At the beginning of June, a reader wrote to us:
A woman in Zebrzydowa (…) died after being eaten alive by maggots. The case had been reported about a month and a half earlier to MGOPS in Nowogrodziec.
She added that “even then, the woman had such extensive bedsores that you could see flesh and bones through the wounds. She had been lying in bed with a broken leg since January 1, 2026 – at the time, she refused to go to hospital”.
She also added: – A month and a half ago, the situation was so tragic that people called social services. (...) Unfortunately, no one helped, even though, given the situation described above, they should have taken her for treatment against her will, because it was already a direct threat to her health and life.
According to our source, the woman was allegedly cared for by another resident of Nowogrodziec gmina, who allegedly supplied her with alcohol and allegedly failed to call an “ambulance despite requests from third parties”.
We asked the Nowogrodziec MGOPS about the case. It provided a detailed chronology of the actions undertaken. According to the information given to us, social workers visited the woman. (The first visit took place together with a police officer from the Nowogrodziec police station.) They also arranged medical assistance and secured visits from a doctor and a community nurse. Moreover, they prepared the documentation needed to place the resident of Zebrzydowa in a care and treatment facility and provided hygiene supplies.
The center added that during subsequent visits, the woman consistently refused medical assistance while remaining communicative and logical.
MGOPS also stressed that during the actions undertaken, “no circumstances were found indicating the need to immediately notify a court or other authorities of a threat to the woman’s health or life that would require other forms of assistance”.
As we established, an autopsy was performed in mid-June, and its findings to date have ruled out third-party involvement in the woman’s death. Investigators have also ordered additional toxicological tests.
The proceedings are ongoing.
No one has been charged
At the current stage of the investigation, no one has been charged. The prosecutor’s office stresses that no injuries contributing to the woman’s death were found. Nor were any “failures in care” established. Although the preliminary cause of death has been determined, the prosecutor’s office does not want to disclose it to the public.
The prosecutor also confirmed that investigators are analyzing how the institutions that had previously been in contact with the woman operated. However, he immediately added that it had been established that the deceased resident of Nowogrodziec gmina had repeatedly refused any assistance from outside.
We will return to this topic.