Death by postcode: Baby killed after social workers lost
touch with parents after they moved house
By Paul Sims
05th June 2008
A baby girl on the 'at risk' register was shaken to death by her violent
father after he evaded social services monitoring by moving two miles to a
different local authority area.
An urgent inquiry is under way into the care of Elisha
Allen, who was classified as a 'vulnerable' child even before she was born.
At the heart of the investigation is whether vital case
notes were forwarded to the new local authority after her parents moved from
Penshaw, Sunderland, to Bournmoor in neighbouring County Durham.
It was there that the five-month-old's father, Gary Allen,
25, picked her up in a fit of rage and shook her. She was taken to hospital
but died three days later.
Allen has pleaded guilty to manslaughter while his
30-year-old former partner Claire Morton, who has since given birth to another
child, has admitted allowing or causing the death of a child.
'Up until very recently, both defendants had denied
responsibility for causing the fatal injuries sustained by Elisha,' said Paul
Sloan QC, prosecuting, at Newcastle Crown Court.
'However, about a fortnight ago, Gary Allen finally
admitted responsibility lay with him for the infliction of the fatal injuries.
'He admits as a result of a sudden loss of control, he
caused Elisha's death by shaking her and that shaking clearly involved an
impact as well.
'He denies at that moment he formed an intention to cause a
really serious bodily injury.' The court was told Morton's plea to a lesser
charge was accepted on the basis that she was subjected to violence at the
hands of Allen and was in fear of him at the time of Elisha's death.
The couple were living on Avondale Road, Penshaw, Sunderland, when Morton
became pregnant with Elisha.
Social services officers from Sunderland City Council visited and told them
their unborn child would be placed on the 'at risk' register.
But two months before she was born they moved to Marigold
Crescent, Bournmoor, between Chester-le-Street and Houghton-le-Spring.
Although only two miles away the property is over the local
boundary in County Durham.
It was therefore down to Durham County Council's social
services to monitor the couple and Elisha.
However, on January 21 last year she was admitted to
Sunderland Royal Hospital with head injuries.
She was later transferred to Newcastle General Hospital
where she was placed on a life - support machine but she died three days
later. Durham Police immediately arrested the couple and after an eight-month
investigation charged them with murder and allowing or causing the death of a
child.
At the start of their trial on Wednesday, however, the Crown Prosecution
Service said it accepted guilty pleas to the lesser charges. Allen and Morton,
who split up in April last year, will be sentenced on August 1.
Child protection experts in Sunderland and Durham are
conducting a Serious Case Review into whether more could have been done to
protect the baby.
Local councillor Geoff Armstrong, from Ellesmere, Bournmoor,
who sits on Chester-le-Street District Council, said: 'It is no more than ten
minutes' walk from Marigold Crescent to the Sunderland boundary, but Marigold
Crescent is part of County Durham.'
A spokesman for Durham County Council said: 'We will be
happy to share the findings of the review at the appropriate time, at the end
of the legal proceedings and following relevant discussions with the coroner.'
Sunderland City Council declined to comment.
Daily Mail
