We reported on Sunday, March 12, about the bodies of a woman and her one-year-old child being recovered from a body of water in Raciborowice Dolne. That day, before 9:00 a.m., firefighters received a report that a woman and her one-year-old child might be in the flooded excavation.

– During the night, the husband received an SMS from his partner saying that she was going swimming with their child at Kamionka. No report was made to any emergency service at that time. It was only in the morning, at around 9:00 a.m. The woman’s husband called – trainee Damian Ludziak from the Bolesławiec Fire Service described the incident on March 12.

On Wednesday, March 15, an autopsy of the woman and child was conducted at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Wrocław.

– The prosecutor’s office already has a preliminary opinion from this autopsy – spokesperson Tomasz Czułowski says. – We are still waiting for the expert’s final opinion. For now, what we can say is that the autopsy results confirm the findings made so far, which indicate that the most likely version of events is extended suicide. There were no injuries indicating the involvement of third parties in the woman’s death. The cause was drowning – adds the spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra.

Extended suicide: what happens in a person’s mind?

Dawid Kołodziej explains the mechanisms occurring in the psyche of a person capable of taking their own life and that of their child. He encourages people to seek help from a specialist or loved ones.

– I give several examples, trying to put myself in this person’s place and describe what it was like from their perspective – says psychologist Dawid Kołodziej. – What it might have looked like: problems with concentration, a powerful inner feeling that the person is unable to control. Deep sadness, a profound lack of any sense of purpose in life. They do not see what will happen immediately, in a moment; everything is focused on the present. And that moment is terrifying. It is a hole, nothingness, a feeling of emptiness so profound that it disrupts the instinct to live and protect one’s own child – the psychologist adds.

Those interested are encouraged to read Dawid Kołodziej’s publication: Different types of depression and ways to prevent them.

Specialists who can help with depression: Centrum Psychopedagogiczne.