Social workers and medics missed danger signs before a toddler was stamped to death by her mother in a “brutal and sustained attack”, a serious case review has found.
Kathryn Smith, 23, was jailed for life last year after being convicted of killing her 21-month-old daughter, Ayeeshia-Jayne, in an attack that left her with injuries usually only found in car crash victims.
A serious case review, published on Tuesday, found that social workers allowed the killer’s needs to “overshadow” those of her daughter in the months before her death.
A summary of the report by Derbyshire safeguarding children board said: “An attitude of professional curiosity requiring practitioners to examine the lived experience of [Ayeeshia-Jayne] was often missing by all agencies. The needs of [Smith] overshadowed the needs of [Ayeeshia-Jayne] frequently.”
The serious case review, which identified all those involved by initials, said social workers had shown a lack of professional curiosity about Smith’s then partner, Matthew Rigby, who was jailed for causing or allowing the toddler’s death.
It found that although professional concern was escalating in the weeks before Ayeeshia-Jayne was killed, social workers were too focused on the supposedly positive relationship between Smith and her daughter.
The review concluded: “Tragically, as professional concern was once more escalating and recognised and steps were being taken to return the matter back to court, [Ayeeshia-Jayne] died before any further protective action could be taken.”
The review described how, weeks before Ayeeshia-Jayne’s death, social services decided to seek a court order to take the toddler into care following further incidents of domestic violence involving her mother.
A social worker was asked to submit papers to its legal department the following week so a court date could be fixed. However, although the papers were written they were never sent to the legal department, the review found.
Ayeeshia-Jayne was pronounced dead the following month at Queen’s hospital in Burton. The toddler had collapsed after suffering a fatal heart laceration – a type of injury normally sustained in car accidents.
She had suffered many other injuries and medical episodes in the months before she died, including a life-threatening collapse in February 2014, four months before she was killed – which the review said was presumed by hospital staff to be a febrile convulsion despite the absence of a high temperature, one of the key symptoms.
Sentencing Smith and Rigby last April, the judge, Geraldine Andrews, said the little girl’s life had been “brutally snuffed out” for no apparent reason in a “savage outburst” in her own bedroom, surrounded by her toys and playthings.
Smith was jailed for 24 years though this was later reduced by the court of appeal to 19 years owing to her youth and “immaturity”.
A trial at Birmingham Crown Court was told that Ayeeshia-Jayne was placed on a child protection plan before she was born because of concerns about possible neglect.
Smith, who had been living in her father’s converted garage while pregnant, was addicted to cannabis and had a history of aggression towards others and self-harm.
The toddler was taken into care for a period in mid-2013 but returned to her mother in October that year, subject to community supervision, after she “complied with all the expectations” of professionals.
Smith and her daughter moved to a rented flat in Burton from an address in Derbyshire in February 2014, after an eviction notice was served for damage to the property.
The serious case review’s executive summary said: “Domestic arguments between (Smith and Rigby) led to police involvement and a growing sense of unease by professionals about once again the risks to (Ayeeshia-Jayne and Smith) of domestic violence.
“This led to a multi-agency risk assessment conference being held on 30th April 2014. The following day (Ayeeshia-Jayne) died.”
The report said it would appear that the violence between Smith and her then partner was escalating in the months leading up to Ayeeshia-Jayne’s death, although Smith was downplaying it to social workers.
It added: “Professionals made much of the positive relationship observed between (Smith) and her child and this appeared to lead, at times, to a prevailing sense of optimism and a lack of professional curiosity about the current partner, violent incidents, drug use and his care history and background.”
The role of hospital staff was also scrutinised in the serious case review. It concluded that emergency department medics and paediatric staff “did not sufficiently consider whether child abuse or neglect was a possibility” when Ayeeshia-Jayne attended hospital in the final few months of her life.
In one potentially life-threatening case in February 2014, the toddler had collapsed with a temperature of 35.2C, below the average. Paramedics and hospital staff may have simply “presumed” it was a febrile convulsion and this diagnosis was “never challenged,” the review said.
On another occasion, the youngster was taken to hospital with a cut lip but was discharged when doctors accepted Smith’s explanation that the toddler had banged her mouth accidentally on the side of the bath.
Although the report’s authors said the killing could not have been predicted, they said care professionals “should have been more inquisitive” about the impact of Smith’s new partner and her other relationships on the safety and health of Ayeeshia-Jayne.
Jane Parfrement, the head of children’s services at Derbyshire County Council, said the authority accepted full responsibility for its actions and would take on the report’s findings.
She added: “The death of Ayeeshia-Jayne was an absolute tragedy and wasdevastating for everyone involved in her care. I have met with her family and the council has expressed its heartfelt sympathies to them. We have already taken action to improve the safeguarding of children in Derbyshire and will continue to do so.”