Murder of Victoria Climbie
Victoria Climbie was a young African girl who died in 2000 in London after suffering severe maltreatment at the hands of her great-aunt and her partner; her death led to a public inquiry and a major overhaul of child protection policies in Britain.
What happened edit
Victoria Climbie was born in Abobo, a small town in Ivory Coast, on November 2, 1991, the fifth of seven children to Francis and Berthe Climbie. A lively, bubbly child, she had a happy early childhood. In October 1998, the family were visited by Marie-Therese Koauo, Victoria's great-aunt who had lived in France for a number of years; on a visit to the Ivory Coast, she delivered a proposition to the family; she would take one of their children to France to be educated; this kind of informal fosterage is common in African cultures; Victoria was apparently happy to be chosen; in a twist of fate, it turned out that Victoria was a substitute for a girl called Anna who Koauo wanted to recruit, but whose parents had refused; not wanting the change the name on her passport, she simply called Victoria "Anna" and obtained hair extensions so Victoria resembled the picture on the passport, to get through border securities on her journey to France.
In November 1998, Koauo and Victoria traveled to Paris; during their five-month stay, Koauo used Victoria to fraudulently access benefits, while the girl went to school; however, she only attended for around 50% of the time, as at that point, Koauo's abuse had started; when the French authorities investigated this, Koaou left Paris, and she and Victoria traveled to the UK in April 1999, settling in London. Shortly after arriving, the two paid a visit to Esther Ackah, a distant relative of Marie-Therese by marriage; Marie-Therese introduced Victoria to Esther as "Anna"; Esther noticed Victoria was wearing a wig; when she took it off, she discovered Victoria had scarring on her scalp.
Koauo and Victoria made several visits to the social services in Ealing about the standards of their accomodation; a hostel in Brent. On one such visit, a social worker compared Victoria's scruffy and gaunt appearance to an "Action Aid" advertisement. Six weeks after her first visit, Esther encountered the pair on the street, and noticed Victoria had a scar on her cheek; Koaou claimed she had fallen on an escalator. Esther took it upon herself to call Brent social services about Victoria's living conditions, but her call was lost in the system.
By the middle of June 1999, Koaou had secured a job at a hospital, and Victoria was spending her days with Priscilla Cameron, a childminder, and her children Patrick and Avril. By all accounts, the time she spent with the Camerons was happy; however, when Koaou picked her up , Victoria would become more subdued and quiet, and also noticed injuries to Victoria's fingers, which Koaou claimed were the result of her playing with a razor blade. At the start of July, Koaou and Victoria moved in with her new boyfriend, bus driver Carl Manning; their relationship would last just over eight months. The bedsit they shared was small, with a kitchen area and bathroom, and a small bedroom. Victoria became a burden on the couple, with evidence to suggest her physical abuse escalated during her stay at the flat, and Koaou turned up at the Cameron household with Victoria, asking Priscilla to "keep her"; while Priscilla agreed to look after her for the evening, she told Koaou to find a new home with the girl, refusing to look after her long term.
When Priscilla and Avril discovered Victoria was covered in injuries, Avril took it upon herself to take Victoria to Central Middlesex hospital; after a two-hour examination, doctors discovered that she was covered in cigarette burns; however, the next morning, Victoria's injuries were diagnosed as scabies; the accepted view was the injuries were self-inflicted and Victoria was returned to Koauo's custody; aside from a quick glimpse of her walking down the street, the Camerons would never see Victoria again. Later in the month, Koauo took Victoria to North Middlesex hospital, with severe burns to her face; she claimed that the burns were a result of her trying to alleviate the itching from the scabies by holding her head under a hot water tap; during Victoria's stay on the ward, nurses noted her sunny, smiley disposition. During Koaou's rare visits, the medical team noticed a change in Victoria's behavior, comparing the relationship to that of a "master and servant" and one occasion, Victoria was so frightened, she wet herself; after a two-week stay, Koaou took Victoria home.
Victoria's case was assigned to Lisa Arthurworrey, a newly qualified social worker for Haringey council. In August 1999, she visited the flat and noticed how tidy it was; better than many of the cases she had been called to; Koaou and Manning were well-presented and Victoria seemed happy; although she was satisfied with Victoria's living conditions, she admitted never talking to Victoria; had she done so, she may have uncovered how serious Victoria's situation was becoming; as Victoria's treatment worsened, she became incontinent through the beatings, causing her to soil the sofa bed she slept on; Koaou and Manning threw it out, leaving Victoria without a bed to sleep on; the solution-Victoria was forced to sleep in the bathtub, in black bin liners, with her hands and feet bound by tape; and feeding her on a paper plate; with her hands tied, Victoria had to push her face into the plate to eat.
In October 1999, Lisa announced that Koaou's application for better housing had fallen through, and the only way she would get better housing is if Victoria was in danger in some way; three days later, Koaou phoned the social services in hysterics, claiming that Manning had sexually assaulted Victoria. When Koaou and Manning arrived at the social services with Victoria, Koaou was told that before she received the key to her new flat, Victoria would need to be examined and Manning would be sent to prison; she later withdrew the allegations. After the visit, Lisa was assigned several actions; she called Koaou on her phone, wrote to her, and even made visits to the flat after hours, without success; she was forced to close Victoria's case and the child wouldn't be seen by the social services for the next four months; on the few occasions she left the flat during this period, Koaou would take her to local churches, claiming Victoria was possessed by wicked spirits; on February 24, 2000, a member of the congregation noticed Victoria's condition and insisted Koaou took her to hospital. The next day, despite the best efforts of the medical team, Victoria died at 3:30 pm.
Investigation and trial edit
Koaou was arrested at the hospital on the day Victoria died, and Manning the day after. During interviews, Manning admitted to assaulting Victoria with a bike chain and a shoe; during the trial, Manning pleaded guilty to maltreating Victoria and manslaughter, while Manning maintained her claim that Victoria was possessed. In January 2001, they were sentenced to life in prison.
Aftermath edit
Victoria was repatriated to the Ivory Coast, where she was buried in Abobo, her hometown. Her death was also responsible for the overhaul of child protective services in the UK; among them was the launch of the Every Child Matters campaign; Victoria's parents also helped to found the Victoria Climbie Charitable Trust, which helped to build a school in Ivory Coast.