On January 19 (Thursday), a Pakistani national named Abdul Wahab was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Belfast Crown Court in the United Kingdom after he admitted to torturing and murdering his 5-year-old stepdaughter.
The 5-year-old, Nadia Zofia Kalinowska was found dead at the family home at Fernagh Drive in Newtownabbey in December 2019.
Her mother, Aleksandra Wahab, 28, and the child’s stepfather, Abdul Wahab, 34, were charged with murder on Wednesday at Belfast Crown Court.
On Thursday, when the case was resumed, Abdul Wahab pleaded guilty to murder. The judge, Justice O’Hara, sentenced Wahab to life imprisonment and charged him with two counts of severe bodily harm with intent. A minimum period before he can be released will be determined at a later date, the court ruled.
According to reports, the accused had brutally assaulted the 5-year-old on two occasions. Once, sometime between July 1 and December 14, 2019, and the second time merely 24 hours before she died.
Nadia Zofia Kalinowska was pronounced dead at the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in the early hours of December 15, 2019
An autopsy examination revealed that Nadia died as a result of a fractured skull and lacerated liver. The examination further revealed several pre-existing injuries, indicating the five-year-old girl had been exposed to a long-running abuse campaign.
Her ribs had been fractured and re-fractured. She also suffered fractures to her collarbone, pelvis and bowel injuries.
Pathologists said they identified 70 surface injuries, including cuts and bruises, on the youngster’s body. The injuries were reported as being comparable to those found on car crash victims.
Nadia’s mother Aleksandra Wahab has been charged with negligence and allowing the long-term abuse of the child.
The post-mortem report led the Crown to believe that Nadia had been subjected to a campaign of physical abuse by her parents, which resulted in her death.