Father of tragic Poppi could face a murder charge after all
THE father of tragic Poppi Worthington may yet be tried for her murder, it emerged last night.
A High Court judge in a civil case ruled that Paul Worthington, 48, carried out a vicious sexual attack on his 13-monthold daughter shortly before she died.
But he escaped the threat of criminal charges in July when prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to convict him. Now, in a dramatic U-turn, the Crown Prosecution Service is reviewing its decisions and could charge Worthington.
A second inquest into Poppi’s death had been scheduled for October 10, but Cumbria coroner David Roberts yesterday suspended it, saying he was advised that the CPS was carrying out a fresh review of the evidence. He said the suspension was mandatory when a prosecuting authority requests it ‘on the ground that a person may be charged with a homicide offence involving the death of the deceased’.
A CPS spokesman said yesterday: ‘The case material will be considered and the review will be completed as soon as possible.’
The move means Worthington could be formally accused of murder by the end of November. It is believed the toddler’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, demanded the CPS review.
The evidence needed to convict supermarket worker Worthington was thought to have been destroyed in the bungled police investigation. Detectives from Cumbria Police failed to collect evidence from Poppi’s home in Barrow, the hospital or the ambulance that took her there on December 12, 2012. They also failed to secure her home or detain and interview her parents, and they allowed the computer on which Worthington was watching pornography in the hours before Poppi died to go missing.
In a Family Court fact-finding ruling – which was completed in the spring of 2014 but only made public in January this year – High Court Judge Mr Peter Jackson concluded that ‘the father perpetrated a pen- etrative... assault on Poppi’. He found that Worthington was behind his daughter’s death on the civil law standard of ‘on the balance of probabilities’. However, prosecutors had to judge the available evidence against the higher level of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
Barrow and Furness Labour MP John Woodcock said: ‘Any glimmer of hope that the person responsible for Poppi Worthington’s death might be brought to trial is very welcome. The fact that her killer is still walking free defiles British justice and potentially puts others at risk.’
Last night Worthington’s sister Tracey, who claims he is innocent, said: ‘I spoke to Paul on Monday and he had heard nothing, so I cannot imagine what new evidence they think they have.’ Worthington left Barrow after receiving death threats and is living in hiding.