NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
These images show the grim situations that Finley Boden was forced to live in before murdering his drug-addicted parents.
Finley suffered 130 horrific injuries before dying at the age of 10 months in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on Christmas Day 2020.
He had been placed in the care of Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden just 39 days earlier through a family court, despite society’s concerns about his drug use and squalid housing.
Photographs show mold on bottles, old cigarette butts left next to the bed, takeaways thrown away, and dirty dishes piled up in the kitchen.
One of them, a bottle of Calpol on a bedside table, surrounded by cigarette butts, ashes and empty cans of energy drinks.
Another shot in the bedroom: mold developing on the curtains, a bottle containing curds, and bowls of half-eaten food strewn across the floor.
In the bathroom we can see the bathtub full of garbage, two garbage bags full of hashish and a blood-stained onesie.
Finley “should have been one of the children” before he was killed in the midst of a crusade of abuse, according to a damning study released last week.
The boy completely abandoned the social staff who accepted Boden and Marsden’s apologies and half-heartedly tried to access him.
We even forgot to see Marsden buying drugs in front of the dirty space in Old Whittington.
A catalogue of errors highlighted in a policy brief included the lack of staff visits while a social worker involved in Finley’s care was on health leave for six weeks.
When he returned, he saw Finley because Boden and Marsden were “verbally abusive. “
Two days after Finley returned to his parents’ home, a social worker who visited his home learned that he had a blow to the head “caused by a toy. “
In the weeks leading up to his death, six visits were intended but four were attempted, according to the report.
On one of those visits, there was no reaction from the family.
In the other three cases, “problems arose that warranted further investigation, but mandatory measures were not taken. “
No stopover was made at a social event on Christmas Eve 2020, the day before Finley’s death.
And he revealed that, at a hearing in the family court, Derthroughshire County Council asked for Finley to gradually return to his parents over a period of four months, but the magistrates sided with his father, hired through the judicial adviser to relatives Cafcass, and reduced it to “six”. to 8 weeks. “
The report was presented by Steve Atkinson, president of the Derthroughshire Safeguarding Children Partnership.
It stated “significant extenuating circumstances” such as Covid lockdowns, limited access, remote control, and “parental dishonesty. “
But he added: “These are not excuses. More may have been done to ensure Finley’s safety. “
Finley’s parents were to blame for his death, but “professional interventions deserve to have it. “
Boden and Marsden were jailed for manslaughter last year.
Derby Crown Court heard Finley’s injuries included 57 damaged bones, 71 bruises and two burns to his left hand.
The sentence found the “savage and prolonged” killing to be “sadistically motivated. “
Boden, who had previously served time for violence, and Marsden were sentenced to minimum sentences of 29 and 27 years, respectively.
Carol Cammiss, chief executive of Derbyshire Children’s Services, described Finley’s death as “a tragedy for everyone who knew him and everyone who was in his care”.
“Despite the Covid restrictions imposed on our paintings at the time, we know that opportunities for more potent practice were missed and we apologise for that.
“We do not expect the effects of this review – we took immediate steps to review our systems. “
A spokesperson for Cafcass said the company, as well as Finley’s parents, believed his parents “made and supported the changes to care for him safely. “
They added: “What led to his death was the ability of Finley’s parents to lie to everyone involved.
“It’s possible that no one would have predicted it. . . There is a threat that they would deliberately hurt him, let alone kill him. »
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