Guardian News and Media/London
Doctors, social workers, police and nursery staff collectively failed to prevent the death of a two-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his mother after months of horrific cruelty, a serious case review has found.
A “significant” number of chances were missed to intervene and stop Rebecca Shuttleworth, 25, from abusing Keanu Williams, who died days after he was seen with burns, bruises and marks.
Published in Birmingham yesterday, the independent review said the failings were familiar. Agencies had failed to communicate internally and with each other; staff had been too willing to believe a parent’s explanations; there had been a lack of professional curiosity.
Once again, the focus on the child had been lost, it said.
The review comes just two weeks after a similar one on Daniel Pelka, the four-year-old boy tortured to death by his mother and stepfather in Coventry.
That review concluded Daniel became invisible to teachers, health professionals, social workers and police.
Findings in the Keanu Williams report will lead to further calls for a change of culture within agencies responsible for the care of children to ensure their focus is always on protecting young people.
Shuttleworth was jailed for life in June and was told she will serve at least 18 years before being considered for parole. During her six-month trial at Birmingham crown court, a jury heard that 37 external marks were found on Keanu’s body after his death in January 2011.
He had bruising to his lower chest, abdomen and back and had suffered a fractured skull. A postmortem examination identified “tramline” bruising consistent with the boy having been struck with an object such as a stick or rod with some force.
A fist-sized tear was discovered in part of the child’s abdomen, which had caused substantial bleeding.
Shuttleworth’s partner, Luke Southerton, 32, was convicted of one count of child cruelty - an assault on Keanu - but cleared of murder. He was given a nine-month suspended sentence. The serious case review report on Keanu said that Shuttleworth’s chaotic lifestyle - she moved addresses frequently, was sometimes homeless and changed partners regularly - made helping the family challenging.
There was no time when Keanu had a permanent home with his own cot, belongings and toys. But the review, presented to the Birmingham safeguarding children board, concluded that it could have been predicted that Keanu was likely to suffer significant harm and should have been subject to a child protection plan on at least two occasions to address concerns that he was being physically harmed or neglected.
The review revealed that in November 2009 Keanu was the subject of a core assessment. A conference on his case concluded that he did not need a child protection plan but was a “child in need” requiring support, such as a nursery place. Keanu was taken to hospital and a GP on a number of occasions but Shuttleworth explained away his injuries as “bumps and falls due to unsteadiness”.
