a very real issue. Indeed, two women a week are killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales alone.

“At Northamptonshire Police we are doing our utmost to make the force a safe place for victims of domestic abuse and I want anyone suffering in a relationship reading this to have no doubt that we will believe them and that we will do everything in our power to help them safely extricate themselves from their abuser. We know it isn’t easy but we can help you.

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“As today’s hearing comes to a close, my thoughts remain with Marta’s family and friends who are still trying to come to terms with her death. No sentence or no amount of justice will bring Marta back but a small comfort is that they do not have to go through the trauma of a trial. I hope they also take comfort in the fact that Pawel Chmielecki will be spending a long time behind bars as a result of his actions.”

Marta was born in Poland and had lived in Kettering for a number of years.

After she was killed a fundraiser was set up to help her family bury their daughter in her home country. The page hit its £7,000 target after hundreds of donations.

A rally for women's safety was held in Kettering in December with people marching through the streets.

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It was organised in response to Marta's killing and the death of Maddie Durdant-Hollamby, who was fatally stabbed by her boyfriend Ben Green who then turned the knife on himself at his Kettering home.

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