HE CALLED HER ‘SATAN IN A BABYGROW’
to the abuse – including a second fracture to her leg and bruising to her head. They accepted Matthew Scully-Hicks’ claims that all her injuries were caused by domestic accidents.
Health staff even left glowing appraisals of Scully-Hicks and his parenting abilities.
Last night, there were questions over why no member of social services was cross-examined during the criminal trial. A major review has been launched. As Scully-Hicks faced life in prison after being convicted of his daughter’s murder, it emerged that:
Social workers visited the Scully-Hicks family a total of 15 times between September 2015, when Elsie came to live with them after years of stringent vetting, and her formal adoption in May last year;
A Child Practice Review, an inquiry into the death and whether social services missed opportunities to save her, will be carried out;
The judge attacked Scully-Hicks for refusing to admit he could not cope with his daughter and using the extensive help he was offered.
Scully-Hicks and his husband Craig, 36, were granted formal adoption just 13 days before Elsie was killed.
Craig stood by his husband throughout his three-week trial at Cardiff Crown Court. The gay couple insisted that Elsie died as a result of health problems undiagnosed by doctors.
In his evidence, Craig told the court: ‘My house was full of love… If I’d suspected anything, I would not have tolerated it.’ He also
‘He could have said he was unable to cope’
criticised doctors for not giving Elsie a CT scan after she allegedly fell down stairs. He believes the failure to do so meant her alleged health problems went undetected.
The extent of Elsie’s suffering was revealed after she died, when her medical records were re-examined and evidence of abuse came to light. Jurors unanimously convicted ScullyHicks after four days of deliberation.
Cardiff and Vale Regional Child Safeguarding Board last night announced an investigation. The Child Practice Review will try to establish whether social workers missed chances to save Elsie. The trial heard that adoption staff and health visitors noted injuries to Elsie’s body, including bruises to her head and a broken leg, but did not raise any concerns.
Injuries which could have revealed undeniable signs of abuse months before her death were either missed or not fully investigated.
One-and-a-half stone Elsie was first taken to her GP with a fractured shinbone in November 2015, less than a month after she was taken in by the couple. Scully-Hicks told Craig she fell in the kitchen while playing on a toy table. But he told the GP she ‘slipped and twisted her leg while using a baby walker’.
Elsie was X-rayed and put in a full leg cast for a month. But the trial heard doctors missed a second leg fracture to her right thigh bone.
It was only spotted in a re-examination of the X-ray after her death. Medical expert Dr Sarah Harrison said the two fractures together could only have been caused by ‘ significant trauma’. She compared the injuries to those caused by a car crash and said she had never examined anything like it in her 20-year medical career.
A month later, on December 16, Elsie developed a deep bruise on her forehead. Scully-Hicks claimed she ‘whacked’ her head on a toy kitchen.
Social workers visited the family the next day, but no one appeared to raise any concerns. Five days later, ScullyHicks lied to health visitor Jodie Golten that Elsie had been seen by a GP. Nobody checked his claim, and Miss Golten praised his bond with Elsie in her notes.
In January 2016, Elsie had a fresh bruise on her forehead which ScullyHicks could not explain. The first 999 call came on March 10, 2016, where he claimed Elsie had fallen down the stairs after opening a baby gate.
Elsie could be heard vomiting in the call and was taken to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. Scully-Hicks did not tell doctors that Elsie had blood in her vomit, or that she had passed out for 20 minutes. She was discharged after just four hours of observation.
Elsie was formally adopted on May 12 last year. On May 25, she enjoyed a normal day at her playgroup and was
‘We talked about our life goals’
taken by Scully-Hicks to Marks & Spencer to pick an outfit for her adoption party. At 6.20pm that night, Scully-Hicks called 999 claiming Elsie had gone ‘limp and floppy’.
She was rushed to University Hospital of Wales, where doctors were immediately suspicious of how calm and collected Scully-Hicks appeared. She died four days after she was admitted.
A post-mortem examination found bleeding behind both eyes, rib fractures, and a skull fracture which the pathologist said was a ‘ result of an impact to the head’. Dr Stephen Rose said he believed Elsie was shaken violently before being thrown against a hard surface. The injuries were compared to those caused by a car crash.
Scully- Hicks, originally from Delabole, Cornwall, met Craig in Swindon in 2006. They became a couple in 2008 and moved in together.
They then bought a three-bedroom property in Cardiff for £150,000 in September 2010. In August 2012, they had a beachside wedding in the Algarve.
They immediately agreed to adopt. Scully-Hicks told the court: ‘We had requested as young as possible, we wanted to see and witness as much as we could.’
The judge, Mrs Justice Nicola Davies, noted: ‘This was a defendant who had regular access to health visitors, social workers. He could have disclosed that he was unable to cope.’
Robert O’Sullivan QC, defending, said: ‘This offence was committed in a sudden and unpremeditated outburst of frustration.’
Vale of Glamorgan Council, which oversaw Elsie’s adoption, said it would not comment until the Child Practice Review is complete.
Scully-Hicks will be sentenced today.