Lucy McHugh

[Andromeida59]

I feel really quite upset over the death of Lucy McHugh. Knowing that she went to her mother to tell her of the abuse but was told that she (Lucy) was lying and not to "ruin a man's life".
Lucy's mother is obviously not to blame for her death. I just don't understand how a mother could ignore a child in such a way.

[QOD]

How awful ☹️

[Awwlookatmybabyspider]

No she's not to blame, but Let's be honest. She certainly didn't help, did she. How can you believe some bloke over your own daughter.
There are some very very odd people out there. Not that it excuses it, but She could be from a generation where by women were expected to stay put, and take the beatings and abuse.

[BlueSkiesLies]

IMO she is to blame for not protecting her daughter. The mother put Lucy in that situation, and didn't believe her when she said what was happening.

Hopefully there is a hell, and Stephen Nicholson and Lucy's mother can burn together for eternity.

[Awwlookatmybabyspider]

No the mother isn't from an older generation. Shes only 31 years old.
I didn't realise Lucy was only 13.
This beast had also been sleeping with her. Therefore as well as murderer he's also a child rapist.
Boil his balls off and throw the key in the ocean. That's what I say.

[Andromeida59]

The mother is only 31 so I don't believe it's a generational response. The defendant was "best mates" with the mother's partner. It makes me feel physically sick that this child was abused and had no family to protect her. Apparently, the mother's partner also messaged the alleged killer about Lucy around the time she went missing.

I hope, if the defendant is found guilty, that charges are also brought against the mother and partner for child neglect.

[IhateBoswell]

The poor girl never stood a chance, let down badly by her mother.

[Verily1]

This was a huge safeguarding failure. There will be a serious case review and hopefully lessons will be learned.

She should have been removed from her mother’s care.

[Sadie789]

The mother’s 22 year old boyfriend was the defendant’s best friend. That gives plenty of insight into the dynamic at home. Lucy would have been last on her list. Her mother let her down terribly and had the power to intervene long before things got so serious.

[PearlandRubies194]

It may me job role with young vulnerable women, and also having fled DA, that heightens my awareness ... but I can’t help feel anger at her for letting this man move in to their home. And before anyone starts, no - not all lodgers are dangerous. I’m not saying that.

But she didn’t put her daughter first and if she had, things would be different. I read Lucy had even had to put a chest of drawers against her door to stop the perpetrator from barging in to her room one night. She was massively let down.

Social services had been called by two separate schools, due to concerns about Lucy’s relationship with an older man (the perp). They NFA’d it. She literally had no one

[Jojobears]

I keep thinking about this poor lassie, and why the fuck didn’t her parents protect her.

[notmuchmoretogive]

It makes me so sad that she was so let down. They've reported that the two used to have massive fights. That alone would make me kick a lodger out, never mind all the other stuff that went on. She was failed by many people. So sad.

[Verily1]

He was previously convicted of violence with a knife. Why wasn’t a police check done on him when the referrals to social services were done?

This case should be getting as much publicity as Peter Connelly.

[notmuchmoretogive]

There are many people that failed her. I don't like to judge parents / people but, even if only with hindsight, her mother and various adults failed her on an extreme level. Social services failed her, I wish they had seen through her mother's lies. Why didn't they check him. The step dad must've known he had previous etc. Whether the dad pursued contact enough we don't know. It all seems such a mess and ultimately led to this girls death. It was utterly preventable if adults had stopped to think about it.

[Prawnofthepatriarchy]

I was appalled to see the story of Lucy's murder as described by her mother, Stacey White, in the current issue of Take A Break. According to Stacey White she had no idea Stephen Nicholson was abusing her daughter until after the murder. She says "I listened... in absolute horror. If we'd known what a monster he was, we would never have let him into our home - and into Lucy's life."

She's trying to rewrite history. She'd been warned by several people that Lucy was at risk well before the murder.

Link from the Mirror, another from the BBC.

I'm not impressed by Take A Break's failure to check out contemporaneous reports of the case. They seem to have accepted Stacey White's self serving version of events.

Lucy's mother didn't kill her, of course. There's only person who's responsible for that. However she did nothing to protect her. Had she taken notice of reports from both her daughter's schools Lucy might well be alive today.