Daniel Pelka

At about 08:30 on 27 January 2016, Krężołek was found dead in his prison cell at Full Sutton Prison. The cause of death was found to be a heart attack. He had refused medical attention due to fear that people would recognise him.

On 14 July 2015, Łuczak was found unresponsive in her cell at about 07:15 BST and was pronounced dead. An inquest held three days later revealed that Łuczak had hanged herself the day before what would have been Daniel's eighth birthday.

In 2014, the indie rock band Little Comets released a song called "Salt", accompanied by a YouTube video, dedicated to the memory of Daniel Pełka.

After the investigation, Daniel's body was returned to his biological father, Eryk Pełka. Initially, Eryk could not afford the cost of flying the body over to Poland from the UK. However, a Polish funeral firm in London donated the money for the cause. On 3 September 2013 Daniel's body was finally buried.

The murder of Daniel Pełka, aged 4, occurred on 3 March 2012 in Coventry, England. His mother, Magdalena Łuczak (27), and her partner, Mariusz Krężołek (33), were found guilty of the murder on 31 July 2013. Daniel's death made headlines for months as it was evident that a number of opportunities had been missed to identify him as suffering severe abuse. On 2 August 2013, both Łuczak and Krężołek were jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 30 years each. However, both died in prison within three years of being sentenced.

By the start of 2012, the school was raising concerns that Daniel was obsessed with food and would eat out of bins. On one occasion, he ate half of a teacher's birthday cake which was intended for the whole class. After the school holidays, Daniel showed visible signs of weight loss. One teacher saw fingerprint bruising around Daniel's neck, and staff had also noticed multiple facial bruises. On 10 February 2012, he was seen by a Dr. Chakraborthy after having lost weight. The doctor issued a prescription for worms and said he appeared thin but not wasting away. On 28 February, he was observed as being "pasty" with "sunken eyes" and not interacting with other children. People continued to notice him eating out of bins, including on 1 March, the day he would receive the beating that caused his death.

Daniel Pełka died on 3 March 2012. Two days earlier, as a punishment for wetting himself, Daniel had been beaten severely. His mother did a Google search for "care – patient in a coma" on the morning of 2 March. At 03.07 GMT on the morning of 3 March, a 999 call was made in which she stated that her son was not breathing. Paramedics arrived and took him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 03.50.

In January 2011, he was taken to A&E with a broken arm, and was also seen to have multiple bruises. This was assessed by social services, but the doctor who saw Daniel admitted the fracture could have been caused by an accident. In November of the same year, Daniel's school was concerned about him stealing food from other pupils and eating an unusual amount of the free fruit available. Łuczak had previously told medical professionals that Daniel would raid the fridge at night and punch his stepfather when not given food. A social worker had recommended that Daniel be given a snack on the way to school. By the end of 2011, his school attendance was only 63%.

A health visitor noticed a bruise to the side of Daniel's head in 2010, but was told he had fallen over and bruised.

In addition to direct concerns about Daniel, social services had been visiting the family since 2008 due to serious domestic violence against Łuczak by Krężołek. However, she said she could protect her children, and Daniel was never interviewed directly.

Eryk Pełka, Daniel's biological father, brought his family, and his partner Magdalena Łuczak and her child, to the UK from their native Poland at the end of 2005. Daniel was born in Coventry, England on 15 July 2007. Eryk remained with the family until the end of 2008. In 2010, Mariusz Krężołek moved in with Łuczak and he became the father to her children. He was residing in the household at the time of Daniel's death.