Girl, 13, charged with murder of woman and arson

A 13-year-old girl has been charged with murdering a woman whose body was found following a house fire.

Police said the woman's body was discovered at the address in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, in the early hours of Monday morning.

Officers said the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had also been charged with arson with intent to endanger life.

Formal identification was yet to be confirmed, but detectives believed the victim was 43-year-old mother-of-three Marta Bednarczyk.

A post-mortem investigation gave the preliminary cause of death as a result of a sharp force injury.

Police and firefighters attended the house in Newcomen Road shortly after 03:00 GMT following reports of the blaze.

The victim was declared dead at the scene at 03:29.

A scene guard remains in place and police are asking people to avoid the area.

Det Ch Insp Johnny Campbell, senior investigating officer from the East Midlands special operations unit, said he wanted to thank officers and staff who had worked "tirelessly" since the "very tragic events".

"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."

The force said the girl was due to appear at Northampton Magistrates' Court at 10:00 on Wednesday.