MURDER squad detectives believe a missing Polish farm worker was strangled after she argued with her brother over money.

Police launched a murder inquiry yesterday after tests showed that a woman – believed to be missing 27-yearold mother of one Danuta Domagalska – found in a shallow grave at New Moor Farm, Walworth Gate, near Darlington, had been unlawfully killed.

Formal identification is not expected until this afternoon, once DNA analysis is completed, but police have called a halt to the search for Mrs Domagalska.

Specialist search teams discovered the body on Saturday evening hidden beneath piles of rubbish and rubble on land behind a cow byre to the rear of the main farm buildings. A post-mortem examination showed it had been there for two weeks.

Police have been searching for Mrs Domagalska since August 14, when farm owners John and Susan Archer confronted her brother Piotr Lawniczak and were suspicious about his explanation for her absence – she had last been seen eight days previously.

Mr Lawniczak, 31, went missing before police arrived.

Police, divers and search teams scoured large parts of the farm, including hedgerows, ponds, slurry pits and woodland and even cut crops in some of the fields.

Last Wednesday, they found Mr Lawniczak’s body hanging from a tree in a field opposite the farm and the cottage where he, his sister and her husband, Marcin, lived.

On Friday night, sniffer dogs were used in the search and an area was identified where police believed a body could have been buried.

It was another 24 hours before a woman’s body, still in her workclothes, was discovered in a 12in-deep grave.

Investigations will continue for the rest of the week, with officers sifting through 70 bags of debris for clues.

Police will also travel to Poland as they prepare files for the Crown Prosecution Service and for two inquests.

However, Detective Superintendent Adrian Green, who is leading the investigation, said he was not looking for anyone else in connection with the inquiry.

He said they had a “strong line of inquiry regarding a motive”, adding that it was a financial one.

He said: “There is a lot more work to do. We will be on the farm for at least three days and investigations continue.

We will be sending out a team to Poland, hopefully by the end of the week.”

Mrs Domgalska’s husband and her family in Poland have been informed. Det Supt Green said: “Clearly, Mr Domagalski is absolutely distraught.

Police are with him, as is his brother. He is struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

“He will be visiting the site in due course to lay flowers.”

The three Poles, all experienced farm workers, came to Walworth three years ago.

There were among a number of skilled foreigners who worked there, although Mrs Domagalska was the only one to be still employed.

Her brother ran his own haulage business.

Mrs Domagalska has a son, Kuba, five, who is being looked after by family in Poland – her brother’s son, Wiktor, two, and wife Ewelina also live in Poland.

Det Supt Green said: “The family are devastated. Danuta’s mother has now lost both children. Both deceased have children of their own.

“The family need closure and they need to understand why it happened.

“The farm community and its owners are all absolutely devastated. The Archers are talking about going to Poland to attend the funeral.”

Anyone who can help with police inquiries is asked to call 0345-60-60-365 or 0800-555- 111.