WHY WAS MADISON MONSTER FREE TO MURDER?
Soft-touch fury as killer escaped jail twice after breaking tagging curfew
THE killer of toddler Madison Horn was wearing an electronic tag at the time of the murder after he was spared jail for a brutal assault on a former partner. Kevin Park, who had 38 previous criminal convictions, had breached the tagging order twice, but still was not sent to prison – leaving him free to murder the two-year-old in an orgy of violence.
He was jailed for at least 22 years on Wednesday for the savage attack on Madison, who suffered 65 separate injuries after Park battered her head off a wall and
punched and stamped on her. The Scottish Daily Mail can reveal that, five months before the murder, Park was given a ‘restriction of liberty’ or electronic tagging order that imposed a curfew on him, meaning he was barred from leaving his girlfriend’s house overnight.
This enabled the serial thug – whose previous charges include attempted murder – to babysit for Madison while her mother went out and to launch the terrifying series of assaults which ended the two-year-old’s life.
Last night, Scottish Tory chief whip John Lamont said: ‘When someone has this problematic history and commits a vile crime like this, it’s obvious questions have to be asked.
‘The fact is, we are too quick to let dangerous criminals off the hook in Scotland.
‘If people such as this were handed proper punishment, and served their full sentences, the chances of similar horrendous acts being carried out would reduce.’
According to court documents, Park, 27, assaulted his former partner Gemma Naughton, 22, on October 29 last year, ‘seizing her by the arm, struggling violently with her, pushing her on the body and threatening her with violence to her injury’.
On October 31, in Ballingry, Fife, he ‘behaved in a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm’, acting in an ‘aggressive manner, shouting, swearing and threatening to damage property’ and putting Miss Naughton in fear of her personal safety.
At Dunfermline Sheriff Court on November 26, 2013, Park was given the tagging order and a non-harassment order, both running for six months. But he appeared in court on December 19 for breaching the order – which was then reinstated for seven months, rather than Park being sent back to jail.
Other court documents show another breach of the tagging order on March 25 this year – but he continued to wear the tag and, less than a month later, on April 20, Madison died.
The tagging order was only officially revoked on July 9, when he was given a three-month jail sentence – by which time Park had been on remand for more than two months, awaiting trial for Madison’s murder.
Park had successfully applied to have his tagging order switched to the flat in Kelty, Fife, which he shared with Madison’s mother, Anne Marie White, 22, after the vicious assault on Miss Naughton.
Tag alerts are monitored by staff at security firm G4S, who investigate any breach which could include tampering with the device or leaving the address.
It is not known how Park breached his tagging order. The successful request for the sensor devices to be moved was submitted on December 19 – the same day Park appeared in court for breaching the order.
The Crown Office said that ‘any allegations of a breach of the restriction of liberty order would be reported back to the court to decide if breach proceedings should be initiated’.
The case raises fresh questions over tagging, which has grown in popularity as a court ‘disposal’ for sometimes serious offenders.
Three years ago, Park appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court charged with attempted murder following an incident in Fife.
Fife Constabulary said that the alleged attempted murder took place in Ballingry on February 25, 2011. The outcome of this case is not clear but records suggest it was later downgraded to assault to injury.
Park is believed to have used a broken pool cue to assault Madison.
The officer in charge of the investigation said the toddler’s injuries were ‘the most horrific I have ever seen’.
The brutal attack came after Miss White left Madison with her boyfriend to go to a birthday party. Hours later, the little girl died in hospital, having suffered a fractured skull, internal
bleeding and tearing to her liver. Forensic experts who examined the house where the youngster died found two indentations on the hallway wall, one containing a strand of Madison’s blonde hair.
A dressing gown, which bore Park’s DNA, had blood on it and clumps of hair.
Forensic scientist Kirsty McTurk told the court that the hair still had roots on it, suggesting it had been pulled from the scalp.
Police Constable John McDiarmid, who responded to the 999 call on April 20, said Park had been more interested in smoking than how Madison was that night.
He said: ‘There was no asking how she was. His main concern was trying to roll a cigarette.’
Paramedic Paul Cooney, who battled to save Madison, said that Park ‘wasn’t really upset’ despite the youngster’s serious condition.
Sentencing Park to life at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Michael O’Grady, QC, said: ‘A child in your care looked to you for comfort, protection and probably even love. And instead, for some reason quite beyond c omprehension, y ou inflicted upon her a callous, cruel and no doubt terrifying death.’
Despite his previous convictions, it is understood social workers had no involvement after he moved in with single mother Miss White. Fife Council has now launched a significant case review to examine if Madison could have been better protected. It follows the death of Mikaeel Kular, who was killed by his mother despite Fife social workers’ involvement last year.
‘A callous, cruel and
terrifying death’
Miss White was in court for every day of the murder trial. She held her head in her hands and sobbed as the guilty verdict was delivered.
She told the court that Park got on ‘really well’ with Madison and that the child would ‘shout for him’ when he was not in the house. Miss White left him babysitting on April 20 to go to a friend’s birthday party, leaving her daughter happy, healthy and jumping on a bed. Only threeand-a-half hours later, the toddler was unconscious and dying.
A neighbour, playing with her grandsons in a nearby garden, reported hearing a child’s piercing scream at 6pm that evening. Park called an ambulance at 6.15pm – but was described by police as ‘lacking emotion’ and uninterested in Madison’s condition.
A Judicial Officer for Scotland spokesman said: ‘The decision to impose a restriction of liberty order, and the consequences which may follow any failure by an offender to comply with the requirements of an order, is a matter for the court, taking into account the facts and circumstances of each case.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The death of Madison is a tragedy and our thoughts are with her family.
‘We welcome the announcement of the significant case review into all aspects of the case. People will rightly expect that any wider lessons which emerge from this case would be learned and acted upon.
‘Sentencing in Scotland is a matter for the independent judiciary.’
Comment – Page 14