Elsie Scully-Hicks

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How can you understand how someone can harm such a tiny baby. My husband knew Matthew Scully-Hicks and said you would never imagine he would be the sort of person to do something like this. When we first heard about it we imagined that he had just snapped but seeing the news report he inflicted so many injuries on her since the day she arrived. It's just heartbreaking.

What has the birth mother even got to do with this?!

She was not considered fit to bring up this poor little girl. End of story.
Other family members are always considered. They were obviously not suitable or available.

The tragedy is that Scully-Hicks was.

One of the news reports mentioned that a relative of one of the adoptive parents (forget which one) worked for social services in the area in which they lived.

I hate to say it but I wonder if that had any bearing on how SS treated the family.

Why do some people always focus on the social workers rather than the abusers?

Why do some people always focus on the social workers rather than the abusers?

Are you kidding? Because unlike most people who kill their children, this one had been assessed by SS and judged to be a good parent, able to care for a traumatised child. You don’t think it’s worth asking what went wrong?

So terribly sad. I read a bit of Craig’s testimony in the newspaper early on. It came across as if he believed Matthew was innocent.

The husband worked away didn’t he? I guess that partly explains so much was undiscovered.

Since you ask

Seriously?

I've followed the trial feeling despairing for Elsie and her birth family. Removing new born babies into foster care is the last resort. If the assessments conclude the risks are so high that the baby can't remain with her mother or father, the sw would first look to other family members before considering foster care with a view to adoption.
I've had little/no sympathy for the adoptive father who caused her such emotional and physical pain before killing her. He's lied throughout the trial as he did whenever Elsie was taken to hospital, or when the health visitor asked him about the bruise on the little girls forehead. He said a doctor had seen the bruise, but that was a lie.

So many serious injuries is a short period of time should have led to one of the medics or social workers taking an overview of the injuries rather than only looking at the one in front of them.
The text messages in which he describes Elsie in such derogatory and abusive terms should have rung alarm bells with his husband. We don't know enough about his role and we don't know whether any of the medics or social workers involved were suspicious or concerned. I do hope the serious case review answers some questions and that we aren't simply told again that lessons have been learned. Successive reviews highlight the same issues, the need for sharing of information between key professionals and suspicion or professional curiosity if a pattern of injuries emerges.

He has been sentenced to a minimum of 18 years. Not enough really is it?

No, Claire. Its nothing like enough.
The key should be dropped from the highest height into the ocean

People focus on SS because in cases like this they had opportunity to step in. I did a lot of ECM work at Uni & the case studies were Victoria Climbiè & Baby P specifically; both cases where SS were involved (supposedly) and failed to step in before it was too late. This case sadly screams the same. She had injuries that should have caused concern & didn't. Somebody f**ked up.

Also screams to the attitude of the monster who killed her. As somebody else pointed out, they weren't just given little Elsie & left to it. They will have had her in their care before the adoption was finalised; if he couldn't cope, why didn't he hand her over? He was happy to whinge at other people about her in a horrific way. I hope someone hammers him. Regularly.

For posters saying that such a small baby needed a mum, are you suggesting that single dads who are left holding the baby aren't up to the job? I surrogated for a gay couple; the baby girl they now have isn't missing out by not having a 'regular' family unit.

I do think social services and the health professionals all bear a responsibility here based on the facts reported. This wasn't a one-off incident was it? He had already called 999 for a previous incident in which she was injured and she had bruises on other occasions which I understand could be explained as a one-off but alarm bells should have been going off loudly.

if he couldn’t cope why didn’t he hand her over Exactly. Also the way he described the poor little girl should have raised concerns with his husband. Could he be done for negligence?

Very very little about his husband in the press. Very few quotes. No pictures.

Is that because they have another child? I think I have read that. To protect their privacy?

Do I have that wrong?

I am not sure about negligence but he must have been aware his husband could not cope or was it a perfect happy family when he was at home? Seems unlikely.

The judge said they had assistance available from a health visitor, 4 social workers, the GP, a registrar at hospital and other medical staff. All of whom have missed the signs. All of them. Not just the social workers. Injuries, previously not known about, were discovered at the pm so the medics were at fault too. I am amazed she was not removed and that they went ahead with adoption. The little girl was killed two weeks after formal adoption! It is appalling.

That poor little girl

Failed by the people who was supposed to care for her and failed by the professionals who left her in his care

I think every parent can understand frustration when it comes to children. They have a way of pushing your buttons. But as an adult, you leave the room, you shout and scream in a pillow, you smash a plate outside whatever it is that gets you to calm down and you carry on.

You don't take that frustration out on a vulnerable child

Spiney I know the family, they will probably keep quiet for privacy reasons. They will be in shock.

No spiney i think that you are spot on there. The other child is presumeably with the other dad.

How did the husband miss this?? I imagine if we had a baby who needed to go to the hospital multiple times for injuries and I was texting DH calling tbe baby a Satan it would probably cross his mind that I might have PND or not be coping?

Clearly MH-S was not coping, but why didn’t anyone around notice at all? Were social workers just blinded by how middle class this family was?

My heart breaks for that little baby.

That hasn't been a parent at the absolute end of their tether who has lost a tragic moment of madness and deleruim, due sleepless nights crying tantrums ect. Which although it doesn't excuse it. It does/can happen.
This was a wicked wicked act that had been going for a very long time.
His contemt for baby Elsie speaks volumes though his text messages.

Amendment.
This hasn't been a parent who has lost all control in a tragic moment of delirium and madness.

Amended because I missed some words out.
I'm terrible for doing that.

Can we not have a edit button for Christmas MNHQ.

Blinded because they were so mc. If that's not the poorest excuse Ive ever heard. My carriage is coming to collect me at 10am in the morning to be Coronated.
The mc can abuse children, too.
Money doesn't make someone a Saint

There has been a massive SS failing here. I know two adopters and the amount of scrutiny they have been under, before and during the adoption, was huge. And - may as well say it -- because they are gay adopters in a smallish village, the amount of scrutiny they are under from the community is huge too. It beggars belief that this wouldn't have been picked up on by someone.

The neighbour who heard him screaming at the wee one, for instance - was that reported???

Awww I’m not remotely suggesting abuse doesn’t happen in mc families.. apols if it came across like that.

Just that it seems like SWs were rather more willing to accept all his claims - like the claim he took her to a doctor etc - on face value. Then again so did all the other health workers, his own partner etc.

If he was struggling - why didn’t he say one word to any of the dozens of people coming by to offer help. And if it wasn’t struggling, why just why do this to an innocent baby. I just can’t understand anyone who hurts a baby. And yet keep reading these heartbreaking stories.

The assumption that they were middle and class and upstanding seems quite different to some of the articles they've read- lots of moving around, a period of homelessness, him having a series of dead end jobs, the neighbours reporting shouting and screaming.... maybe none of this had been known by SS though