The family of murdered baby girl Star Hobson called social services on five occasions in the months leading to the young girl’s death.
Star Hobson was a bright 16-month-old girl who died from fractures to her ribs, skull, and shin after being subjected to mistreatment and physical abuse by her mother’s partner, 28-year-old Savannah Brockhill.
Following overwhelming evidence, Brockhill was found guilty of murder while Star’s biological mother, 20-year-old Frankie Smith, got convicted of allowing her daughter’s death.
As the court heard, the baby girl suffered various injuries and bruises over the last few months of her life. Her mother and stepmother would allegedly also document the neglect in videos and photos which sometimes ended up on social media.
It has now also come to light that social services were warned about Brockhill on five different occasions by the young girl’s family and Smith’s friends.
The first time the authorities were called was in January 2020 when Holly Jones, Star’s babysitter and Smith’s friend, reported potential domestic abuse.
While the police and social services visited the pair, no issues were discovered and the case was closed in the following month.
In May, social services were once again alerted – this time by Anita Smith, the baby girl’s great-grandmother who was worried about the child’s treatment. Her fears, however, were dismissed and she was no longer allowed to see Star on a regular basis as a result of her report.
Meanwhile, Frankie Smith’s grandfather, David Fawcett, confronted Brockhill after spotting a series of bruises on his great-granddaughter only to be told that “all kids get bruises.”
“The lack of response from social services was unbelievable, they did nothing and we dismissed as troublemakers who made the complaint because we didn’t like gypsies or same sex relationships,” he said of the dismissed reports.
“What an insult to hear that our claim had been called malicious when it was the opposite.
“They did visit the flat but Savannah Brockhill took over and dismissed us as ‘weirdos’ and trouble makers who hated gypsies and lesbians – and they swallowed it.”
Raising alarm about the toddler’s treatment was also Star’s father, Jordan Hobson, who in June reported Brockhill and Smith after spotting bruises on her face in one of the photos.
Once again, the police visited the pair, whereas Brockhill insisted that the 16-month-old suffered bruises after bumping into a table.
Further examination revealed that the baby girl had four bruises on her back and two on her cheek. Brockhill and Smith in response claimed that the girl suffered bruises while playing with a puppy.
Later in June, the authorities were once again alerted after Rachel Whiteley, a friend of Smith’s mother, saw the girl’s mother handling the 16-month-old roughly during a picnic.
The case was later in July once again closed.
The fifth time social services were warned about Star’s carers was on September 2 when Star’s great-grandfather, Frank Smith, called them and reported a fresh set of bruises on the girl’s face.
During a wellness check, Star appeared to stumble while walking. The authorities also noticed bruises on her shin and cheek but were reassured by Brockhill that the girl had fallen down the stairs and that she and her partner had nothing to do with that.
“Social services came to see Star, she checked her body, her bedroom, chatted with us about Star, she said the report was malicious,” Brockhill told the police at the time.
The case was once again closed on September 15 after it was concluded that the report against Brockhill and Smith was “malicious.”
Just a week after the final check by social services, Star was murdered by her stepmother.
Brockhill has since been found guilty of murder whereas Smith was convicted of allowing her daughter’s death. They are set to be sentenced today.
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