A two-year-old girl who died weeks into lockdown after suffering a serious brain injury was probably killed by her adoptive father, a High Court judge has ruled.
Mr Justice Williams heard that the little girl had died in late May 2020, days after being admitted to hospital with “appalling injuries”.
The judge has concluded that her adoptive father had broken the little girl’s arm and shoulder blade, shortly after lockdown began in March 2020.
Read more: Boy, 14, charged with seven counts of indecent exposure and sexual assault
He said evidence showed that the man had later twice fractured the little girl’s skull.
The judge said the second skull fracture had caused a serious brain injury that killed the little girl.
He said the man had also behaved violently to the girl’s adoptive mother and was a “potentially very dangerous individual”.
At MyLondon, we want to make sure you get the latest and greatest from across the capital.
And one way you can do that is by getting the best news, reviews and features from wherever you are straight to your inbox with our free email newsletters.
We have seven newsletters you can currently sign up for – including a different one for each part of London, as well as an EastEnders one for all the gossip from Albert Square, and a London Underground one to keep you up to date on the latest transport news.
The local newsletters go out twice a day and send the latest stories straight to your inbox.
From community stories and news covering every borough of London to celebrity and lifestyle stories, we’ll make sure you get the very best every day.
To sign up to any of our newsletters, simply follow this link and select the newsletter that’s right for you.
And to really customise your news experience on the go, you can download our top-rated free apps for iPhone and Android. Find out more here.
Mr Justice Williams has outlined detail of the case in a written ruling published following a private family court hearing in Canterbury, Kent.
Social services bosses at Kent County Council, who have welfare responsibilities for other children in the family, had asked him to make findings of fact on the balance of probabilities.
Mr Justice Williams, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court in London, has not named the family involved.
He said the man and woman had lived in Afghanistan and informally adopted the girl before moving to the UK.
The judge referred to the little girl as “Z” in his ruling and said she had been taken to a hospital in Dartford, Kent.
He said police had investigated but did not say whether anyone had been charged with any offence.
“The father inflicted injuries on Z by breaking her arm, her scapula and causing a subdural bleed shortly after lockdown commenced in March 2020,” said Mr Justice Williams.
“He later fractured her skull.
“A few days later he lashed out at her causing her head to impact on a solid surface which led to a further skull fracture and a serious brain injury, which killed her.
“In addition to these appalling injuries causing the death of his adoptive child, he behaved violently to the mother on several occasions.”
The judge added: “The father is a potentially very dangerous individual to children and to the mother.”
He said the girl’s adoptive mother had “conspired” to protect the man from the “consequences of his actions”.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
https://www.mylondon.news/news/health/girl-2-likely-killed-adopted-22174823
