The losing your faith in humanity thread

[Saj]

Depressing but worth discussing these stories where your faith in humanity is being tested.

Far too many of these stories at the moment.


Star Hobson murder: Savannah Brockhill jailed for at least 25 years

The woman who murdered 16-month-old Star Hobson after inflicting “utterly catastrophic” injuries has been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 25 years.

Star suffered weeks of “neglect, cruelty and injury” by Savannah Brockhill, 28, at a flat in Keighley, West Yorkshire. The toddler died of cardiac arrest after being punched or kicked by Brockhill in September 2020. A post-mortem revealed previous brain injuries, fractured bones, including Star’s ribs, tibia and skull and injury to internal organs.

Brockhill’s partner, Frankie Smith, Star’s mother, was jailed for eight years after she was found guilty of causing or allowing the toddler’s death. The maximum sentence for the offence is 14 years imprisonment. The 20-year-old was cleared of murder and manslaughter charges after the jury accepted she had not encouraged the fatal attack.

Brockhill and Smith had been in a “toxic” relationship for 10 months at the time of the murder. Smith’s barrister, addressing the court on Wednesday, said that Star’s mother had been “plainly unaware of the seriousness of the assaults. “She is herself a victim of the murder count, having lost her daughter”, said Zafar Ali QC.

Brockhill’s lawyer said her client collapsed at the beginning of the trial and suffered three seizures and two cardiac arrests. Kath Goddard QC said she discharged herself from hospital so the trial could continue but the cause of this illness has not yet been determined.

Brockhill, an amateur boxer and security guard, denied all charges against her. Halfway through the seven-week trial, Smith pleaded guilty to eight instances of child cruelty against Star between April and September 2020. The court heard Smith was of extremely low intelligence, and “abnormally compliant” when told to do something by an authority figure. However, the judge said she “did not accept” that these factors excused Smith’s conduct, describing her as a “neglectful and callous parent” who thought only of her own interests.

The sentencing follows the conviction of another couple, in a separate case, of killing six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes after a “campaign of appalling cruelty” during lockdown. Arthur died in June 2020 after being deprived of food, force-fed salt and assaulted, in abuse that was filmed and photographed by his stepmother and father.

Smith and Brockhill also filmed many acts of cruelty against Star, sending them to friends, sometimes with added captions or music. The women could be heard laughing as they filmed Star falling off a chair or down the stairs. Other incidents were caught on CCTV, including one two days before Star’s death where Smith dragged her through Bradford city centre using reins. The toddler already had a broken leg as a result of one of 21 blows from Brockhill a few days earlier when she took Star to work at a recycling centre in Doncaster.

A local review of Star’s death is due to be published in January, which will feed into a national one ordered by the government following Arthur’s murder.

The first of at least five safeguarding referrals from concerned relatives and friends was made in January 2020 by Hollie Jones, Smith’s friend who the judge said was frequently “used for free babysitting”. Jones told the BBC that when social workers rang to say they were visiting, Smith spent an hour cleaning Star and covering up bruises.

Social workers visited on four occasions, and closed the case three times, while police visited once. Boris Johnson described Star’s death as “shocking and heartbreaking”, adding that lessons must be learned from the two child murders. The Department for Education said it would “not hesitate” to remove children’s services control from Bradford council if necessary.

The Bradford Partnership, which has responsibility for children’s safeguarding in the area, apologised after the convictions of the two women. A joint statement from the council, Bradford’s clinical commissioning group and West Yorkshire police, said they “deeply regret that not all the warning signs were seen”.

Bradford’s children’s services were judged inadequate in October 2018, and an Ofsted inspection in October found “significant weaknesses” remained. A government-appointed commissioner has been overseeing the department since August.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...or-at-least-25-years/ar-AARQtRf?ocid=msedgntp

 

[Technics 1210]

The first name that came to mind when reading the thread title was - Jussie Smollett. The guy who faked a racist MAGA attack.

What humanity when you have to fake victimhood.

Tsk tsk.

 

[Jadz]

Humankind cannot be judged by the actions of evildoers.

The problem with the Star Hobson murder is the lack of resources of social and children's care services. Local authorities and essential services have had massive funding cuts in Tory austerity measures, the result is lack of staff and time available to assess each case in detail.

It's a monumental failure of government policy that protects the billionaire class and multi-nationals, whilst slashing funds for public services. Having said all of that, the murderess, Savannah Brockhill and her accomplice, the mother Frankie Smith, are a stain upon humanity and wholly responsible for this heinous crime.

 

[sweep_shot]

Even though there are many bad people on our planet, there are also many good people. I think good people outnumber the bad people.

Therefore, I have not lost faith in humanity.

However, I admit world is losing morality/decency day by day. Some of it is happening under the cover of "progress".

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Humankind cannot be judged by the actions of evildoers.

The problem with the Star Hobson murder is the lack of resources of social and children's care services. Local authorities and essential services have had massive funding cuts in Tory austerity measures, the result is lack of staff and time available to assess each case in detail.

It's a monumental failure of government policy that protects the billionaire class and multi-nationals, whilst slashing funds for public services. Having said all of that, the murderess, Savannah Brockhill and her accomplice, the mother Frankie Smith, are a stain upon humanity and wholly responsible for this heinous crime.

We can't blame austerity and the Tories for everything.

These incidents reflect a breakdown of the traditional family structure, the acceptability of not just having kids outside of marriage but outside of any commitment and the attraction of lifestyles that would have been considered perverted many years ago.

We cannot expect the government to raise our children but at the same time as a society encourage, promote and tolerate sexual gratification, materialism, the breakdown of the family structure and deviancy.

Is this really the way forward? Tear down all conservative/religious views and institutions and then pay unqualified social workers to try and repair the damage?

 

[KingKhanWC]

Even though there are many bad people on our planet, there are also many good people. I think good people outnumber the bad people.

Therefore, I have not lost faith in humanity.

However, I admit world is losing morality/decency day by day. Some of it is happening under the cover of "progress".

I disagree

Good is only when you do good to others. We wouldn't be living in a world where billions are suffering, struggling where as a few million are very rich.

There are bad people and bad rulers everywhere but the western governments have done so much evil, yet not confronted or spoken out against, its proof bad outnumbers good.

 

[ElRaja]

never had much faith in humanity in the first place.

there are abusive people everywhere, who should have no right to be parents, but end up with kids either cos they cant keep their johnsons in check, or to meet societal expectations.

 

[Usman]

This is one of the worst stories I have ever seen:

David Fuller: Killer who abused mortuary bodies will die in jail

A double murderer who sexually abused more than 100 female corpses will never be released from prison.

David Fuller, 67, killed Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in two separate attacks in Tunbridge Wells in 1987.

He also abused corpses, including children, in two Kent morgues over 12 years while working as a hospital electrician.
Families of the victims told Maidstone Crown Court that he was "an animal", and "despicable, sick and twisted".

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told Fuller during sentencing: "There is so much sorrow in this community because of what you have done.
"Your actions go against everything that is right and humane. They are incomprehensible.

"You had no regard for the dignity of the dead."

Fuller was handed two whole-life sentences for the murders with a concurrent 12-year term for his other crimes.

Warning: this article contains information some people may find distressing.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Knell's mother Pamela described her as a "thoughtful person who would do anything for anyone".
She wanted children, but did not get to have any, said Mrs Knell, adding:

"We've had to live with her loss with no other comfort for the rest of our lives."

In a statement read to the court by a prosecutor, Katrina Frost, mother of Caroline Pierce, said her murder was "truly horrific" and a nightmare which "continues to this day".

Fuller was "an animal" who "returned to a normal life with his family" after the murder, while for them life was "never the same" again.

"I can never forget having to identify the badly-damaged body of my own daughter," Ms Frost said. "The images of seeing my daughter in that way, repeat over and over in my mind.

"She must have been absolutely terrified."

Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced an independent inquiry in the wake of the case, to understand how Fuller was able to operate undetected by the hospital trust, and to look at the "national implications" of his offences.
Investigators said the case came together following recent advances in DNA testing - and a police operation costing £2.5m - which linked Fuller to the double killings, dubbed "the Bedsit Murders".

Following his arrest in 2020, officers carrying out a search of his house in Heathfield, East Sussex, found footage Fuller had recorded of himself abusing corpses between 2008 and November 2020.

Fuller worked in electrical maintenance at hospitals since 1989, and was at the Kent and Sussex Hospital until it closed in September 2011.

He was transferred to the Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury, where the offences continued until his arrest.

Investigators said Fuller would go into the morgues when other staff had left, often "visiting the same bodies repeatedly".

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said Fuller "systematically and repeatedly sexually abused" the bodies of at least 102 dead women and girls.

He said they included a nine-year-old girl, two 16-year-olds and a woman aged 100.

The mother of the nine-year-old girl read her victim impact statement to the court.

Fuller, wearing a grey sweatshirt and black mask, looked down for most of the hearing, but raised his eyes when the mother addressed him.

"You raped my baby. She couldn't say no to a dirty, 66-year-old man who was abusing her body. She couldn't say no, but she would have," she said.
"There's no closure. How can I make this up to her? How can I nurse that little, broken body that's been ruined and disrespected by that vile man?
"I will never be able to get over this."

Another woman talking about her mother told the court Fuller's actions were "despicable, sick and twisted", and that it was hard to comprehend something "so immoral".

"She was dead, vulnerable and not able to fend you off, but you preyed on her, on the day she died," she said.

There is evidence Ms Knell was also raped during or after her death, the court previously heard.

Ms Knell was killed in her home in Guildford Road on 23 June 1987. She was found in her bed by her boyfriend the following day, after she failed to turn up to work.

Ms Pierce was abducted from outside her home in Grosvenor Park on 24 November.

Fuller pleaded guilty to the murders in November while on trial.
He had previously admitted killing the women subject to "diminished responsibility", but denied murder.

He also admitted 51 other offences, including 44 charges relating to more than 80 identified victims in the two mortuaries where he worked.

Miles Scott, chief executive, of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, apologised to the families and pledged they would be compensated.
He also said the trust would make "further improvements recommended from the independent inquiry".

Det Ch Supt Paul Fotheringham said Fuller was responsible for "unimaginable horror and depravity", and that he has "caused suffering and inconceivable trauma to the lives of hundreds of other people" without "a single shred of remorse".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-59601656

 

[sweep_shot]

Casey Anthony killing her daughter. That was very hard for me to stomach. How can a mother kill her own child and show no remorse about it?

 

[PakLFC]

There is much more good in the world then evil. So much good happens in the world on a daily basis without ever being covered by the media. I am an eternal optimist

 

[Saj]

Here's another one. Absolutely tragic.

A man accused of murdering 28-year-old schoolteacher Sabina Nessa has accepted responsibility for her killing.

Koci Selamaj, 36, travelled to London from his home in Eastbourne on the south coast to carry out what the prosecution alleges was a “pre-meditated and predatory” attack.

Selamaj, an Albanian national, appeared at the Old Bailey on Thursday for a plea and directions hearing where he entered a formal not guilty plea to murder.

However it was indicated on his behalf that he accepted responsibility for killing Ms Nessa.

It is claimed he struck Nessa with a 2ft-long weapon as she walked through Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south-east, London, on her way to meet a friend on 17 September.

The body of Nessa, who taught a year one class at Rushey Green Primary School in Catford, was found nearly 24 hours later covered with grass near a community centre in the park.

It is believed that Nessa's attacker was a complete stranger to her.

Selamaj, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was arrested in the seaside town and charged with her murder.

Members of Nessa’s family sat in court a few metres from the defendant in the dock who was assisted by an Albanian interpreter.

Bearded Selamaj, who wore a facemask and grey T-shirt, spoke only to confirm his identity in court.

Senior judge, Mr Justice Wall, set a further hearing on 25 February next year. He set a trial of up to five weeks from 7 June next year.

Nessa’s death sparked calls for more government action to tackle violence against women and girls. A vigil for the schoolteacher was attended by hundreds as her family paid tribute.

Jebina Yasmin Islam, Sabina Nessa’s sister told the crowd: “Words cannot describe how we are feeling, this feels like we are stuck in a bad dream and can’t get out of it – our world is shattered, we are simply lost for words.

“No family should go through what we are going through.”

 

[Jadz]

We can't blame austerity and the Tories for everything.

These incidents reflect a breakdown of the traditional family structure, the acceptability of not just having kids outside of marriage but outside of any commitment and the attraction of lifestyles that would have been considered perverted many years ago.

We cannot expect the government to raise our children but at the same time as a society encourage, promote and tolerate sexual gratification, materialism, the breakdown of the family structure and deviancy.

Is this really the way forward? Tear down all conservative/religious views and institutions and then pay unqualified social workers to try and repair the damage?

I completely endorse your comments.

The only point I wished to stress was Tory austerity has had a devastating impact upon local authorities, public services and the social care sector. In a properly functioning civilized society, the elderly, vulnerable and poor are cared for, their needs met - because families and communities can only do so much, and can only pay so much in taxes, they cannot always help those most at risk of abuse. This is why properly-funded and adequately-staffed services are required, to engage with and elicit details about specific cases.

Even in conservative, religious societies that do prohibit LGBTQ+ in their countries still have to deal with domestic, child, animal, elder abuse and all forms of deviant and evil behaviour. From the very beginning of Time humankind has had to contend with evil, no matter how sophisticated and enlightened societies might be they still need to confront evildoers and take appropriate measures to counter their evil acts - this requires expertise, professionally-trained individuals that have the knowledge and ability to discern signs of evil and to notify the necessary authorities.

 

[Robert]

Humankind cannot be judged by the actions of evildoers.

The problem with the Star Hobson murder is the lack of resources of social and children's care services. Local authorities and essential services have had massive funding cuts in Tory austerity measures, the result is lack of staff and time available to assess each case in detail.

It's a monumental failure of government policy that protects the billionaire class and multi-nationals, whilst slashing funds for public services. Having said all of that, the murderess, Savannah Brockhill and her accomplice, the mother Frankie Smith, are a stain upon humanity and wholly responsible for this heinous crime.

Agree on all counts [MENTION=30006]Jadz[/MENTION]. A different government would pump more resources into social services. But in the end the murdereress and accomplice are wholly responsible.

One wonders if some humans just come out of the womb wrong. Something missing. Less than human.

 

[Technics 1210]

Agree on all counts [MENTION=30006]Jadz[/MENTION]. A different government would pump more resources into social services. But in the end the murdereress and accomplice are wholly responsible.

One wonders if some humans just come out of the womb wrong. Something missing. Less than human.

Corbyn was ready to pump resources into social services, why didn’t you support him?

 

[Robert]

On a more general note, Mrs Robert says my narrative has changed in the last five years, I used to have so much belief in people. Now I think so many are selfish, easily manipulated ignorami.

I hate writing this.

 

[Robert]

Corbyn was ready to pump resources into social services, why didn’t you support him?

Because I am a member of a different party.

 

[IMMY69]

On a more general note, Mrs Robert says my narrative has changed in the last five years, I used to have so much belief in people. Now I think so many are selfish, easily manipulated ignorami.

I hate writing this.

so you've finally seen the light

 

[IMMY69]

Two sets of twins, 3 and 4 year olds, died in a fire in London today.
News coming out that they were left home alone.

If true then this is incomprehensible

 

[Jadz]

Agree on all counts [MENTION=30006]Jadz[/MENTION]. A different government would pump more resources into social services. But in the end the murdereress and accomplice are wholly responsible.

One wonders if some humans just come out of the womb wrong. Something missing. Less than human.

Good to hear from you, [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION]!

Glad my post made sense - it felt I had written too quickly before checking over my comments and was sure there were tons of errors and mistakes.

You may have a point regarding people who perpetrate evil deeds, they obviously lack a conscience - but if they also meet a person similarly inclined they can both push each other towards heinous actions they otherwise would not have committed. I have in mind Myra Hindley and Ian Brady.

 

[Jadz]

Two sets of twins, 3 and 4 year olds, died in a fire in London today.
News coming out that they were left home alone.

If true then this is incomprehensible

Truly heart-breaking. Wasn't it the Mother who left them alone?

There have been a spate of stories about young parents killing their children. I know it's not right to speculate but I can't help wondering if lockdowns and restrictions have contributed to this rise in child abuse?

 

[Saj]

A 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in a residential road in Hounslow has been named as Rishmeet Singh.

The teenager was found suffering fatal knife wounds in Raleigh Road on Wednesday evening.

He is the 28th teenager to be killed on the streets of London this year, one away from a peak of 29 teen homicides in 2008.

Friends believe Rishmeet was stabbed over a fake Gucci pouch he always wore.

A shopkeeper told the Standard: “Police came to check my CCTV and said there had been a stabbing, I couldn’t believe it.

“I knew him, he was a good guy.

“His friends are all saying he was stabbed over this Gucci bag, it wasn’t even real. It’s terrible.

“I wish I had heard something or he had run to me. I would have pulled down the shutters to keep him safe - I had the staff to handle it.”

Friends revealed that Rishmeet did part-time jobs to care for his disabled mother, who lives above a shop close to where her son was killed.

Daljit Singh said: “He was a very good friend. It’s so sad.

“He was caring for his mother, he worked very hard doing part time jobs...what he could. He was always doing shopping for her. He was very good to her.

“She was crying outside this morning. All over a Gucci bag that’s not worth anything.”

Police said they were called to Raleigh Road, Southall, at 9.07pm on Wednesday to reports of a stabbing.

Social media footage shows police officers battling in vain to save Rishmeet’s life in a front garden.

There have been no arrests.

On Thursday morning, a forensics tent and discarded medical equipment, including a defibrillator, could be seen lying on the driveway of a home.

A resident said he was asleep until emergency services arrived and performed CPR on the teenager.

Another neighbour said Rishmeet managed to run from his attackers before collapsing outside the house.

He said: “It’s tragic. We were waiting outside the cordon and everyone was talking. He is from the Sikh community and lives nearby so we are all upset.”

 

[Saj]

And yet more:

A man who murdered his partner and two young children - one of whom was less than a month old - has been sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison.

Jordan Monaghan, 30, obstructed the airways of Ruby, aged 24 days, and Logan, 21 months, in January and August 2013.

Six years later, the gambling addict killed his new girlfriend, Evie Adams, 23, with a drug overdose in October 2019.

He has been given three mandatory life sentences and ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years after he was found guilty at Preston Crown Court.

Laura Gray, the children's mother, was heard weeping in the public gallery as the verdicts were given following a 10-week trial at Preston Crown Court.

Ruby was smothered as she slept in her Moses basket on New Year's Day in 2013.

Eight months later, after Ms Gray discovered Monaghan owed thousands of pounds in gambling debts, she told him the relationship was over.

The next day he took their son, Logan, to a local swimming pool, Waves in Blackburn.

He smothered the boy in a cubicle in the changing rooms, the jury heard.

Ruby's death was initially attributed to bronchiolitis, while Logan's was described as "unascertained".

Doctors had seen both children in the days and months before their deaths, but only usual childhood illnesses were found.

Monaghan, a construction worker, was arrested in 2018 after new information came to light about the deaths of the children.

Ms Adams, a mother-of-one who suffered "chronic abuse" before becoming a foster child aged 12, was warned by police not to be with Monaghan.

But the relationship continued until she threatened to dump Monaghan, who told her: "I won't keep putting up with you saying we are over."

When he murdered Ms Adams with a cocktail of prescription drugs, he was on police bail for the youngsters' murder.

Ms Adams was found to have tramadol, diazepam, amitriptyline, zopiclone and pregabalin in her body, and died from tramadol and diazepam toxicity.

Monaghan then faked a suicide note from her.

He was re-arrested in January this year and charged with all three murders. He killed because he could not face rejection, the court heard during his 10-week trial.

He claimed to have had nothing to do with the death of his children, but a dozen experts told the court that while the exact cause of the deaths was difficult to pin down, imposed airway obstruction was either "likely" or could not be ruled out.

Monaghan also claimed the illegal prescription drugs were for himself and denied ever giving any to Ms Adams.

He was convicted of the three murders and two counts of attempted murder to a third child who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

He was not in court to hear the verdicts after suffering from a minor illness.

SKY

 

[Robert]

Truly heart-breaking. Wasn't it the Mother who left them alone?

There have been a spate of stories about young parents killing their children. I know it's not right to speculate but I can't help wondering if lockdowns and restrictions have contributed to this rise in child abuse?

Unquestionably so. There is a mental health tsunami. Anyone with violence control issues could be at risk of damaging others in these dark days.

 

[IMMY69]

Truly heart-breaking. Wasn't it the Mother who left them alone?

There have been a spate of stories about young parents killing their children. I know it's not right to speculate but I can't help wondering if lockdowns and restrictions have contributed to this rise in child abuse?

Heartbreaking!

Yes mental health definitely comes into it and I'm sure it's been exasperated by Covid and lockdowns.

Most countries fail when it comes to dealing with mental health issues. They seem to bury their heads in the sand whereas it should be one of the top priorities of the national health system.

 

[Firebat]

Jessica Dalgleish: Man jailed for 11 years for killing three-year-old girl who failed to finish her lunch

A man who killed a three-year-old girl while she was in his care after becoming angry that she had not finished her lunch has been jailed for 11 years.

Toddler, Jessica Dalgleish died from catastrophic head injuries inflicted by 27-year-old Paul Marsh at her home in Sandgate, near Folkestone, on 21 December 2019, Kent Police said.

Bruises later found on her face and head suggested Jessica was assaulted by the 27-year-old previously, however, these incidents went unreported to the police at the time.

Evidence showed that Marsh, formerly of Lydd, carried out the fatal attack when the three-year-old was unable to finish her lunch.

At 3.10pm on the day of the killing, Marsh called the emergency services stating that he had found Jessica on the floor in a dazed state.

Initially, he suggested Jessica may have fallen down the stairs whilst playing. But his account of the events was unclear which prompted Kent Police to investigate further.

Jessica was flown by paramedics to receive specialist care in London but later died in hospital on Christmas Eve 2019.

An investigation into Jessica's death found that it was more likely that her injuries had been caused by an impact, such as being thrown against the headboard or side of her bed.

Marsh was convicted of Jessica's manslaughter and child cruelty on 3 November, following a trial.

On Monday, at Maidstone Crown Court, Marsh was jailed for 11 years.

"This is a tragic case in which a young girl has been robbed of her life before it had really begun." said Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber, Senior Investigating Officer for the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

"Marsh was reluctant to get medical attention for Jessica on the day he inflicted these injuries and he has since sought to evade justice by changing his account and lying about what actually happened on that day," he added.

"A meticulous investigation by my team, including sensitive interviewing of a number of witnesses and careful analysis of complicated medical evidence, has led to Marsh being found guilty of manslaughter."

Mr Kimber added: "I hope the jury's verdicts and the sentence handed down today give Jessica's relatives some sense of closure as they continue to mourn her tragic death."

https://news.sky.com/story/jessica-...-girl-who-failed-to-finish-her-lunch-12500855

 

[Robert]

Heartbreaking!

Yes mental health definitely comes into it and I'm sure it's been exasperated by Covid and lockdowns.

Most countries fail when it comes to dealing with mental health issues. They seem to bury their heads in the sand whereas it should be one of the top priorities of the national health system.

If we want a better country, we have to start putting more money into schools, stronger social programmes, more social workers, and the NHS.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it on here yet, but fans around all the football stadiums in England were paying tribute to a 6 year old Birmingham boy who was tortured and finally killed by his father and stepmum. The details are truly horrifying, but I guess at least it shows that the majority of people are abhorred by this as the tributes around Britain showed.

 

[Saj]

Truly awful:

Two people have been charged with murdering a baby boy who died in 2020.

Police said paramedics were called to a house in Old Whittington, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on Christmas Day after receiving reports a 10-month-old boy was unresponsive.

Finley Boden was taken to hospital but pronounced dead, a spokesman said.

Stephen Boden, 29, of Barrow Hill, and 21-year-old Shannon Marsden, of no fixed abode, have been charged with murder and two counts of neglect.

They appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on Friday, and will next appear at Derby Crown Court on 4 January.

BBC

 

[MenInG]

A drug addict mother has been found guilty of the manslaughter of her asthmatic son after he died alone and "gasping for air" in a garden.

Laura Heath deliberately "prioritised her addiction to heroin and crack cocaine" prior to the "needless, premature" death of seven-year-old Hakeem Hussain on Sunday 26 November 2017, Coventry Crown Court heard.

The 40-year-old, formerly of Long Acre in Nechells, Birmingham, has been convicted of gross negligence manslaughter after her "frail" son died of an asthma attack at the home of a friend where they had been staying.

Images shown in court revealed how Heath, who had a £55-a-day drug habit, had even modified one of her son's blue inhalers with foil and an elastic band so she could use it to smoke crack.

It emerged during the trial that school nurse Melanie Richards had told a child protection conference just two days before Hakeem's death he could "die at the weekend".

Health, education and social workers voted to protect Hakeem at the same conference.

However, the meeting ended with an agreement that the family's social worker would speak to Heath about the outcome on the Monday - by which time Hakeem had died.

SKY

 

[MenInG]

A drug addict mother has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the manslaughter of her asthmatic son who died alone and "gasping for air" in a garden.

Laura Heath "prioritised her addiction to heroin and crack cocaine" prior to the "needless, premature" death of seven-year-old Hakeem Hussain on Sunday 26 November 2017, Coventry Crown Court heard during her trial.

The 40-year-old, formerly of Long Acre in Nechells, Birmingham, was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter after her "frail" son died in the home of a friend where they had been staying.

Mr Justice Dove said Hakeem's death was the result of Heath's "catastrophic and deplorable" parenting.

He told Heath the death had occurred after her life "entered a drug-fuelled downward spiral into squalor, chaos and tragedy".

The judge said: "When Hakeem Hussain died in the early hours of the morning he was only seven years old.


"It is clear that in his tragically short life he had been an inspiration of happiness and affection for people who knew him.

"All of that potential for a wonderful and fulfilling life was cut short, extinguished as he collapsed on his own suffocating, clutching a leaf in the garden.

"The truth is that Hakeem died as a result of your deplorable negligence. You had allowed your life to be completely overtaken by your addiction to heroin and cocaine. His death was needless, tragic and a result of your abject failure as his mother."

Images shown in court revealed how Heath, who had a £55-a-day drug habit, had modified one of her son's inhalers with foil and an elastic band so she could use it to smoke crack.

Heath had admitted four counts of child cruelty before the trial, including failing to provide proper medical supervision and exposing Hakeem to the smoke of asthma triggers; heroin, crack and cigarettes.

SKY

 

[MenInG]

The opposite.....

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">INCREDIBLE MOMENT: Boynton Beach police sent this video out in the hopes to honor the people who got out of the car to help the woman who had a medical episode while driving&#55357;&#56399;<br><br> <a href="https://t.co/SsZmVxvaoP">pic.twitter.com/SsZmVxvaoP</a></p>— Tansu YEĞEN (@TansuYegen) <a href="https://twitter.com/TansuYegen/status/1524679762240851970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

A man and a woman have been jailed after admitting to being in charge of a dog that mauled a 10-year-old boy to death.

Jack Lis was attacked by the American bully, or XL bully dog, called Beast while playing with a friend at a house after school on 8 November last year.

SKY

 

[Kroll]

A man and a woman have been jailed after admitting to being in charge of a dog that mauled a 10-year-old boy to death.

Jack Lis was attacked by the American bully, or XL bully dog, called Beast while playing with a friend at a house after school on 8 November last year.

SKY

American Bully is similar to the American Pitbull Terrier which is banned in the UK. This incident shows that similar breeds to the banned dogs should be banned from ownership in their own right.

 

[sweep_shot]

American Bully is similar to the American Pitbull Terrier which is banned in the UK. This incident shows that similar breeds to the banned dogs should be banned from ownership in their own right.

Yup. These breeds should be banned.

I never understood the popularity of these dog breeds. They seem aggressive and dangerous.

 

[PakLFC]

No, no. There is a lot more good then bad in the world. Thing is the good is mostly silent where as the bad is vocal.

 

[KingKhanWC]

American Bully is similar to the American Pitbull Terrier which is banned in the UK. This incident shows that similar breeds to the banned dogs should be banned from ownership in their own right.

Yup. These breeds should be banned.

I never understood the popularity of these dog breeds. They seem aggressive and dangerous.

Pitbulls arent actually aggressive towards humans, they were never bred like this. The owners are to blame, any strong dog can attack and harm people if in the wrong hands.

Please watch this, great little video explaining it.

 

[James]

Dangerous Dogs Act (UK) is rubbish legislation. Yes there are pit bull breeds and other breeds which have killed children and maimed people; but many breeds will do this if they are deliberately starved, bred for aggression, or trained to fight for money.

The law should be changed to the Dangerous Owners Act.

People who brainwash these unwitting canines into becoming violent monsters should go to jail for 10+ years.

Many large, apparently fierce or hazardous dogs (including those from banned breeds) are actually very calm, kind, quiet, and generally nice dogs who oversee their family members and look after the home.

It all comes down to the owner and the environment.

 

[Saj]

The dad of Sabina Nessa's killer is pleading with his son to tell him why he brutally murdered her. The teacher was bludgeoned to death last September while walking in the dark to meet a friend. Since going to jail, Koci Selamaj has not left his cell and refuses see his dad.

One year on from Sabina's death, Koci's father, Bashkim, has revealed that he has attempted to travel to HMP Belmarsh in South East London to see his son and plead with him to reveal why he killed her. On both visits, Bashkim said his son was too ashamed to see him. Speaking from his home in Albania, Bashkim, 71, said to The Mirror: “Koci has a strong character. Now he is realising what he has done and has shame on himself."

Bashkim continued: "That shame stops him from meeting me or his sister who did try meeting him as well. He does not want to tell me why he murdered that girl. I’d like to know from him why he did it.”

Koci pleaded guilty to killing Sabrina in Kidbrooke, Greenwich, last September and was jailed for life in April, with a minimum sentence of 36 years.

At the time, the Old Bailey court heard that he had booked a hotel room at the Grand Hotel in East Sussex on the night of Sabina's murder and hoped to have sex with his estranged wife, who was a chambermaid there.

Following a payment dispute, Koci headed for the capital and appeared to pick primary school teacher Sabina at random as she walked through Cator Park to meet her friend for a drink. Koci then hit her on the head 34 times before strangling her.

MSN

 

[Robert]

Liz Truss couldn’t defend or even explain her own mini budget on BBC Radio this morning.

 

[Robert]

American Bully is similar to the American Pitbull Terrier which is banned in the UK. This incident shows that similar breeds to the banned dogs should be banned from ownership in their own right.

A family member of mine has a Giant XL Bully. It’s a pussycat. No bad dogs, just bad owners.

 

[Kroll]

A family member of mine has a Giant XL Bully. It’s a pussycat. No bad dogs, just bad owners.

That's true Robert and thanks for sharing, it's good to see this Bully has found a loving home and owners who have trained it well. It's a shame animals get blamed when in most cases they have either been trained to harm others or just not looked after properly.

 

[Kroll]

just seen another news report about a woman being mauled to death in Liverpool.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-63124015
[MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION], sad truth is no matter how docile a dog is, there's always going to be bad owners and dogs that have the potential to kill or are more likely to exert aggressive behaviours should be banned. This extends to pit bull type breeds.

 

[daytrader]

Woman charged after 'pouring human faeces on Captain Tom memorial'

An environmental protester who allegedly vandalised a memorial to Captain Tom with a bucket of human excrement has been charged with criminal damage.

Madeleine Budd, 21, from Manchester, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court tomorrow.

It comes after a memorial for Sir Captain Tom Moore was allegedly defaced at Thistley Meadow in Hatton, south Derbyshire.

Budd was arrested yesterday and has now been charged.

Footage of the alleged vandalism first appeared on the End UK Private Jets’ social media but it has since been reshared hundreds of times.

The memorial commemorates the life of British Army officer Captain Tom, who rose to fame during the pandemic for raising £32 million for NHS charities.

Speaking about her protest, former medical student Budd said: ‘People are going to say that he’s a hero, people are going to say that this is profoundly, obscenely disrespectful to his life, and to the NHS he stood up for and I agree.

‘If we believe that the NHS is important, if we believe in taking care of each other, if we believe that NHS workers are doing essential work, why are we forcing our healthcare system into collapse?

‘Why are we forcing our civilisation into collapse, why is basically no-one taking this genocide of all humanity seriously?

‘All of this is true and the government won’t even End UK Private Jets, every time one takes off, it pours a bucket of sh*t and blood onto everything that Captain Tom stood for.’

MSN

 

[MenInG]

A nurse accused of murdering babies on a neonatal ward killed a premature baby girl on the fourth attempt before sending her parents a sympathy card, a court has heard.

Lucy Letby is charged with murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016.

Manchester Crown Court was told Ms Letby allegedly tried to kill the girl by injecting her with air.

Ms Letby, 32, denies 22 charges.

Continuing the prosecution's opening statement for a third day, Nick Johnson KC said the circumstances of the girl's death were "an extreme example even by the standards of this case".

"There were four separate occasions on which we allege Lucy Letby tried to kill her," he said.

The child, referred to for legal reasons as Child I, was "resilient," he said, "but ultimately at the fourth attempt, Lucy Letby succeeded in killing her".

He said on the first occasion Ms Letby, of Hereford, had injected Child I with air.

On her second attempt, he said she had stood in the doorway of the girl's darkened room and commented she looked pale.

The girl's designated nurse then turned on the light and saw Child I was not breathing.

Following a third alleged attempt to kill her, Child I was again found to have excess air in her stomach, which had affected her breathing.

She was transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital where she stabilised, before being taken back to Chester, the court heard.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england...n=64&at_custom1=[post+type]&at_medium=custom7

 

[ex-q-zit]

Sebastian Kalinowski: Mother and partner jailed for murdering teen son

An "evil" mother and her bodybuilder boyfriend have been jailed for life for murdering her teenage son.

Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, and Andrzej Latoszewski, 38, tortured Sebastian Kalinowski at their home in Huddersfield for months before he died in August 2021.

The couple were found guilty of murder after a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Kalinowska and Latoszewski were both told they would spend a minimum of 39 years in prison for his killing.

Mrs Justice Lambert said it was impossible to watch the CCTV footage, which captured much of Sebastian's abuse in the home, without being "utterly horrified".

Her sentencing remarks were filmed for the first time in England outside London, and only the third time they have been broadcast for some criminal cases.

She said Latoszewski, a regular gym-goer, was a "bully" who sought to intimidate and frighten 15-year-old Sebastian, regarding him as "easy prey".

Video filmed on an extensive network of cameras throughout the unassuming family home showed the boy being beaten around the house, with Latoszewski only stopping to wipe away sweat or to admire his muscles.

Addressing Kalinowska the judge said she "just did not care" what was happening to her son.

The judge described how the footage captured steroid-using Latoszewski using the teenager as a "punchbag" while his mother "sat indifferently on the sofa, eating, drinking or watching TV".

She said: "It shows you, Latoszewski, using your martial arts techniques to punch and kick Sebastian repeatedly about the torso and head, using Sebastian's body in the same way you used the punchbag in your garden.

"Kalinowska, you were almost always present when the abuse was inflicted."

When he was not being beaten, Sebastian would sit in his pristine bedroom as a punishment while the loved-up couple would go on walks together - watching the cameras on their mobile phone to make sure the boy did not leave his room.

During the six-week trial, the court heard how Sebastian arrived in the UK from Poland in October 2020 to live with his mother and her partner in West Yorkshire.

However, the arrangement quickly turned sour, with one family friend telling jurors they believed the couple came to view him as a "hindrance".

'The greatest evil'

Over the following months Sebastian was repeatedly beaten by the couple and subjected to cruel and humiliating punishments if they thought he misbehaved.

Sebastian's father Jacek Kalinowski watched proceedings by video link from a courtroom in Poland.

In a victim impact statement read to the court in Leeds, he said the boy's mother was "the greatest evil that walks this Earth".

He said: "You turned every day of Sebastian's life into a nightmare.

"Why did you hate him to that degree when you allowed that psychopath to treat Sebastian like that, and then you readily participated in the whole thing?

"You inflicted so much pain and humiliation on him. You made my son a punchbag for yourself, you committed a terrifying act and you were merciless."

Sentencing remarks filmed in court

Thousands of people watched Mrs Justice Lambert sentence the pair to life in prison.

In a first for England outside London, her remarks were broadcast as part of an agreement with the Ministry of Justice and media partners, like the BBC.

Only a handful of cases have been selected for broadcast with any filming having to be agreed in advance.

While the public gallery in Court 8 at Leeds Crown Court only seats about 25 people, many more were able to watch the stream on the BBC website.

The judge said Latoszewski had installed the cameras so he could make sure that Sebastian was "performing his punishment exercises" when he wasn't there.

In total, 4,000 hours of footage was seized by police from a damaged hard drive, that the prosecution argued was hidden by Latoszewski as Sebastian lay dying on the bedroom floor.

Instead of calling for an ambulance, Jason Pitter KC said the stepfather worked to cover up the months of abuse instead of helping.

The court heard how Sebastian's death, on 13 August, was not as a result of any one injury but from an infection which set in around his broken ribs and developed into "overwhelming sepsis and collapse".

Medical examinations revealed the teen, who was small for his age, had suffered 28 fractures to his ribs over a period of time.

There was a large blood clot in his liver, his heart muscle was damaged and there were large scabs across his back and buttocks, with wounds the judge said were "so deep that the fat had been stripped down to the muscle".

Det Ch Insp Tony Nicholson, who led the investigation into Sebastian's murder, said the case had been the most harrowing of his 29-year police career.

"Sebastian was a child who could not have been more isolated and appears to have suffered the most appalling abuse in silence, and even come to see it as normal," he said.

"Latoszewski and Kalinowska abused this boy in a manner which was wicked and evil, and we may never know why they chose to act in this inhuman way."

BBC

 

[BunnyRabbit]

The world is full of gross injustices that make you lose faith in humanity.

 

[IMMY69]

Page 3 of the Imran Shot in The Leg thread.
Although you'd be hard pressed to call those cretins human.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

never had much faith in humanity in the first place.

there are abusive people everywhere, who should have no right to be parents, but end up with kids either cos they cant keep their johnsons in check, or to meet societal expectations.

Bingo. Thank you for addressing the crux of the issue. It might sound like an extremely illiberal view but going forward, world governments should restrict reproductive rights to only those who are mentally and financially competent.

Would solve a lot of issues at once. Otherwise, we will end up with abused kids who themselves become perpetrators of abuse , all the while consuming precious resources

 

[Robert]

Bingo. Thank you for addressing the crux of the issue. It might sound like an extremely illiberal view but going forward, world governments should restrict reproductive rights to only those who are mentally and financially competent.

Would solve a lot of issues at once. Otherwise, we will end up with abused kids who themselves become perpetrators of abuse , all the while consuming precious resources

You’re making the assumption that people who are mentally and financially competent won’t abuse their kids. Some will. Abusers exist in all socioeconomic classes and all races and creeds.

It’s not illiberal to want some welfare mum to not have five kids by three different men and let the state take care of them all. With liberal rights come individual responsibility.

On the other hand, climate change is now under way and our descendants will see a reduced population - either by their own hand, or by Famine and War.

 

[Saj]

Heartbreaking this.

Total incompetence:

A toddler died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in his home, a coroner has concluded.

Awaab Ishak's father repeatedly raised the issue with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) but no action was taken.

Coroner Joanne Kearsley said RBH were not "proactive" and asked: "How in the UK in 2020 does a two-year-old child die as a result of exposure to mould?"

Awaab's family said RBH needed to "stop being racist" and provide fair treatment to people moving to the UK.

In a statement, they said their lives "changed forever" when Awaab died in December 2020, and they had been "left feeling absolutely worthless at the hands of RBH".

"We cannot tell you how many health professionals we've cried in front of and RBH staff we have pleaded to, expressing concern for the conditions ourselves and Awaab have been living in," they said.

"We shouted out as loudly as we could, but despite making all of those efforts, every night we would be coming back to the same problem."

They also called on RBH to "stop providing unfair treatment" to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

They said they had "no doubt at all that we were treated this way because we are not from this country and less aware of how the systems in the UK work".

RBH chief executive Gareth Swarbrick responded by saying his organisation would continue to "learn hard lessons".

He said the business would always support the "diverse communities of Rochdale".

Rochdale Coroner's Court heard Awaab's father Faisal Abdullah - who came from Sudan to live in the UK in 2016 and was joined by his wife Aisha Amin a year later - reported mould developing in the one-bedroom flat to RBH in 2017 and was told to paint over it.

The following year, Awaab was born prematurely at 31 weeks, but there had been no concerns from any health professionals about his development.

In June 2020, Mr Abdullah instructed solicitors and initiated a claim over the recurring mould issue, but policy meant any repairs would not be done until an agreement had been reached.

The court heard Awaab was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre on 19 December that year suffering shortness of breath and transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital before being discharged.

He deteriorated the next day and his parents were advised by the community children's nursing team to take him back to the urgent care centre.

He then went into respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest while being transferred to hospital and died after arriving there.

Delivering a narrative conclusion, the Manchester North senior coroner said ventilation in the one-bedroom flat was not effective.

"This was a direct contributing factor in the development of the mould," Ms Kearsley said.

"It is acknowledged by RBH and I find as a matter of fact that a more proactive response should have been taken to treat the mould which was present."

She added that Mr Abdullah had "some understanding and ability to converse in English", but his wife had "very little", a fact that was important as it impacted "the ability of professionals to engage in discussions with the family and the ability of the family to explain any worries or concerns they had and to understand advice".

The inquest also heard Awaab had consistently suffered from cold and respiratory issues throughout his life.

In September 2020, a community midwife had completed a special circumstances form to children's services highlighting concerns about the mould and potential impact on his health.

But Ms Kearsley said that document was not shared with the GP or health visitor and there was no evidence to show it was received by children's services or to show that "any action was taken".

BBC

 

[James]

Heartbreaking this.

Total incompetence:

A toddler died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in his home, a coroner has concluded.

Awaab Ishak's father repeatedly raised the issue with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) but no action was taken.

Coroner Joanne Kearsley said RBH were not "proactive" and asked: "How in the UK in 2020 does a two-year-old child die as a result of exposure to mould?"

Awaab's family said RBH needed to "stop being racist" and provide fair treatment to people moving to the UK.

In a statement, they said their lives "changed forever" when Awaab died in December 2020, and they had been "left feeling absolutely worthless at the hands of RBH".

"We cannot tell you how many health professionals we've cried in front of and RBH staff we have pleaded to, expressing concern for the conditions ourselves and Awaab have been living in," they said.

"We shouted out as loudly as we could, but despite making all of those efforts, every night we would be coming back to the same problem."

They also called on RBH to "stop providing unfair treatment" to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

They said they had "no doubt at all that we were treated this way because we are not from this country and less aware of how the systems in the UK work".

RBH chief executive Gareth Swarbrick responded by saying his organisation would continue to "learn hard lessons".

He said the business would always support the "diverse communities of Rochdale".

Rochdale Coroner's Court heard Awaab's father Faisal Abdullah - who came from Sudan to live in the UK in 2016 and was joined by his wife Aisha Amin a year later - reported mould developing in the one-bedroom flat to RBH in 2017 and was told to paint over it.

The following year, Awaab was born prematurely at 31 weeks, but there had been no concerns from any health professionals about his development.

In June 2020, Mr Abdullah instructed solicitors and initiated a claim over the recurring mould issue, but policy meant any repairs would not be done until an agreement had been reached.

The court heard Awaab was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre on 19 December that year suffering shortness of breath and transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital before being discharged.

He deteriorated the next day and his parents were advised by the community children's nursing team to take him back to the urgent care centre.

He then went into respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest while being transferred to hospital and died after arriving there.

Delivering a narrative conclusion, the Manchester North senior coroner said ventilation in the one-bedroom flat was not effective.

"This was a direct contributing factor in the development of the mould," Ms Kearsley said.

"It is acknowledged by RBH and I find as a matter of fact that a more proactive response should have been taken to treat the mould which was present."

She added that Mr Abdullah had "some understanding and ability to converse in English", but his wife had "very little", a fact that was important as it impacted "the ability of professionals to engage in discussions with the family and the ability of the family to explain any worries or concerns they had and to understand advice".

The inquest also heard Awaab had consistently suffered from cold and respiratory issues throughout his life.

In September 2020, a community midwife had completed a special circumstances form to children's services highlighting concerns about the mould and potential impact on his health.

But Ms Kearsley said that document was not shared with the GP or health visitor and there was no evidence to show it was received by children's services or to show that "any action was taken".

BBC

<b>Awaab Ishak: Housing boss sacked after boy's mould death</b>

The boss of a housing association which rented out a mouldy flat to two-year-old Awaab Ishak's family has been sacked.

Gareth Swarbrick has been removed from his post as chief executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing with immediate effect, the board said.

Awaab died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in his home, a coroner concluded.

His father had repeatedly raised the issue but no action was taken.

A government source welcomed Mr Swarbrick's removal "for his profound failings".

"RBH and their board still have very serious questions to answer," the source said.

"Why did they give him their full backing after the coroner's report and as recently as 24 hours ago? And why have they failed to answer basic questions about the state of their housing stock?"

Earlier this week, Mr Swarbrick apologised for the organisation's response over the mould but rejected calls to quit his £185,000 job, saying he had the board's "full backing".

After an inquest ended on Tuesday, Mr Swarbrick said: "We didn't recognise the level of risk to a little boy's health from the mould in the family's home [and] we allowed a legal disrepair process, widely used in the housing sector, to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould."

Awaab's father had repeatedly raised complaints about the mould since 2017 but no action was taken.

In a statement on Saturday, the RBH board said: "Our original instincts were for Gareth to stay on to see the organisation through this difficult period and to make the necessary changes, but we all recognise that this is no longer tenable."

It said it would "continue to drive further improvements" under new leadership.

"As an organisation, we are deeply sorry for the death of Awaab and devastated that it happened in one of our homes.

"We must ensure this can never happen again. His death needs to be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health."

The inquest heard Awaab's father Faisal Abdullah - who came from Sudan to the UK in 2016 and was joined by his wife Aisha Amin a year later - reported mould in their flat to RBH in 2017 and was told to paint over it.

When their son was aged one, Mr Abdullah instructed solicitors in June 2020 and initiated a claim over the recurring mould issue, but policy meant any repairs would not be done until an agreement had been reached.

The inquest heard Awaab had consistently suffered from cold and respiratory issues. He died after being rushed to hospital with shortness of breath in December that year.

On Thursday, Mr Swarbrick, who was appointed chief executive in 2008, said RBH had "made a raft of changes" after Awaab's death.

He added the organisation would "continue to strive for greater inclusion and equality" after the boy's parents said RBH should "stop being racist".

The family said they had "no doubt at all that we were treated this way because we are not from this country and less aware of how the systems in the UK work".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-63689579

 

[ex-q-zit]

Awaab Ishak death: Rochdale housing chair to quit after damning report

The chair of a social housing landlord is to quit after an investigation found it left hundreds of tenants exposed to harmful damp for nearly two years following the death of an infant from respiratory failure in one of its mould-infested homes.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) waited nearly two years after Awaab Ishak died to check other homes on the estate, the regulator of social housing concluded on Thursday. When it did, it found hundreds of tenants living with damp and mould.

Minutes after the announcement of the “unacceptable” conduct came news that the chair of the landlord, Alison Tumilty, will quit and be replaced next year. The move follows increasing pressure from Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, and comes three weeks after Awaab’s parents called for the board to go, describing them as a “danger” to residents.

RBH’s chief executive, Gareth Swarbrick, was initially backed by the board but was sacked following a public outcry when the landlord blamed the mould on “lifestyle issues”.

New figures show 3.4m homes in England failed to meet the “decent homes standard” in 2021 and 4% of social rented dwellings – about 164,000 – were affected by damp. The problem is worse in private rented homes, where more than 10% have damp – 473,000 homes, according to the government’s English Housing Survey 2021-22 – and 23% failed to meet the decent homes standard.

When RBH did eventually check the estate after Awaab’s death, it found hundreds of tenants were living with damp and mould causing “harm”. Almost 80% of tenants in the complex where Awaab lived who had had their properties surveyed since this summer had signs of damp and mould of which RBH was not previously aware.

A coroner concluded last month that Awaab died as a result of prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s flat in Rochdale.

Fiona MacGregor, the chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, said its investigation revealed “significant failures in the way RBH manages damp and mould in its homes, resulting in harm to tenants”.

“The tragic death of Awaab Ishak should have led to action to establish wider risks, but RBH failed to respond quickly or effectively,” she said. “This is unacceptable. RBH needs to address the issues we have found and we will take further action if it fails to do so.

“Our judgment sends a clear message to social landlords that they must deal with damp and mould as the serious hazards that they are, treat tenants with respect, and take their concerns seriously.”

Gove said he would continue to withhold £1m in government funding from RBH and said he was planning to legislate “to deliver urgent action when people complain about damp and mould”.

“This isn’t just an issue in Rochdale,” he said. “It is clear from today’s English Housing Survey there are very serious issues with the quality of homes in this country.”

He said to landlords: “Get a grip of your homes and make improvements now.”

“We must honour Awaab’s memory, so I am looking at new measures – including legislation – that will go further to deliver urgent action when people complain about damp and mould, and make sure the rights of tenants are respected. There is consensus across the country that landlords must do better. Let RBH be a warning: I will use every power at my disposal to make sure people have good quality homes and are treated with dignity and respect.”

RBH repeated its apology for failing “Awaab, his family and the community we serve” and said it accepted the regulator’s judgment. A spokesperson said its new “damp and mould taskforce” had accelerated remedial work and a £1.2m programme was under way to improve ventilation on the estate where Awaab lived.

They said: “There are hard lessons to learn: process must never get in the way of people; tenant voice must always be valued; maintenance and property renewal should be prioritised; tenant safety must always be the first and foremost consideration.”

MSN

 

[MenInG]

A man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her three children has been executed in the US state of Missouri despite his claims he was in another state when the killings occurred.

Raheem Taylor, 58, was the third inmate put to death since November at the state prison in Bonne Terre and became the nation's fifth execution this year. All were killed by lethal injection.

In a final statement he said Muslims don't die but "live eternally in the hearts of our family and friends".

"Death is not your enemy, it is your destiny. Look forward to meeting it. Peace!" he wrote in the statement.

Taylor, who previously went by the first name Leonard, had long argued he was in California when Angela Rowe, her 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, six-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley, and five-year-old son Tyrese Conley were killed in 2004.

His supporters included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), nearly three dozen civil rights and religious groups and the Midwest Innocence Project.

But his claims were rejected time and time again.

Last week, St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, a Democrat, declined Taylor's request for a hearing before a judge, stating the "facts are not there to support a credible case of innocence".

Speaking after the execution, Ms Rowe's sister Gerauan said moving on remains difficult more than 18 years after she lost her sister, nieces and nephew.

"I'm at a point in my life right now - I'm OK but I'm not," she said. "But I know justice was served. It's kind of hard trying to move forward, but I think I can do it."

All four shot within a few days of their bodies being found

Taylor and Ms Rowe lived with the children at a home in St Louis.

He boarded a flight to California on 26 November, 2004. Police were sent to the home in Jennings on 3 December after worried relatives said they had not heard from Ms Rowe.

Officers found the bodies of Ms Rowe and her children - all four had been shot.

The initial finding by a medical examiner was that the killings had likely happened within a few days of the discovery of the bodies - when Taylor was still in California.

Relatives and neighbours saw Rowe alive after Taylor left St Louis, attorney claimed

But at Taylor's trial Medical Examiner Phillip Burch said the killings could have happened two or three weeks before the bodies were discovered.

Taylor's attorney, Kent Gipson, said several people including relatives of Ms Rowe and a neighbour saw her alive in the days after Taylor left St Louis.

Taylor's daughter in California, Deja Taylor, claimed in a court filing she and her father called Ms Rowe and one of the children during his visit. The court filing said Ms Taylor's mother and sister corroborated her story.

Claim of innocence 'nonsense' and alibis 'completely made up'

Bob McCulloch, who was St Louis County's elected prosecutor at the time of the killings, told the Associated Press Taylor's claim of innocence was "nonsense" and the alibis provided by his daughter and her relatives were "completely made up."

He said evidence suggested Ms Rowe and her children were killed on the night of 22 or 23 November, when Taylor was still in St Louis.

Mr McCulloch said DNA from Ms Rowe's blood was found on Taylor's glasses when he was arrested and a relative taking him to the airport saw him throw a gun into the sewer, while Taylor's brother told police he had admitted to the crime.

The authorities believe Taylor shot Ms Rowe during a violent argument and then killed her children because they were witnesses.

 

[MenInG]

A couple have been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as hundreds of police search for their newborn baby.

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were arrested in Brighton on Monday on suspicion of child neglect after being spotted by a member of the public at about 9.30pm.

Police said more than 200 officers were looking for the child and have been searching an allotment and woodland in the city.

A helicopter, sniffer dogs and drones are also involved as the area widens to include the South Downs towards Newhaven - where the couple were previously spotted.

It's believed they had been living rough in a tent and moving frequently to avoid being found.

SKY

 

[MenInG]

A couple have been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as hundreds of police search for their newborn baby.

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were arrested in Brighton on Monday on suspicion of child neglect after being spotted by a member of the public at about 9.30pm.

Police said more than 200 officers were looking for the child and have been searching an allotment and woodland in the city.

A helicopter, sniffer dogs and drones are also involved as the area widens to include the South Downs towards Newhaven - where the couple were previously spotted.

It's believed they had been living rough in a tent and moving frequently to avoid being found.

SKY

Police have found the remains of a baby

"It is my very sad duty to update this afternoon that police officers searching a wooded area close to where Constance [Marten] and Mark Gordon were arrested discovered the remains of a baby," says Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford.

A post-mortem examination will be held in due course, a crime scene is in place and work is expected to continue "for some time", he adds.

"I recognise the impact this news will have on many people who have been following this story closely," says the detective superintendent, adding police will do everything they can to establish what has happened.

"I would first and foremost like to extend my heartfelt condolences on behalf of Sussex police to the wider family of the baby at this time," says Chief Superintendent James Collis.

"I understand that the conclusion of this search will be heartbreaking for the local community and the wider public."

He thanks the public for volunteering information and assistance with searches.

"We continue to support the Metropolitan Police as they conduct their investigation and also the wider community as we all come to terms with this tragedy," he says.

Brighton Magistrates court has extended custody of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon for questioning for a further 36 hours, police say.

SKY

 

[Saj]

Terribly sad this:

A couple have been charged with gross negligence manslaughter after the remains of a baby were found in Brighton.

Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, who had been missing since 5 January, were arrested in the city on Monday after being spotted by a member of the public in a shop.

They were found without their newborn child.

A major search with more than 200 police officers was carried out for the infant in allotments and woodland in and around Brighton.

Police said on Wednesday that the remains of a baby had been found in a wooded part of the Hollingbury area.

Marten, who comes from a wealthy family, and her boyfriend were charged with gross negligence manslaughter on Thursday evening, said the Metropolitan Police.

They were also charged with concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.

The pair will appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Police had been looking for Marten and Gordon for nearly two months, since their car caught fire on the motorway near Bolton.

There were sightings of them in various locations around the UK - most recently in East Sussex.

Earlier on Thursday, police said they did not yet know the gender of the baby and that it had been dead for several weeks.

The baby has not yet been formally identified and a post-mortem is due to be carried out on Friday to discover how it died.

People in Brighton have been leaving flowers, messages and cuddly toys on a road close to where the child was found.

The Bishop of Lewes also led a candlelight vigil at a nearby church on Thursday night.

SKY

 

[Firebat]

Horrible story this one.

 

[Robert]

That woman’s father was an aristocrat.

The man had served 20 years for rape and battery committed in the US while still a minor.

Seems like some coercive control was going on.

https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/urgent-search-baby-couple-who-26346852.amp

 

[MenInG]

Police have arrested a 12-year-old boy on suspicion of murder after a woman died following a report of a collision with a car.

The woman, who was in her 60s and has not been identified, was found in the Greenhill area of Sheffield around 7.10pm on Wednesday.

Emergency services were called but she died at the scene.

The boy was also arrested on suspicion of possessing a bladed article.

Detective Chief Inspector Andrea Bowell, from South Yorkshire Police, said: "This will be a deeply distressing time for the families of those involved in this incident, and I would ask their privacy is respected as they seek to understand what has happened."

SKY

 

[Stewie]

The current state of Pakistan makes you lose all faith in everything. lol

We are such a poor nation in terms of morality and justice.

 

[Saj]

This makes you lose faith in humanity:

Global criticism and concern mounted Wednesday after Israeli police attacked Palestinians inside Islam's third-holiest site, sparking a military exchange of rockets and air strikes, with fears of further escalation.

Two more rockets were fired late Wednesday from the Israel-blockaded Gaza Strip towards Israel, the army and witnesses said, and fresh altercations broke out at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem during the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Armed police in riot gear stormed the prayer hall of Al-Aqsa mosque before dawn Wednesday, aiming to dislodge "law-breaking youths and masked agitators" they said had barricaded themselves inside. A barrage of rocks and fireworks met the officers, police video showed, and more than 350 people were arrested.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

A man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her three children has been executed in the US state of Missouri despite his claims he was in another state when the killings occurred.

Raheem Taylor, 58, was the third inmate put to death since November at the state prison in Bonne Terre and became the nation's fifth execution this year. All were killed by lethal injection.

In a final statement he said Muslims don't die but "live eternally in the hearts of our family and friends".

"Death is not your enemy, it is your destiny. Look forward to meeting it. Peace!" he wrote in the statement.

Taylor, who previously went by the first name Leonard, had long argued he was in California when Angela Rowe, her 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, six-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley, and five-year-old son Tyrese Conley were killed in 2004.

His supporters included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), nearly three dozen civil rights and religious groups and the Midwest Innocence Project.

But his claims were rejected time and time again.

Last week, St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, a Democrat, declined Taylor's request for a hearing before a judge, stating the "facts are not there to support a credible case of innocence".

Speaking after the execution, Ms Rowe's sister Gerauan said moving on remains difficult more than 18 years after she lost her sister, nieces and nephew.

"I'm at a point in my life right now - I'm OK but I'm not," she said. "But I know justice was served. It's kind of hard trying to move forward, but I think I can do it."

All four shot within a few days of their bodies being found

Taylor and Ms Rowe lived with the children at a home in St Louis.

He boarded a flight to California on 26 November, 2004. Police were sent to the home in Jennings on 3 December after worried relatives said they had not heard from Ms Rowe.

Officers found the bodies of Ms Rowe and her children - all four had been shot.

The initial finding by a medical examiner was that the killings had likely happened within a few days of the discovery of the bodies - when Taylor was still in California.

Relatives and neighbours saw Rowe alive after Taylor left St Louis, attorney claimed

But at Taylor's trial Medical Examiner Phillip Burch said the killings could have happened two or three weeks before the bodies were discovered.

Taylor's attorney, Kent Gipson, said several people including relatives of Ms Rowe and a neighbour saw her alive in the days after Taylor left St Louis.

Taylor's daughter in California, Deja Taylor, claimed in a court filing she and her father called Ms Rowe and one of the children during his visit. The court filing said Ms Taylor's mother and sister corroborated her story.

Claim of innocence 'nonsense' and alibis 'completely made up'

Bob McCulloch, who was St Louis County's elected prosecutor at the time of the killings, told the Associated Press Taylor's claim of innocence was "nonsense" and the alibis provided by his daughter and her relatives were "completely made up."

He said evidence suggested Ms Rowe and her children were killed on the night of 22 or 23 November, when Taylor was still in St Louis.

Mr McCulloch said DNA from Ms Rowe's blood was found on Taylor's glasses when he was arrested and a relative taking him to the airport saw him throw a gun into the sewer, while Taylor's brother told police he had admitted to the crime.

The authorities believe Taylor shot Ms Rowe during a violent argument and then killed her children because they were witnesses.

USA are able to execute their criminals but in Pakistan it becomes a matter of human rights violation if death penalty is given.

Killers should be killed rather than being put in prison only.

 

[Stewie]

USA are able to execute their criminals but in Pakistan it becomes a matter of human rights violation if death penalty is given.

Killers should be killed rather than being put in prison only.

who said its human rights violation for a death sentence in pakistan?

 

[MenInG]

Some faith in humanity restored by the law it seems but too little too late

==

A mother and her "monster" partner have been jailed over the death of a two-year-old girl.

Kyle Bevan, 31, was given a life sentence for murdering Lola James, the daughter of his partner, in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, with a minimum term of 28 years.

Lola's mother, Sinead James, was sentenced to six years for causing or allowing her death - but will serve half before she's eligible for release.

https://news.sky.com/story/lola-jam...two-year-olds-death-in-pembrokeshire-12865022

 

[MenInG]

The dad of Sabina Nessa's killer is pleading with his son to tell him why he brutally murdered her. The teacher was bludgeoned to death last September while walking in the dark to meet a friend. Since going to jail, Koci Selamaj has not left his cell and refuses see his dad.

One year on from Sabina's death, Koci's father, Bashkim, has revealed that he has attempted to travel to HMP Belmarsh in South East London to see his son and plead with him to reveal why he killed her. On both visits, Bashkim said his son was too ashamed to see him. Speaking from his home in Albania, Bashkim, 71, said to The Mirror: “Koci has a strong character. Now he is realising what he has done and has shame on himself."

Bashkim continued: "That shame stops him from meeting me or his sister who did try meeting him as well. He does not want to tell me why he murdered that girl. I’d like to know from him why he did it.”

Koci pleaded guilty to killing Sabrina in Kidbrooke, Greenwich, last September and was jailed for life in April, with a minimum sentence of 36 years.

At the time, the Old Bailey court heard that he had booked a hotel room at the Grand Hotel in East Sussex on the night of Sabina's murder and hoped to have sex with his estranged wife, who was a chambermaid there.

Following a payment dispute, Koci headed for the capital and appeared to pick primary school teacher Sabina at random as she walked through Cator Park to meet her friend for a drink. Koci then hit her on the head 34 times before strangling her.

MSN

Sabina Nessa's sick murderer is one of 11 Albanian killers that have been earmarked for removal from the UK, using the Government's new fast-track powers. Discussions between Rishi Sunak and the Albanian leader Edi Rama secured a deal to ensure numerous criminals that are jailed in the UK can complete their terms in their home country.

Among the first to be shipped out will be 11 Albanian murderers, including Koci Selamaj who killed teacher Sabina Nessa in Greenwich, south east London in September 2021.

Sabina Nessa was found dead in Cator Park, Kidbrooke. She had left home a day earlier around 8.30pm, walking to meet a friend at a nearby bar less than 10 minutes away.

CCTV footage showed the moment Albanian garage worker Selamaj, 36, struck Ms Nessa over the head 34 times with a two foot-long metal traffic triangle, before carrying her away unconscious.

He then undressed and strangled her before covering her body in grass.

Albanian is the most common foreign nationality in British prisons, with more than 1,330 jailed here.

Ministers are now trying to reduce the cost of imprisoning them, which has sky-rocketed to around £60million a year.

The deal is due to be confirmed in weeks, following a visit by the UK Ministry of Justice and Prison Service to Albania in March.

The mission will enable the process of removing the cons from the country to be sped up, in exchange for modernising jails and giving Albanian authorities a fleet of prison vehicles.

An Albanian prison source told the Sun: "The UK team visited all our prisons in Peqin, Lezhe, Fushe Kruje and Drenova in the city of Korca.

"They had a clear order from their minister in the UK to help us without delay. They will help us modernise prison management and improve security and logistics."

In the deal the UK has donated 12 prison vehicles.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...p&cvid=cda3ff9e8695498da72b59f47da659fb&ei=11

 

[Saj]

An investigation has been launched into claims climbers left a porter to die near the peak of the world's most treacherous mountain, a mountaineer has said.

Dozens of climbers are alleged to have walked past the Pakistani helper in their eagerness to reach the summit of K2 after he was gravely injured in a fall.

The accusations surrounding the events on 27 July on the world's second-highest peak overshadowed a record-breaking climb by Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila and her Nepalese guide Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa. They became the fastest climbers to scale the world's 14 highest mountains, which took 92 days.

She has rejected any responsibility for the death of the porter, Mohammed Hassan, a 27-year-old father of three who slipped and fell off a narrow trail in a particularly dangerous area of the mountain known as the bottleneck.

She was defending herself against allegations made by two other climbers who were on K2 that day, Austrian Wilhelm Steindl and German Philip Flaemig, who had aborted their climb because of adverse weather conditions but said they reconstructed events later by reviewing drone footage.

The footage appeared to show dozens of climbers passing a gravely injured Mr Hassan instead of coming to his rescue.

Mr Steindl alleged the porter could have been saved if the other climbers, including Ms Harila and her team, had given up their attempt to reach the summit.

"There is a double standard here. If I or any other Westerner had been lying there, everything would have been done to save them," Mr Steindl told the Associated Press. "Everyone would have had to turn back to bring the injured person back down to the valley."

However, speaking to Sky News on Friday Ms Harila said her team "tried for hours to save" Mr Hassan - and one team member even took off his oxygen mask and gave it to him because he did not have his own.

She said Mr Hassan had been dangling from a rope upside down after his fall at the bottleneck, which she described as "probably the most dangerous part of K2".

She said after around an hour her team were able to bring Mr Hassan back onto the trail.

The group then decided to split, she said, with her and Lama continuing to the top of the mountain because her forward fixing team had run into their own difficulties.

 

[YorkerKing]

Lucy Letby: More families told their children may be victims of killer nurse

Police are looking into the nurse's entire career, including training placements at Liverpool Women's Hospital.

More families have been told their children may be victims of killer nurse Lucy Letby as the police investigation widens into her entire career.

Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven babies and of seven counts of attempted murder.

She was also found not guilty of two attempted murder charges, while the jury could not reach verdicts on six further counts of attempted murder.

Cheshire police began looking into the deaths of babies at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital back in May 2017, in what became known as Operation Hummingbird.

Officers say they have examined more than half a million medical and digital records during the probe, which saw Letby charged in November 2020.

The 33-year-old stood trial accused of murdering seven babies and trying to murder 10 others at the hospital between June 2015 and July 2016. She always denied the charges.

Police say they have been supporting the victims' families, many of whom attended Manchester Crown Court in person during the nine-month trial.

Senior officers, as well as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), gave an update outside court following the announcement of the verdicts.

"Time and again she harmed babies in an environment that should have been safe for them," Pascale Jones, from the CPS, said.

She said Letby's actions were a "complete betrayal of the trust placed in her" and that Letby showed the families of her victims "fake compassion".

Exclusive: Mother fears Letby attacked her baby too

A police family liaison officer said justice had been done but the result was "bittersweet" as some families had not got the outcome they deserved.

Letby started working in the hospital's neonatal unit just before her 22nd birthday - around four years before the start of the allegations in the trial - and colleagues raised suspicions more than a year before bosses contacted the police.

Former Countess of Chester nurse Lynsey Artell said she fears that Letby attacked her son, Asa, who was on the hospital's neonatal ward after being born two months premature.

The boy's treatment by Letby was not the subject of any charge and Ms Artell is calling for the police to reinvestigate her claims and those of other parents.

Following the verdicts, Cheshire police confirmed they are now investigating whether Letby could have attacked other children in her care before June 2015.

Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, the senior investigating officer in the case, said: "We're obviously committed to looking at the entire time that Lucy has been employed as a nurse, whether it's a unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital (or) the Liverpool Women's Hospital.

"That's to make sure that we, at the end of Operation Hummingbird, can say with a degree of confidence that we've investigated every baby."

He could not say how many other active cases there are but added: "There are cases where we've told parents."

The probe will look into the other years Letby worked at the Countess of Chester, as well as time she spent on training placements at Liverpool Women's Hospital.

Sky News has contacted both hospitals for comment.

DCI Nicola Evans, the deputy senior investigating officer on the case, said: "I don't think there's anybody who has worked on this investigation who will come out of the other side the same person they were.

"It has been heartbreaking."

 

[WicketLord]

Lucy Letby: Families of victims call for greater powers in inquiry.

Families of some of the babies attacked by Lucy Letby have said the inquiry into the case should have powers to compel witnesses to come forward.

An independent inquiry was ordered on Friday after the nurse's conviction for the crimes at a hospital in Chester.

But lawyers for two of the families said this inquiry does not go far enough and needs to be statutory to have "real teeth".

The government said the inquiry aimed to ensure lessons were learned.

Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015-16, following a 10-month trial.

She was found not guilty on two attempted murders and the jury could not reach verdicts on six others. She will be sentenced on Monday.

Separately an inquiry will now look into the circumstances surrounding the events leading up to the murders and attempted murders of the babies by the neonatal nurse.

The announcement of the non-statutory inquiry has divided opinion on how effective it will be in examining the case.

Slater and Gordon, the law firm representing two of the families, said a non-statutory inquiry "is not good enough" and lessons had to be learned by the hospital, NHS and wider medical profession.

"As a non-statutory inquiry, it does not have the power to compel witnesses to provide evidence or production of documents and must rely on the goodwill of those involved to share their testimony," the firm said in a statement.

Labour's City of Chester MP Samantha Dixon told the BBC a judge should lead the inquiry, also highlighting how that as it stood the inquiry would rely on "the goodwill of witnesses to attend".

In contrast Conservative MP, Dr Caroline Johnson, said she agreed with the current approach.

Dr Johnson, a consultant paediatrician and MP who sits on the health select committee, said lessons needed to be learned quickly and the government could decide to order a statutory inquiry at a later date if extra powers were needed.

"I appreciate that people can't be compelled in quite the same way, I would hope that people would still nevertheless come forward," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Dr Bill Kirkup, who has led non-statutory reviews for other maternity units, said non-compliance had not been a problem in his experience and people were "ready and willing to cooperate".

The patient safety investigator told the BBC he had identified common features between the Letby case and the reviews he had conducted - including managers accused of "protecting reputations" above listening to staff concerns.

After the verdict, Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said it was "extremely sorry" the crimes happened in its hospital and it had since made "significant changes" to their services.

Former chief executive of the hospital Tony Chambers and former medical director Ian Harvey, who were in charge at the time Letby was working at the hospital, have said they will co-operate fully with the inquiry.

BBC

 

[WicketLord]

Serial killer nurse Lucy Letby given whole-life sentence.

Nurse Lucy Letby, who was unmasked as the UK's most prolific child serial killer in modern times, has been given a whole-life sentence.

The 33-year-old was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six other infants at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Letby deliberately injected babies with air, force fed others milk and poisoned two of the infants with insulin.

She refused to appear in the dock for her sentencing hearing.

Letby will spend the rest of her life behind bars, becoming only the fourth woman in UK history to receive such a sentence.

Whole-life orders are the most severe punishment available and are reserved for those who commit the most heinous crimes.

Mr Justice Goss said the "cruelty and calculation" of Letby's actions were "truly horrific".

"You acted in a way that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies and in gross breach of the trust that all citizens place in those who work in the medical and caring professions," he said.

He added handover sheets relating to all but the first four babies were found when police searched Letby's home, which he was satisfied she kept as "morbid records".

"There was a malevolence bordering on sadism in your actions," he said.

"During the course of this trial you have coldly denied any responsibility for your wrongdoing.

"You have no remorse. There are no mitigating factors."

Earlier, the mother of a baby boy killed by nurse Letby said she was "horrified that someone so evil exists" as the families' victim impact statements were read out in court.

Addressing an empty dock, the mother of Baby C, who became emotional, told the court that knowing her son's murderer was watching over them was like "something out of a horror story".

The mother of Baby D, who was holding a toy rabbit as she read her statement, said Letby's "wicked sense of entitlement and abuse of her role as a trusted nurse" was a "scandal".

The parents of Baby G, who was the most premature of all the babies, weighing just 535g (1lb 3oz), told the court: "God saved her" but then "the devil found her".

BBC

 

[Firebat]

Imagine being the doctor that reported clear suspicions about this vile nurse, and then was forced to apologise to her.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Acts of kindness, empathy, and unity serve as constant reminders that the flame of faith in humanity can endure, even in the midst of challenges.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Hope she and all monsters like her rot in hell.

 

[WicketLord]

Nurse Lucy Letby is to appeal against all her convictions for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another six.

Her legal team has lodged an application for permission to appeal according to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division.

Among her crimes, Letby injected babies with air and poisoned two with insulin at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The 33-year-old was sentenced to a whole-life term in August.

Summing up at the end of her trial, judge Mr Justice Goss told the jury it was a case in which the prosecution "substantially, but not wholly" relied on circumstantial evidence.

News of her planned appeal comes after it was revealed a further court hearing will take place on 25 September where the Crown Prosecution Service will decide whether to pursue a retrial for six outstanding counts of attempted murder.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Serial killer Lucy Letby will face a retrial on an outstanding charge of attempting to murder a baby girl at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Letby, 33, was sentenced to a whole life order after jurors convicted her last month of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others in the hospital neonatal unit, in 2015 and 2016.

However, the jury had been unable to reach verdicts on six counts of attempted murder in relation to five children.

Source: BBC

 

[Danyal A]

The world is losing its humanity, UNRWA chief says

The Middle East is on the "edge of an abyss" as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas, UN agency chief Philippe Lazzarini has told the BBC.

The commissioner-general of UN relief agency UNRWA said violence could spill over across the region.

And he warned about the dire situation for civilians inside Gaza, calling again for humanitarian aid corridors into the territory.

Mr Lazzarini said he fears "the world is now losing its humanity".

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Mr Lazzarini reiterated calls for humanitarian aid corridors, saying help "needs to be uninterrupted... predictable [and] meaningful" to help the people of Gaza.

Speaking in Jerusalem, the head of UNRWA condemned Hamas's attack on Israel, calling it a "horrific and barbaric massacre" that had created a "national trauma, a collective trauma in Israel".

"But this event still does not justify that the war is conducted without any restraint," he said. "And I do not believe that killing even more civilians is in the interest of the future security and peace here in the region."

Asked if Israelis were respecting international humanitarian law, Mr Lazzarini said: "Listen, we are now in a situation where there is a total siege being imposed in the Gaza Strip.

"We are in a situation where more than a million people have been asked to be displaced. So this amounts to collective punishment, and collective punishment is a violation of international humanitarian law."

He added: "We call to the Israelis and to anyone relevant in this conflict to respect international humanitarian law. There is no exception for anyone."
Speaking about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Mr Lazzarini said 2.2 million Palestinians, half of whom have been displaced, are "basically lacking everything".

"There is no water. You have four toilets for 4,000 people. They are living on the floor," he said. "We are on the brink."

"If there is no water anymore in the Gaza Strip, things will accelerate. And the disaster which is already unfolding under our eyes, will become even worse," Mr Lazzarini said.
The UN has previously warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" unless aid can get into Gaza.

Mr Lazzarini said that before Hamas's attack on 7 October, around 500 trucks a day would carry aid, fuel and other goods into the Strip.

Now, he said, it is unclear how much aid they need to send or what they will even be allowed to take in - but estimated the agency would need "at least 100 trucks a day" for Gazans.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that his country would "not thwart" supplies going from Egypt to the civilian population in southern Gaza.

However, no aid has yet has crossed into the territory via the Rafah crossing from Egypt.

World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Thursday: "Our trucks are loaded and ready to go." He said supplies would be delivered as soon as the Rafah crossing opened - "hopefully tomorrow", he added.

Mr Lazzarini ended by saying that Palestinians are now feeling "a deep sense and feeling of abandonment from the international community" amid the ongoing violence.

"They feel completely empty. They all have families member who have been killed on a daily basis. They hear about the relatives. And at the same time, they have to care of their own survival."

"But the feeling of abandonment should not be underestimated."

 

[MenInG]

Derek Rosa is accused of attacking 39-year-old Irina Garcia while she slept in their home in Hialeah, Florida.

The teenager has been charged with first-degree murder, which means his case will be heard in the adult criminal court system, NBC Miami said.

Hialeah police said officers responded after getting a call from Rosa in which he allegedly said he murdered his mother, at around 11.30pm local time on 12 October.

SKY

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Thai groom shoots dead bride and three others at own wedding

A groom in Thailand shot four people dead at his own wedding - including the bride - before turning the gun on himself.

Former soldier and para-athlete Chaturong Suksuk, 29, killed his wife Kanchana Pachunthuek, 44, hours after they were married.

He abruptly left the wedding party late on Saturday and returned with a gun, according to reports by local media.

He shot dead the bride's mother and younger sister, along with a wedding guest. Another guest was seriously injured, according to the Bangkok Post.

Guests noticed the groom did not look happy at the party, local media reported.

Chaturong "was quite intoxicated at the time", police told the BBC, saying his motive remained unclear.

He had bought the gun and ammunition legally last year, they added.

It was also reported Chaturong felt insecure about the 15-year age gap between him and his wife, but police told the BBC this was still speculation.


SKY

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Teenagers jailed for ‘exceptionally brutal’ murder of Brianna Ghey

The teenage pair who murdered Brianna Ghey have been sentenced to life in prison for an “exceptionally brutal” killing partly motivated by her transgender identity.

Scarlett Jenkinson, who was described by the judge as the “driving force” behind the murder, was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years for what the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said was “one of the most disturbing cases” their lawyers had ever dealt with.

Eddie Ratcliffe, a quiet and studious former champion kickboxer, was given 20 years for killing Brianna, an “out and proud” transgender girl who hoped to become a beauty therapist.

The pair, both 16, were named for the first time before the sentencing after the judge lifted reporting restrictions.

Sentencing, Mrs Justice Yip said: “You both took part in a brutal and planned murder which was sadistic in nature and where a secondary motive was hostility towards Brianna because of her transgender identity.”

She said Jenkinson was motivated by a “deep desire to kill”, and pronounced her concern on hearing that the teenager had “expressed the desire to kill again” after her conviction. She had written a new “kill list” since her detention, which included the names of some of her carers, the court heard.

Teenagers jailed for ‘exceptionally brutal’ murder of Brianna Ghey

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were partly motivated by 16-year-old victim’s transgender identity, judge says

www.theguardian.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

12-year-old boy ends life after mother refuses to give him phone

A 12-year-old boy allegedly died by suicide in Raiwind city after his mother refused to give him mobile phone, ARY News reported, citing police officials.

The deceased, identified as Ayyan, requested his mother to give him the phone, however, the mother declined and left for the neighbours’ house, Lahore police said.

Upon returning, the mother found the boy’s lifeless body hanging from the ceiling. The deceased allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself with the help of a rope tied to a bamboo placed on the wall of the house.

Meanwhile, the police initiated investigations into the matter and were collecting evidence from the scene.


ARY News

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Poisoned tea claims lives of four children

A domestic dispute turned fatal in Chak 520 GB when a man poisoned the tea following an altercation with his wife and then fled the house.

Nadia, along with her husband's daughter from a previous marriage, Iqra, 12, Saniha, 17, Madiha, 18 and Ali Hassan, 7 fell critically ill.

Nadia alerted Rescue 1122 and informed them about the altercation and poisoning. Rescue teams reached site of the incident and provided initial medical aid to all affected family members. They were then transferred to DHQ Hospital Toba Tek Singh for further treatment. However, Iqra, Saniha, Mediha, and Ali Hassan lost their lives, succumbing to the effects of the poison, while the condition of the remaining family members remains critical.

Due to the severity of their condition, Nadia and one of her daughters have been referred to Allied Hospital, Faisalabad.

Initial investigations suggest the consumption of a poisonous substance. Financial constraints and frequent disputes between the husband and wife are believed to have contributed to the tragic incident. The Toba Tek Singh Police have registered an FIR against the suspect Asghar and initiated an investigation.


Tribune