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Angela Wrightson: Failings revealed over torture-murder | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Two girls who murdered a vulnerable woman led "chaotic lives" and were known to social services for drinking, running away and taking drugs, a report has concluded. | |
Angela Wrightson, 39, was subjected to a seven-hour attack in her Hartlepool home by the pair, then aged 13 and 14. | Angela Wrightson, 39, was subjected to a seven-hour attack in her Hartlepool home by the pair, then aged 13 and 14. |
Serious case reviews revealed multiple failures by officials but concluded the murder could not have been prevented. | Serious case reviews revealed multiple failures by officials but concluded the murder could not have been prevented. |
However, they found the girls' parents were unwilling to accept help. | |
Ms Wrightson was beaten with a shovel, a TV, a coffee table and a stick studded with screws during the attack in 2014. | Ms Wrightson was beaten with a shovel, a TV, a coffee table and a stick studded with screws during the attack in 2014. |
Latest updates on this story | Latest updates on this story |
The friendship that ended in murder | |
A chaotic life and brutal death | |
Can children be natural born killers? | |
Both girls were jailed for a minimum of 15 years in April last year. | |
Three separate reports tell of "overly optimistic" care services, a failure to address poor parenting and an "insufficient understanding" of neglect. | |
The reports found the younger of the two girls, referred to as Yasmine, was subjected to physical and emotional abuse by her parents. | |
But they concluded officials were too ready to accept her mother's claims she was disruptive because she had been "spoilt". | |
Report writers said the older girl, referred to as Olivia, had a chaotic home life and was placed into care after her mother claimed she was "going to parties, possibly having sexual intercourse and hitting" younger siblings. | Report writers said the older girl, referred to as Olivia, had a chaotic home life and was placed into care after her mother claimed she was "going to parties, possibly having sexual intercourse and hitting" younger siblings. |
The younger girl also confessed to a care worker that she had spent a weekend drinking and smoking cannabis with friends, and had spent a night with a boy, but denied any sexual activity. | |
'Inability to care' | 'Inability to care' |
Two months before the murder, the older girl was arrested for assaulting three members of staff and causing damage to the premises. | |
The reports into both teenagers found their parents were quick to criticise their daughters' behaviour, but unwilling to accept help to improve their parenting. | The reports into both teenagers found their parents were quick to criticise their daughters' behaviour, but unwilling to accept help to improve their parenting. |
About the younger girl's parents, the report stated: "They blamed Yasmine for their inability to be warm and caring to her." | About the younger girl's parents, the report stated: "They blamed Yasmine for their inability to be warm and caring to her." |
Of the older girl, it said: "When the reviewer visited Olivia in prison, she expressed her feelings that she had always been held responsible for the family problems, both by her parents and, she felt, by professionals." | Of the older girl, it said: "When the reviewer visited Olivia in prison, she expressed her feelings that she had always been held responsible for the family problems, both by her parents and, she felt, by professionals." |
Ms Wrightson, who was known locally as Alco Ange, had also received a high level of intervention from social services. | |
The report found she had been receiving help for alcohol addiction, but the last time was in 2011. | |
Between January 2012 and her death, Ms Wrightson made 219 calls to the police with another 253 made by people about her. | |
There were also reports of her being "bothered" by young people who she was too afraid to take formal action against due to a previous "serious" altercation with a teenager. | |
"There was growing evidence in 2014 that (Ms Wrightson) was being targeted by young people and adults," the report said. | |
It concluded there was a lack of awareness among various agencies about how she should be treated and best helped. | |
'Home invasion' | |
Because agencies did not fully speak to each other, the "fullest picture of [Ms Wrightson's] experience and risk" was not complete. | |
Her family has said they want to see her situation treated with the same seriousness as domestic abuse. | |
The report said: "[The family] say the number of vulnerable adults whose homes are taken over and who suffer regular abuse are unknown, yet there is no law making this type of home invasion illegal." | |
The report into Ms Wrightson made five findings calling for better communication between agencies, increased awareness of mental health issues and improved connection between children's and adult's services. | |
The reports into the girls made six findings including the need for improved understanding of the effect of neglect on adolescents and removing a "tendency to sympathise with parents leaving emotional abuse unidentified and children vulnerable to continued abuse". |