Social services cleared baby killers FIVE TIMES: Workers investigating cruel couple who beat Star Hobson to death said family who reported concerns were 'malicious' - ONE week before 16-month-old was murdered
Social workers investigating the couple who killed innocent Star Hobson cleared them five times - even declaring a referral to them was 'malicious' the week before she was murdered.
The authorities fell for mother Frankie Smith, 20, and her 28-year-old girlfriend Savannah Brockhill's lies, despite a series of concerns raised by relatives.
During an unannounced social worker visit to their Keighley home on September 15 last year Star was so dazed by the abuse she had suffered she walked into a sofa.
She had bruises on her face and shins but the Bradford City Council worker believed Brockhill's explanation she'd fallen down the stairs.
In fact she was being 'choke slammed', swung by her leg and hit in the face by the twisted couple.
They referred to her as a 'brat' and forced her to stand facing the wall for long periods of time during their reign of cruelty.
In total two friends and three relatives - including Star's own father - had reported them to social services but they were still allowed to keep her.
As Brockhill was today convicted of murdering her and Smith for allowing her death, serious questions were being asked of the authorities.
Two month ago the head of the council's Children Services department Mark Douglas resigned.
Ofsted rated the service as 'inadequate' in 2018 and warned 'some children were at serious risk of harm'. In June this year it was hit with a 'direction to improve' over a 'slow pace of change'.
Lies from Frankie Smith, 20, and Savannah Brockhill, 28, were believed by the authorities
Abused Star was so dazed she walked into a sofa in view of social worker during one visit
Bradford City Council head of Children Services Mark Douglas resigned in October this year
Social services first got involved in Star's treatment in January 23, 2020, after a referral from Smith's friend and sometimes babysitter Holly Jones.
She flagged up potential domestic violence issues and the fact Star was increasingly being left in her care
Three days later police visited but there were no concerns raised. Social services tried to visit Smith on January 28 but she was not home.
Her family were spoken to and no problems were raised, so the case was closed on February 27.
Innocent Star Hobson was only 16 months old when she was killed in her Keighley home
Five friends and relatives raised official concerns overSmith and Brockhill's parenting
On May 5 social services were contacted by Star's great-grandmother Anita Smith over concerns over how the baby was being treated.
They visited but there were no bruises to either the baby or her mother.
Social services spoke to Frankie Smith and Brockhill and the latter gave them permission to do police checks on her.
After making the referral, Ms Smith said she was called a 'weirdo' and a 'freak', and she and Mr Fawcett had their access to Star restricted from then on, seeing Star only a couple more times before her death that September.
Her partner David Fawcett said the tot seemed 'depressed' after returning to her mother.
He said she quickly developed bruises on her face and body, while appearing to have 'lost that spark she had' when staying with them. He told the court: 'I'd never seen a depressed baby before in my life.'
Mr Fawcett said he had confronted Brockhill about Star's bruises and was told 'all kids get bruises'.
When he questioned how she didn't get any while living with him he said she hung up the phone so he posted comparison photos of Star with bruises and without on Facebook. Frankie Smith then blocked him after seeing them.
Jordan Hobson, Star's father, referred Smith and Brockhill to social services on June 21 after seeing pictures the couple had shared of his daughter's bruised face.
Police again visited their home and saw the markings on the baby's head.
Smith told them Star had hit her head on the handle of a coffee table.
A medical examination found two bruises on her cheek and four on the back of her leg.
Smith and Brockhill's explanation that they were from her playing with a puppy were believed.
Social services were again contacted on June 23 by Rachel Whiteley, a close friend of Smith's mother Yvonne Spendley.
She had been concerned how Smith had treated Star at a barbecue, picking her up roughly.
Ms Whiteley said at the time: 'I thought it was disgusting, giving her barbecue food, the way she handled her.'
Social services closed the case in July, it is not clear what was done.
On September 2 Frank Smith – Star's paternal great-grandfather – alerted social services to a video of Star with bruises on her face.
When they visited her, her mother was said to have been in Scotland.
The next day they went again unannounced and found her at home with Brockhill.
They noticed Star was so unsteady on her feet she walked into a sofa while they were there.
There were also bruises on her cheek and right shin but were told by Brockhill she had fallen down the stairs.
The murderer told police later what the social worker had said, adding: 'Social services came to see Star, she checked her body, her bedroom, chatted with us about Star, she said the report was malicious.'
On September 15 social services closed the case, indeed concluding the referral had been 'malicious'.
A week later Star was murdered and found with fractures to her shin, ribs and skull.
She had also suffered lacerations to a vein carrying blood between her leg and organs which leaked into her abdominal cavity.
Prosecutor Alistair MacDonald QC said the injuries had been caused by a severe and forceful blow or blows, 'either in the form of punching, stamping or kicking to the abdomen'.
Smith and Brockhill waited 15 minutes after the incident where Star was injured before calling 999.
In that period they searched online for 'How to bring a baby out of shock.'
The jury was shown video footage of Star being shouted at in her home which Mr MacDonald said showed 'there was also a degree of cruelty and psychological harm' inflicted on the youngster.
In one clip, an upset Star is seen being roughly handled by Frankie Smith and a sustained attempt made to make her stand in the corner.
Mr MacDonald said: 'It is inconceivable that any carer would wait 15 minutes to call for professional help when their 16 month-old child was showing symptoms of a medical catastrophe.
'Any innocent carer would have been on the phone within seconds, not 15 minutes.'
He said there had also been two fractures to Star's right leg 'caused by forceful twisting' which had been refractured as they healed.
He also described a fracture to the back of the skull and bruising to Star, 'much of which is considered to be non-accidental in origin'.
The prosecutor said: 'It is also the case that social services, who were aware of Star's case, were kept away from Star, as were many of her family in the last period of her life.'
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