Andrzej Kunowski

Background

Andrzej Kunowski, nicknamed "The Beast", was a Polish rapist and murderer. He was born in 1956 and died in prison on September 23, 2009.

Kunowski had previously served 10 years in prison in Poland for 27 sex attacks on girls and women, after which he was reported to have escaped from prison in Poland and later arrived in the United Kingdom in 1996.

The offence

Kunowski strangled Katerina Koneva, a 12-year-old Macedonian girl, to death in her parents' flat in Hammersmith. Katerina returned home from school before she was attacked on 22 May 1997.

Katerina's father Trajce Konev returned home and came face to face with an intruder. Trajce chased Kunowski into the street.

Katerina was found lying with a cord tied tightly round her neck. During the trial it was said the cord had been given to her as part of a present after she arrived in Britain from Macedonia in 1995. During sentencing proceedings, Judge Peter Beaumont described the offence as an act of great violence and terror in circumstances where Katerina was "a child of great promise".

During the wider account of his offending, Kunowski was also convicted in the United Kingdom for the kidnapping and rape of a Korean student, for which he was serving a nine-year sentence.

Investigation

DNA and fingerprint samples taken from Kunowski were reported to have matched forensic material connected to Katerina Koneva’s murder:

• A hair found on an item of clothing belonging to Katerina matched DNA taken from Kunowski.
• Fingerprints on one of the flat's windows and window ledges matched.

In later accounts, forensic analysis was described as showing the fingerprints were "fresh" and made within the previous 72 hours.

Polish police were reported to have charged Kunowski with the rape of a 10-year-old girl in Warsaw in 1995. DNA evidence from a sofabed in the flat was reported to have been analysed by Scotland Yard and proved a match to Kunowski.

Police investigating after Kunowski’s death also said he had been linked to investigations involving the disappearances of:

• Elizabeth Chau, a 19-year-old student, in 1999
• Lola Shenkoya, a 27-year-old woman who vanished on her way home from work in 2000

Detectives said they wanted to speak to anyone who may have shared a cell with Kunowski during his time in prison.

Arrest

Kunowski was arrested in the United Kingdom after being sought for rape offences in Poland. At trial for Katerina Koneva’s murder, it was told that Kunowski was on the run for raping a 10-year-old girl in Poland at the time of the murder.

He was convicted in 2003 for the kidnapping and rape of a Korean student.

The narrative account also described that he had been detained in the UK and ordered to be deported after an asylum claim failed in 2002, but that he failed to turn up for deportation and raped the Korean student a few days later at his home.

Trial

Murder trial: Katerina Koneva

Kunowski was charged with murdering Katerina Koneva. He denied the killing and claimed mistaken identity.

In court, the Old Bailey was told that Kunowski was on the run for raping a 10-year-old girl in Poland at the time of the murder.

The trial was reported to include eyewitness evidence from Katerina's father Trajce Konev, who had chased the intruder. The jury was reported to have been told about evidence linking Kunowski to the scene through DNA and fingerprints.

The trial included testimony about what Trajce Konev saw when he returned home:

• He saw Katerina’s bag in the room.
• He saw a pair of men's black shoes when he looked under the door.
• When he looked through the keyhole of the barricaded door, he saw his daughter’s bag in the room.
• After cutting the cord, Trajce said "A policeman and I tried to resuscitate her."

Verbatim statements attributed to Trajce Konev included:

"I started like mad kicking it [the door] with all my body. I was trying just to get in, because my brain was saying I knew something was wrong."

"I was desperate to get in because my feelings were bad. I was so scared. I thought that maybe if someone is inside and she cannot get to the door, he must get to the window and jump, so I ran downstairs,"

"I just asked what he was doing in my house. He just looked at me and ran away. I went after him."

"It's difficult to put into words, but I remember the way the man looked at me. He was so cool. He just looked at me and ran away,"

"I tried to release it. It was too tight. I could not get it. I went to the kitchen to take something. "

"I took a knife - I cut it. I started to cry and call her name - Katerina, Katerina. A policeman and I tried to resuscitate her."

Police statements also included a quotation attributed to Det Ch Insp David Little:

"He is probably the most dangerous sex offender I have ever come across and certainly the most prolific."

A statement attributed to Judge Peter Beaumont included:

"I would be failing in my duty, in the light of the evidence about your behavior both in Poland and this country," Beaumont said, "if I did not ensure you spend the rest of your life in prison. …You took the life of a child who was just beginning to enjoy what this country had to offer her and her family as refugees from hardship abroad. It was a life of great promise. You ended it in circumstances of great violence and terror."

Sentencing

Kunowski was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Katerina Koneva. The sentencing included a recommendation that he never be released.

On March 31, 2004, sentencing was reported to be conducted by the Common Serjeant of London, Judge Peter Beaumont. He told Kunowski that life would mean life "to protect others" and that he was recommending that the 48-year-old should not be released.

Det Ch Insp David Little also said at sentencing:

In a statement attributed to Zaklina Koneva, Katerina's mother, she said:

"The only feeling I have is one of relief. I am relieved that this evil man is no longer free to murder or sexually assault another young girl."

In an angry statement after the verdict, Zaklina Koneva said:

"Today I do not feel happy. I wish that I was not giving this statement and that Katerina was still here by my side. "

"I am relieved that this evil man is no longer free to murder or sexually assault another young girl. "

"Today I do not feel that justice has been done. I hope that this evil murderer burns in hell. "

"Knowing he is in prison is not enough for me. I hope he suffers every minute of the rest of his life. "

"All life imprisonment means is that other children will be safe and no other parent will have to go through what we have because of him."

At sentencing, it was also reported that Judge Peter Beaumont called Katerina "a child of great promise".

Appeals

No appeals were included in the provided material for the murder conviction.

Outcome

On March 31, 2004, Kunowski was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of release.

Police reported that Kunowski died in prison. It was stated that he died of heart failure on Wednesday at Frankland prison, Durham, while serving a life sentence. He died on September 23, 2009.

Other details

Kunowski was reported to have been jailed at the Old Bailey for killing Katerina Koneva at her home in Hammersmith in 1997. Police said he also had links to investigations involving the disappearances of other women, including Elizabeth Chau and Lola Shenkoya.

When Katerina was reported to have been followed, her father Trajce confronted the intruder upon returning home from an exam-delayed return.

A Home Office spokesman said:

"It is a matter of great concern that this individual with such a serious criminal history managed to get into this country and that his background was not uncovered when he came to our attention."

"Our system has been completely overhauled since then. All suspected asylum seekers are now electronically fingerprinted on entry and these details are then fed into a European warning index which would alert us to criminal activity."

Detective Inspector Andy Manning was quoted:

"Now Kunowski is dead I am hoping anyone who was too scared previously will speak to us."

A statement attributed to Zaklina Koneva included that she visited Katerina’s grave almost every day and that she talked to her daily, saying:

"I talk to her every day. We say goodnight to our children, don't we? So I always say goodnight to my daughter."

It was reported that Zaklina and Trajce divorced after the murder, with Trajce saying that they split up because they could not overcome the barrier created when Zaklina accused him of murdering their daughter after seeing him in jail.

Trajce was also quoted saying:

"I had lost my little girl, but my wife was attacking me, and my 6-year-old son was looking up at me with hate in his eyes,"

"Things were never the same. The anger and hate afterwards was unbearable,"

"I would argue all the time with my wife. It was small things that would set us off — anything which reminded us of the pain of losing Katerina. I frequently told my wife I hated her. It was awful. I felt like I had gone mad with grief … Finally we could take no more of each other and we split up."

A statement attributed to Trajce Konev also included:

"I had finally beaten the devil,"

and:

"I knew this man could never again do to anyone else what he had done to my angel."

The provided material also described a separate thread involving Milly Dowler:

• Police said they would be questioning Kunowski about the unsolved disappearances of other girls, including the murder of 13-year-old Milly Dowler.
• Milly Dowler vanished on 21 March 2002 while walking home from Walton-on-Thames railway station in Surrey.
• Her body was found seven months later in woodland near Fleet, Hampshire.