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| Mother of teenager who murdered woman blames social workers | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The mother of a teenage girl who tortured a vulnerable woman to death has sought to exonerate herself, instead blaming social workers for her daughter’s actions. | The mother of a teenage girl who tortured a vulnerable woman to death has sought to exonerate herself, instead blaming social workers for her daughter’s actions. |
| Angela Wrightson, a lonely alcoholic, was tortured for more than nine hours before being murdered in her living room by two teenage girls. | Angela Wrightson, a lonely alcoholic, was tortured for more than nine hours before being murdered in her living room by two teenage girls. |
| Wrightson had considered the two girls, aged 13 and 14 at the time, as friends. But on 8 December 2014, they inflicted more than 100 injuries on her using a television set, a coffee table and a wooden stick studded with screws. | Wrightson had considered the two girls, aged 13 and 14 at the time, as friends. But on 8 December 2014, they inflicted more than 100 injuries on her using a television set, a coffee table and a wooden stick studded with screws. |
| During the ordeal the pair also posed for pictures with their victim’s bruised body before uploading the images on to Snapchat. | During the ordeal the pair also posed for pictures with their victim’s bruised body before uploading the images on to Snapchat. |
| Now, the mother of the youngest girl has criticised authorities saying she told them she feared something “seriously bad” would happen but she was not given enough help. | Now, the mother of the youngest girl has criticised authorities saying she told them she feared something “seriously bad” would happen but she was not given enough help. |
| In a television interview, the mother of the young girl who was in foster care at the time of the murder, refused to take responsibility for her daughter’s actions. | In a television interview, the mother of the young girl who was in foster care at the time of the murder, refused to take responsibility for her daughter’s actions. |
| The woman told ITV Tyne Tees: “She makes her own choices in life. I tried my best. I couldn’t be watching her 24 hours a day. I just feel like they didn’t give me enough help. | The woman told ITV Tyne Tees: “She makes her own choices in life. I tried my best. I couldn’t be watching her 24 hours a day. I just feel like they didn’t give me enough help. |
| “If they had placed her out of the town, out of the bad company she was getting involved with, yes. Because I told them I was worried something was going to happen to her, something seriously bad, or she was going to get hurt. | “If they had placed her out of the town, out of the bad company she was getting involved with, yes. Because I told them I was worried something was going to happen to her, something seriously bad, or she was going to get hurt. |
| “They said they couldn’t because you had to have a court order to take them into one of them secure accommodations, and they couldn’t do that, they said.” | “They said they couldn’t because you had to have a court order to take them into one of them secure accommodations, and they couldn’t do that, they said.” |
| The mother said her daughter had started to misbehave and began to go missing from home after starting secondary school. She claims Hartlepool social services did not take her daughter’s case seriously enough. | The mother said her daughter had started to misbehave and began to go missing from home after starting secondary school. She claims Hartlepool social services did not take her daughter’s case seriously enough. |
| She said: “I asked them to put my daughter in a safe place because she was running and missing from home all the time. I literally had to beg them for the foster placement. | She said: “I asked them to put my daughter in a safe place because she was running and missing from home all the time. I literally had to beg them for the foster placement. |
| “We really wanted her our of the town, out of the bad company she was with, and her phone taken off her because she was still doing the same, running away, when she was in there. | “We really wanted her our of the town, out of the bad company she was with, and her phone taken off her because she was still doing the same, running away, when she was in there. |
| “That’s why I really wanted her in a secure place, where she knew if she’d done wrong, she wouldn’t be able to run away from there, until she settled her behaviour down. I just wish they could have done more to help my daughter.” | “That’s why I really wanted her in a secure place, where she knew if she’d done wrong, she wouldn’t be able to run away from there, until she settled her behaviour down. I just wish they could have done more to help my daughter.” |
| The mother also offered an apology to Wrightson’s parents saying: “I’d just like to say I’m sorry this has happened to their daughter. I don’t know why my daughter got involved. I keep asking myself why. I don’t know why.” | The mother also offered an apology to Wrightson’s parents saying: “I’d just like to say I’m sorry this has happened to their daughter. I don’t know why my daughter got involved. I keep asking myself why. I don’t know why.” |
| But during the eight-week trial it emerged that her daughter had tried to see her on the night she committed the murder but she had refused to see the girl. | But during the eight-week trial it emerged that her daughter had tried to see her on the night she committed the murder but she had refused to see the girl. |
| The prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC told the jury: “It seems that when the two friends had separated, SD was intending to visit her mother. Between 6.06pm and 6.22pm they were texting each other. It seems that SD had asked to go over there, but her mother told her that she was going out.” | The prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC told the jury: “It seems that when the two friends had separated, SD was intending to visit her mother. Between 6.06pm and 6.22pm they were texting each other. It seems that SD had asked to go over there, but her mother told her that she was going out.” |
| The younger girl was considered less aggressive of the two, and the jury was told she came from a slightly more stable background. Her parents were still together and her father had a full-time job. | The younger girl was considered less aggressive of the two, and the jury was told she came from a slightly more stable background. Her parents were still together and her father had a full-time job. |
| She was referred to social services after running away from home on several occasions. Her parents worked with the local authority, and a social worker observed that the mother was proactive in implementing behaviour plans for the daughter. But the girl was not comfortable in new environments and would try to push boundaries, often losing her temper with her mother. | She was referred to social services after running away from home on several occasions. Her parents worked with the local authority, and a social worker observed that the mother was proactive in implementing behaviour plans for the daughter. But the girl was not comfortable in new environments and would try to push boundaries, often losing her temper with her mother. |
| A few weeks before Christmas in 2014, Wrightson was made to plead for her life as the girls forcibly restrained her, only stopping the assault to pose for pictures, which the younger girl – said to be obsessed with her phone – sent to friends on Snapchat with the caption “Nah xx”. | A few weeks before Christmas in 2014, Wrightson was made to plead for her life as the girls forcibly restrained her, only stopping the assault to pose for pictures, which the younger girl – said to be obsessed with her phone – sent to friends on Snapchat with the caption “Nah xx”. |
| The two girls were caught on CCTV leaving Wrightson’s home at about 11pm, and returning at 2am, when they continued to torture her for another two hours. | The two girls were caught on CCTV leaving Wrightson’s home at about 11pm, and returning at 2am, when they continued to torture her for another two hours. |
| They finally left the house at 4am and even called the police to give them a lift home, using them as a “taxi service”; again, they took a picture and shared it on Snapchat. | They finally left the house at 4am and even called the police to give them a lift home, using them as a “taxi service”; again, they took a picture and shared it on Snapchat. |
| Mr Justice Globe, who refused to let the teenagers be named, sentenced them to a minimum of 15 years. | Mr Justice Globe, who refused to let the teenagers be named, sentenced them to a minimum of 15 years. |
| The Teesside safeguarding adults board and Hartlepool safeguarding children board has said the three independent reviews into the circumstances of Wrightson’s murder would be made public. | The Teesside safeguarding adults board and Hartlepool safeguarding children board has said the three independent reviews into the circumstances of Wrightson’s murder would be made public. |