A 13-year-old girl has been charged with the murder of a woman in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is also charged with arson with intent to endanger life.
She was arrested on Monday following the discovery of a body in a house in Newcomen Road, shortly after 3am that morning.
Formal identification has yet to be confirmed, but she is believed to be 43-year-old mother-of-three Marta Bednarczyk.
A forensic post-mortem investigation, which took place today at Leicester Royal Infirmary, gave the preliminary cause of death as being a result of sharp force injury.
Police and firefighters had attended the address after reports came in of a fire at the property. Inside, police officers found Marta’s body and paramedics sadly declared her dead at the scene at 3.29am.
A scene guard remains in place tonight and police are asking people to avoid the immediate area.
Detective Chief Insp Johnny Campbell, the senior investigating officer from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “This evening we have formally charged a 13-year-old Wellingborough girl with murder, and arson, and she will appear before Northampton Magistrates Court at 10am tomorrow.
“I want to take a moment to thank the many police officers and staff who are working and continue to work tirelessly on this investigation since the very tragic events of early yesterday morning. And, in particular, all our thoughts are with Marta’s family who have been fully co-operative throughout what has been a devastating couple of days for them.
“Given the developments this evening, we will be making no further comment at this time.”
