TRAGIC TOT
Baby murdered by parents after he was placed back in their care let down by ‘inadequate’ local authority, report finds
Finley should have been 'one of most protected' children in area but was brutally murdered
A BABY murdered by his parents days after he was placed back in their care was let down by the ";inadequate" local authority, a damning report has found.
Finley Boden should have been "one of the most protected" children in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, the review said.
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But instead the ten-month-old was murdered by Stephen Boden, 30, and Shannon Marsden, 22, on Christmas Day, 2020.
Tragically, the youngster had been returned to Boden and Marsden's care just 39 days before he was killed.
The Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership today published the findings of its Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into Finley's death.
It found that there were "significant shortcomings" in the assessment and planning of Finley's return to the family home.
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The report added: "In this instance, a child died as the result of abuse when he should have been one of the most protected children in the local authority area."
Officials also found that while Finley's parents were responsible for his death, "professional interventions should have protected him".
Although most of the abuse he suffered leading up to his death was unknown to professionals working with the family, safeguarding practice was still "inadequate".
The last time officials had actually seen Finley alive was a month before his death but even then, they viewed him through a window as Marsden and Boden did not answer.
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This came after a social worker noticed a bump on the baby's head, which his parents blamed on an accident with toy.
Heartbreaking footage shows Finley Boden's giggling before he was beaten to death
The report pointed out it was "not clear" to what extent this excuse was probed by the employee.
A health visitor who went to the family home the following day was given the same excuse for the bump but did not raise it further.
Shockingly, a visit had been planned for December 24 - the day before he died - but this never took place.
During their murder trial, jurors heard Finley had been placed into care shortly after he was born.
Marsden and Boden had cleaned their home and claimed to be off drugs in a bid to dupe the authorities into giving their son back.
But after being returned to his parents during lockdown in 2020, he was subjected to "repeated acts of severe violence".
The baby was also forced to live in squalor at the family home and slept on a vomit and faeces-stained cot mattress cover.
Even before he was handed back to Marsden and Boden, the couple had searched for several news articles relating to parent-involved child deaths.
On November 19, 2020 - the day he came home - similar chilling internet searches were also carried out.
Whenever officials went to their home, the pair claimed Finley had Covid to stop them from coming inside the property and witnessing evidence of the abuse inflicted on the little boy.
What the damning report found
THE safeguarding review found a number of times Finley was let down by social services who had been tasked with protecting him.
The missed opportunities to save the baby were:
- Six visits had been planned for social workers to visit the tot at home but just four were attempted and one was cancelled when Finley's parents did not answer
- A planned visit on Christmas Eve - the day before he died - did not take place
- Of the three visits that did happen, issues were raised that should have been explored further but were not
- Communication between social workers and a health visitor were "too infrequent" - meaning issues concerning Finley's welfare were harder to identify
- During one meeting, a social worker saw Marsden potentially buying drugs but did not challenge her
On Christmas Day 2020, paramedics scrambled to the home found Marsden "upset and screaming" as Boden attempted to resuscitate their stricken son.
Finley was rushed to hospital but tragically he couldn't be saved and was declared dead shortly after.
But callous Marsden and Boden showed no remorse over their son's death and even spoke about Christmas dinner in the police car and plans to sell Finley's pram.
The following day, they were heard "laughing and joking" at a relative's house.
Finley had suffered an "appalling" catalogue of injuries including 71 bruises and two burn marks.
He also had 57 fractures to bones in his tiny body that had been inflicted in the short period before he collapsed at home.
His pelvis had been broken in two places - possibly after he was kicked or stamped on - and the inside of his mouth was torn, meaning he was unable to eat.
He later developed pneumonia and sepsis as his drug-user parents worked together to hide his injuries from social services.
Boden was jailed for at least 29 years last May, while Marsden was given a minimum of 27 years in prison.
Sentencing, Mrs Justice Amanda Tipples slammed the pair as "persuasive and accomplished liars" who inflicted "unimaginable cruelty" on their son without showing any remorse.
Derbyshire Council reacts to scathing report
Derbyshire County Council's children's services said it accepted there had been "missed opportunities" in the case of Finley Boden.
The council's executive director for children's services, Carol Cammiss, said: "Finley's death was a tragedy for everyone who knew him and everyone involved in his care. We are deeply saddened by his death and our thoughts are with everyone who loved him.
"Despite the significant Covid restrictions placed on our work at the time, we know there were missed opportunities for stronger practice and we apologise for that.
"We did not wait for the outcome of this review - we took immediate action to review and strengthen our systems and continue to monitor the way we work with babies and families.
"Safeguarding children in Derbyshire is our highest priority and the council accepts the findings and recommendations of the review and takes full responsibility for its actions in this case."
The Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership said today it will "take the additional action necessary to further reduce the risk of a repeat of a similar incident".
It made 11 recommendations in total - including that the partnership carries out "a multi-agency audit" of recent parenting assessments to consider the quality of analysis and conclusions.
Independent chairman and scrutineer Steve Atkinson said: "I offer my sincere condolences to Finley's family and apologise on behalf of the partnership for what happened.
"The partnership agencies took early steps to improve systems and practices, responding quickly to an immediate review of Finley's death and the circumstances in which it took place.
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"In accepting in full the recommendations of this review - commissioned by the Partnership, completely independently of Derbyshire and the organisations involved - agencies will take the additional action necessary to further reduce the risk of a repeat of a similar incident.
"The Partnership Board continues to seek evidence that these changes are fully implemented and will undertake regular reviews to ensure that they have the necessary impact to help keep vulnerable local children safe."
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