Murdered pensioner dumped near Thame ‘was strangled’

A HOME OFFICE Pathologist said today that a murdered pensioner whose burned remains were found dumped near Thame, was probably killed by strangling.
Dr Nicholas Hunt, giving evidence at the trial of four Poles in connection with the murder, also described how his examination of Mrs Thea Zaudy’s body showed that she had a broken hip, signs of trauma to the top of her head and injuries to her face and around her eyes, all of which occurred before she died of strangulation.
He agreed with the Prosecution that: “The over-all picture of injuries would suggest that Mrs Zaudy had been attacked, kicked and stamped on and manually strangled.”

When cross-examined by the Defence, Dr Hunt agreed that Mrs Zaudy’s neck injuries would indicate a moderate amount of pressure to the neck, and that he could not exclude a fall causing some of her injuries. It could not be ascertained though whether that fall was accidental or whether she had been pushed over.

The jury also heard evidence from a forensic, Telecommunications expert, Mr Terry Cairns, who produced plans, maps and other data that appeared to track the movements of the four defendants, Jolanta Kalinowsica, Monilca Sienkiewicz, Adrian Lis and Lukasz Gajda, via mobile phone calls and texts – right from July 12, through to July 14 – a time line that tracked their movements around the London underground system from their home station at Nottinghill Gate, to Milton common and back to Ealing again – and places in between, including a petrol station where they purchased a can of petrol.
Mr cairn’s timing evidence seemed to tie in with CCTV evidence also shown today, where the jury saw Kalinowsica, Sienkiewicz and Lis caught on camera at various tube stations and shops.
One text, sent around 11.18 am on July 12, from Sienkewicz to her boyfriend, Lis, read: “Now Zaudy God yuk yuk then shopping.”
Another text from Lis to Sienkewicz, at around 9.07pm on the same day, translated as: “I want to you to be with you now sweet heart I love you. I hope you will not be very long. bye”
Mr Cairns agreed with the Prosecution’s proposition that the evidence showed three of the defendants, in a car, roaming around the general vicinity of where Mrs Zaudy’s body was dumped (allegedly looking for a suitable site to dump and burn it.)

The case continues tomorrow when the court will hear scientific evidence, including that related to blood found on a sheet on Mrs Zaudy’s bed. The Prosecution hopes to bring its case to a close on Monday.

Photo: The field in Rycote Lane, near Thame, where the burned remains of Thea Zaudy were found by a farm worker. Courtesy of the BBC.