Little Arthur

Yet another child dies from cuelty! Utterly devasting, no punishment is too great .

I had to fast forward through the video on the news. I'd read about it and found that bad enough. I find such extreme cruelty unfathomable. How can any adult human behave like that to a little boy?!

We ve already got one thread about this

Absolutely heartbreaking. No words.

I was eating my tea whilst watching the news and couldn’t finish it as I actually thought I was going to throw up.
The footage of him too weak to lift his duvet broke my heart.
I just can’t get it out of my head
Rest in Peace beautiful boy

Don’t we owe it to him to watch, not turn it off because it’s too awful? As flaxseed said, it’s terrible - the last day of his life - but we should do him the honour of watching.

Oh dear, I’m sorry if the repetition of this harrowing subject is an issue for you.

It’s not an issue bluefox but it divides the posting therefore diluting the feeling if people start posting on two or more threads at the same time

I'm another who finds watching the video distressing, I watched it the first time it was shown but can no longer do so. I gather the step mother is complaining because, when on remand, fellow prisoners were attacking her with salt! One can only hope they left it in the dispensers

Evil pair they deserve everything they get in prison, hope the other prisoners make their lives hell.

What those two people, who were supposed to be taking care of that little boy, what they did is beyond words. Poor, poor little child.

I will.never understand how children are treated like this, but it happens. History repeats itself.

I used to be involved in this side of things when I taught in an inner city special school.

Schools used to move heaven and earth to get the best outcome for the children but social services were so stretched and staff were constantly changing.

Someone should have been fighting on this little boy's behalf. He was crying out for help. A wicked dereliction of duty, firstly by his carers who were not fit to bring up that boy.

People were attempting to fight on this poor child's behalf: his grandparents and uncles, but the way these cases are conducted means the laws are slanted in favour of maintaining the parent-child relationship above all else. How this is to be remedied I don't know; I encountered this resistance when working as Senco, although never in such horrific circumstances.

We will hear yet again that ‘lessons will be learned’. Same old meaningless words trotted out every time. Why aren’t the lessons ever learned?

It seems the videos released to the media are the milder ones! God only knows what the others must show. As Germanshepherdsmum says the lessons are never learned.

Arthur could also be heard wailing in one 23-second recording "no one loves me" and "no one is going to feed me" repeatedly.

This is almost too much to bear...

Relatives of mine once fostered a young boy who had been abused by his father. The father was allowed contact with the child under supervision, and later, 2 hours unsupervised. The little boy frequently returned traumatised, refusing to eat and tearful (there were no physical scars) but was too young to explain what had happened. My relatives pleaded with social services to stop the visits, but they were ignored. Eventually the child was removed to another home. My relatives gave up fostering because the experience left them too depressed, and dealing with social services, too challenging.

It is so very sad to read this Dickens, so sad. Social Services need a serious overhaul and quickly.
It leaves me in tears to read about this.

Wasn't it around 1973 when Maria Colwell was killed...as usual the powers that be will have enquiries and say 'lessons will be learnt'.
How many lessons do they need?

It's utterly heartbreaking.

Does anyone know whether the various people in the child's life all come together at any point? Grandparents, teachers, social workers and anyone else involved should have a combined meeting to discuss their concerns. Only by doing that will they have a full picture of the child's situation.

This is a long standing issue Chestnut joint working of all agencies. I think there has been some improvement since I worked in Social Care but clearly not enough.

I cannot move past this after reading about it online.
The level of evil and horror is traumatising. I cannot sleep at night without seeing this tragic, helpless, defenceless little boy and all he suffered at the hands of these evil monsters.
Yes, they will go through it in jail, but it won't take away this dear little boy's terrible suffering or bring him back from the horrifying death he suffered at just 6 years old, his paralysing fear or his inexplicable foresight of his own death at the hands of those he loved and trusted

I feel sick just hearing about it. Why or even how do they get away with it at the time. I hope they are both given life and then when they get to prison some of the inmates are nasty to them. Poor little mite.

OK call me “ head in the sand” but I CANNOT hear the details of this horror, read about it, even look at the poor child’s picture on the front of the paper.
Shocked beyond belief.

Dee1012

Wasn't it around 1973 when Maria Colwell was killed...as usual the powers that be will have enquiries and say 'lessons will be learnt'.
How many lessons do they need?

It's utterly heartbreaking.

Just spotted this - I was in hospital having my first baby (who died 3 weeks later) and I can still remember the 4 of us mums in our ward, sobbing at the tragedy.
Lessons clearly have NOT been learned.