Young girl and father found dead in ‘murder-suicide’ named locally

Gardaí suspect a dad strangled his six-year-old daughter to death – before taking his own life in a horrific “murder-suicide”.

Officers are set to launch a murder investigation after the mother of the child discovered her and the father dead in the home at Heathfield Terrace in Cappoge near Finglas, north Dublin, on Saturday night. The dad, Krzysztof Daczkowski, who was in his 30s and worked as a bus driver, was found by the stairs of the home, sources say.

Locals have told how they heard the mother let out a horrific scream and called for Dublin Fire Brigade, ambulance crews and Gardaí who rushed to the scene at around 8pm. Gardaí do not believe there was any break-in or third party involvement.

It is feared the dad and his daughter, Julia Daczkowska, lay dead for several hours before the mother, Aga, arrived home. The bodies were removed from the home at around midday yesterday and were taken for a postmortem which will determine the course of the investigation.

The tragedy unfolded in the family home on a quiet estate and right opposite a children’s playground, which is located on a green area.

Locals told The Irish Mirror how the young child and her father were often seen in that playground – and of their shock that this tragedy had occurred.

One local resident told how a neighbour heard the mother’s scream. They said: “She came out to a horrible scream. It was the mother. She’d just come home from work and found them.”

Other neighbours spoke of the pain at having to tell their children – many of whom played with the little girl in the playground, what had happened.

“It’s very hard. Like we don’t know what to be telling our children. It’s just horrific,” one local woman said. “Word filtered through but I kind of don’t think the gravity of it hit until the searches and all were going on this morning. It’s just the kids now that we are trying to protect from it.

“My two girls are the same age as that little one. So it’s shocking. They would know her to see her in the playground.

“We’d always say hello to the family. My girls thought there was a movie being recorded this morning because of the cameras so I just said yeah that’s right.”

Another neighbour added: “It’s very sad. You don’t know what you’re going to do. We’ve a lot of kids as you can see there in the playground.

“It’s really sad. Such a quiet neighbourhood up here. You don’t hear a dickie bird up here. They’re such a quiet family. People have their thoughts on it. I have my own but no matter what it’s a tragedy. They’re a lovely very quiet family and kept to themselves. Just one child between the two of them.”

Another woman described how she saw a fire brigade truck coming into the estate at speed and immediately realised something was wrong. They added: “I was up in my room and I saw the fire truck came in. I knew by the way they ran out that it was something serious.

“There were four ambulances, two fire vans, the engine and then the guards. I knew once the ambulances were leaving I thought, ‘Oh this is not good, they’re not bringing anyone out’. But I still wouldn’t have imagined anything like that.”

Locals described how Daczkowski was often seen with Julia on the street – and how the grandmother had just left the home days before the tragedy after staying with the family all summer.

One said: “He [the father] spent all summer teaching her to go on her bike without stabilisers. You’d see him in the middle of the road holding traffic and you’re like, ‘Get off the road’.

“The grandmother was there all summer. You would always see her going up and down the road with the little girl.”

Gardaí have opened up an incident room and are awaiting the results of a postmortem before determining the next course of the investigation.

However, officers are braced for a murder investigation in this tragic case. On Saturday night Gardaí said they are “investigating all the circumstances surrounding” the discovery of the two bodies. In a statement, a Garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the discovery of two bodies at a domestic residence in Finglas, Dublin, on Saturday, 27 September 2025.

“Gardaí and emergency services were called to the residence in the Cappagh area shortly before 8pm. The location has been preserved for forensic examination by the Garda Technical Bureau.

“The Coroner has been notified and the services of the Office of the State Pathologist have been requested. No further information is available at this time.”

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