ANDRZEJ KUNOWSKI, THE BEAST, DIES IN PRISON IN DURHAM

In September 2009, Andrzej Kunowski, a convicted killer known as 'the Beast,' died in prison. Police reports state that he died of heart failure on Wednesday at Frankland Prison in Durham, where he was serving a life sentence.

Kunowski was sentenced at the Old Bailey in 2004 for the murder of 12-year-old Katerina Koneva at her home in Hammersmith, west London, in 1997. He was also linked to various other investigations, including the disappearances of two young women.

Prior to this, Kunowski served a decade in Polish prison, earning the nickname 'the Beast' due to 27 serious sexual attacks on girls and women from age 17. Investigators in West London suspect him in the cases of 19-year-old Elizabeth Chau, a student who went missing in 1999, and Lola Shenkoya, a 27-year-old woman who vanished while returning home from work in 2000.

Detectives have expressed particular interest in speaking with anyone who might have shared a cell with Kunowski during his time incarcerated.

His trial revealed that he was on the run at the time of Katerina’s murder, having fled Poland after raping a 10-year-old girl. Detective Chief Inspector David Little described him as "probably the most dangerous sex offender I have ever come across and certainly the most prolific" following his conviction.

Katerina Koneva was strangled at her home on 22 May 1997, shortly after returning from school. Her father, Trajce Konev, encountered an intruder upon returning home and chased him into the street.

Kunowski’s DNA, which was collected after he was arrested for raping a student, matched a hair found on Katerina’s cardigan, leading to his charge for her murder.