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Mother murdered baby hours after court ruling
2 Jun
Summary
- A mother murdered her 14-month-old son shortly after a court ordered him removed from her care.
- Social services had already removed five other children from the mother's custody.
- An urgent review is underway into how the child protection system failed.
A 36-year-old mother was convicted of murdering her 14-month-old son, Oakley, in November 2024, just hours after a court mandated his removal from her custody. The child had been under social services' monitoring since his birth in 2023 due to neglect concerns. Five of the mother's other children had already been taken into care by July 2024.
Oakley died on December 31, 2024, after being kept in a coma. Police had entered the family's home on November 8, 2024, after welfare concerns were raised, but initially failed to search the loft where the mother and child were hiding. They were discovered about three hours later. The police’s handling of the missing persons search has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which identified areas for learning and improvements.
An ongoing child safeguarding practice review is being led by the Essex Safeguarding Children Board. The mother claimed she was in crisis and experiencing dark thoughts at the time, but denied intending to keep control of her son. The review's findings will be published when available.
