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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/oct/19/lincolnshire-launches-serious-case-review-over-teenage-spalding-killers
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| Serious case review launched over teenaged Spalding killers | Serious case review launched over teenaged Spalding killers |
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| Two teenage killers’ interactions with social workers, teachers and other mental health services will be examined in a serious case review as both face life sentences for the “cold, calculated and callous” murders of a mother and her 13-year-old daughter. | Two teenage killers’ interactions with social workers, teachers and other mental health services will be examined in a serious case review as both face life sentences for the “cold, calculated and callous” murders of a mother and her 13-year-old daughter. |
| Authorities will look into whether signs of deviant behaviour by the boy and girl, both 14 at the time of the murders, were missed in the months and years leading up to the killings of Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her daughter Katie, who were stabbed to death as they slept at home in Spalding. | Authorities will look into whether signs of deviant behaviour by the boy and girl, both 14 at the time of the murders, were missed in the months and years leading up to the killings of Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her daughter Katie, who were stabbed to death as they slept at home in Spalding. |
| The girl, now 15, was on Tuesday found guilty of murder, after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The boy, also now 15, had admitted murder at the start of the trial. Neither can be named for legal reasons. | The girl, now 15, was on Tuesday found guilty of murder, after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The boy, also now 15, had admitted murder at the start of the trial. Neither can be named for legal reasons. |
| Lincolnshire county council on Wednesday confirmed that a serious case review had been commissioned. “We can’t comment further until the review has been completed, when the findings will be published,” said Chris Cook, chair of the Lincolnshire safeguarding children board. | Lincolnshire county council on Wednesday confirmed that a serious case review had been commissioned. “We can’t comment further until the review has been completed, when the findings will be published,” said Chris Cook, chair of the Lincolnshire safeguarding children board. |
| It emerged during the girl’s five-day trial that she had been known to social services since the age of six, when she was taken into care for three months following an incident of domestic abuse, and had been in regular contact with mental health and social services ever since. | It emerged during the girl’s five-day trial that she had been known to social services since the age of six, when she was taken into care for three months following an incident of domestic abuse, and had been in regular contact with mental health and social services ever since. |
| He was the one who wielded the knife, stabbing both victims through the neck as they slept. But a prosecutor told Nottingham crown court that she operated in a “rational, logical and cold” way in planning and helping to carry out the killings. | He was the one who wielded the knife, stabbing both victims through the neck as they slept. But a prosecutor told Nottingham crown court that she operated in a “rational, logical and cold” way in planning and helping to carry out the killings. |
| The court heard that the pair first embarked on a romance in May 2015, nearly a year before the killings were carried out in April, developing what a consultant forensic psychiatrist, Dr Philip Joseph, described as a toxic “Bonnie and Clyde”-style relationship. | The court heard that the pair first embarked on a romance in May 2015, nearly a year before the killings were carried out in April, developing what a consultant forensic psychiatrist, Dr Philip Joseph, described as a toxic “Bonnie and Clyde”-style relationship. |
| Appearing as an expert witness for the prosecution, Joseph said the 15-year-olds would not have killed without each other and insisted their crimes had no connection to any mental illness, as had been claimed in the girl’s defence. | Appearing as an expert witness for the prosecution, Joseph said the 15-year-olds would not have killed without each other and insisted their crimes had no connection to any mental illness, as had been claimed in the girl’s defence. |
| “If they hadn’t got together and had the intense, toxic relationship, they [the killings] would never have happened,” Joseph said. “She was not suffering from an adjustment disorder or a depressive illness at the time of the killings. This is clearly a planned, controlled killing – there is control all the way through it.” | “If they hadn’t got together and had the intense, toxic relationship, they [the killings] would never have happened,” Joseph said. “She was not suffering from an adjustment disorder or a depressive illness at the time of the killings. This is clearly a planned, controlled killing – there is control all the way through it.” |
| Psychiatric reports read out in court described how the girl had often mentioned suicide and self-harm, and in March 2016 – the month before the murder – had taken an overdose. As a result, she had spent a day and a half in hospital. A subsequent medical report gave a warning that she needed professional help “sooner rather than later”. | |
| The jury was told that a person who knew the female defendant and her boyfriend had early this year described the couple as a “timebomb waiting to go off”. | |
| The bodies of mother and daughter were found on 15 April when police officers forced their way into the house. Elizabeth Edwards had been stabbed by the boy eight times, twice in the throat to silence her screams and cries for help. Katie Edwards was stabbed twice in the neck then smothered by the boy. | The bodies of mother and daughter were found on 15 April when police officers forced their way into the house. Elizabeth Edwards had been stabbed by the boy eight times, twice in the throat to silence her screams and cries for help. Katie Edwards was stabbed twice in the neck then smothered by the boy. |
| The kitchen knife used to kill both was found discarded in Katie’s bedroom. After the killings, the teenage couple took a bath to wash off the blood, had sex and watched four Twilight vampire films, the court heard. They abandoned plans to kill themselves. | The kitchen knife used to kill both was found discarded in Katie’s bedroom. After the killings, the teenage couple took a bath to wash off the blood, had sex and watched four Twilight vampire films, the court heard. They abandoned plans to kill themselves. |
| Following their arrest, the girl told police she had “felt like murdering for quite a while”. She said the plan was hatched after a conversation that began with a joke that turned serious. She told police: “We went over the plan over and over again.” | Following their arrest, the girl told police she had “felt like murdering for quite a while”. She said the plan was hatched after a conversation that began with a joke that turned serious. She told police: “We went over the plan over and over again.” |
| In interviews with police and assessments with psychiatrists, she said the killings had been “a breeze”. | In interviews with police and assessments with psychiatrists, she said the killings had been “a breeze”. |
| Both killers will be sentenced on 9 November. | Both killers will be sentenced on 9 November. |