Gran of murdered Elsie backs review into forced adoption
THE biological grandmother of little Elsie Scully-Hicks has backed a petition calling for a review into forced adoption and fostering.
Sian O’Brien, 51, told The Sun that killer Matthew Scully-Hicks had “got off lightly” for his crime.
After a court order banning 18-month-old Elsie’s birth family from speaking out was lifted, Ms O’Brien said she was devastated not to be given the chance to adopt her granddaughter, who was originally named Shayla, herself.
Ms O’Brien, who looks after Elsie’s two older siblings, told The Sun: “It’s about justice for Shayla. I think he [Scully-Hicks] has got off quite lightly.”
Elsie was taken into care in November 2014 when she was just five days old.
A petition, which has more than 4,500 signatures, calls on the Government to stage an inquiry into forced adoption and fostering.
The family has now launched legal action against social services in Cardiff.
Ms O’Brien said: “I said to social services, ‘I’ve got Shayla’s brother and sister here with me, why can’t I have Shayla?’
Scully-Hicks, 31, assaulted and abused 18-month-old Elsie over seven months before he violently shook her to death.
The toddler died just two weeks after she was formally adopted by fitness instructor ScullyHicks and his husband Craig, 36.
Scully-Hicks denied murdering little Elsie but was found guilty by a jury after a four-week trial.
Prosecutor Paul Lewis QC said Elsie was found unresponsive by paramedics after ScullyHicks attacked her at his home in Llandaff, Cardiff, on May 25 last year.