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| 'Toxic family life' of Edlington brothers 'Toxic family life' of Edlington brothers | |
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| If a psychiatrist had to dream up a textbook example of the sort of domestic background most likely to set a child on the path towards serious crime, then it would probably look a good deal like that endured by the two young brothers at the heart of the Edlington case. | If a psychiatrist had to dream up a textbook example of the sort of domestic background most likely to set a child on the path towards serious crime, then it would probably look a good deal like that endured by the two young brothers at the heart of the Edlington case. |
| Caught between a depressive, drug-dependent mother and a violent, obsessively jealous father, the boys grew up, in the words of a defence barrister, amid "routine aggression, violence and chaos". It was, he said, a "toxic family life". | Caught between a depressive, drug-dependent mother and a violent, obsessively jealous father, the boys grew up, in the words of a defence barrister, amid "routine aggression, violence and chaos". It was, he said, a "toxic family life". |
| And yet this is only part of the story. If it arguably explains their early excursions into anti-social behaviour, even their assaults on other children and teachers, a key question remains unanswered: why did they, unlike virtually every other child from a similar background, develop a taste for extreme violence, sadism and horribly inventive humiliation? | And yet this is only part of the story. If it arguably explains their early excursions into anti-social behaviour, even their assaults on other children and teachers, a key question remains unanswered: why did they, unlike virtually every other child from a similar background, develop a taste for extreme violence, sadism and horribly inventive humiliation? |
| Even those who know the family best say they cannot explain what made the boys, now 11 and 12, become so cruel they spent 90 minutes methodically beating and torturing two younger children, picked seemingly at random, until one was on the point of death. | Even those who know the family best say they cannot explain what made the boys, now 11 and 12, become so cruel they spent 90 minutes methodically beating and torturing two younger children, picked seemingly at random, until one was on the point of death. |
| It was not even an isolated incident – the week before they attacked another boy in near-identical circumstances but were disturbed by a passer-by before he was very seriously hurt. | It was not even an isolated incident – the week before they attacked another boy in near-identical circumstances but were disturbed by a passer-by before he was very seriously hurt. |
| A near neighbour on the broad street of postwar, semi-detached houses just north-west of central Doncaster, where the boys spent all but three weeks of their pre-custody lives, said the pair were once frequent visitors, often staying the night with her own children. | A near neighbour on the broad street of postwar, semi-detached houses just north-west of central Doncaster, where the boys spent all but three weeks of their pre-custody lives, said the pair were once frequent visitors, often staying the night with her own children. |
| "The whole family used to be pretty noisy but they weren't bad," she said. "Then the boys changed, particularly after their dad left. My daughter said she didn't want to be round them anymore." | "The whole family used to be pretty noisy but they weren't bad," she said. "Then the boys changed, particularly after their dad left. My daughter said she didn't want to be round them anymore." |
| After a point, the boys, who went everywhere together, were clearly out of control. They shouted abuse, smashed windows in an empty house next door and then, in an incident which left the neighbour deeply shaken, broke into her car and covered the interior with faeces. | After a point, the boys, who went everywhere together, were clearly out of control. They shouted abuse, smashed windows in an empty house next door and then, in an incident which left the neighbour deeply shaken, broke into her car and covered the interior with faeces. |
| "I'd watched them grow up. I'd say to them, 'What's going on? I've shown you nothing but kindness, and this is what you do?' | "I'd watched them grow up. I'd say to them, 'What's going on? I've shown you nothing but kindness, and this is what you do?' |
| "I'm still shocked at what they did in the end. I knew they were little devils but I never thought they'd go that far. I never knew there was any sort of evil in them. When I think about how much time they spent here, I sometimes think, 'It could have happened to my family'." | "I'm still shocked at what they did in the end. I knew they were little devils but I never thought they'd go that far. I never knew there was any sort of evil in them. When I think about how much time they spent here, I sometimes think, 'It could have happened to my family'." |
| This week's hearing at Sheffield crown court left little doubt that both brothers were severely damaged. A particularly telling section of evidence came when one of the UK's most experienced child psychiatrists, Dr Eileen Vizard, said she had felt "intimidated" while interviewing the younger boy. He had no apparent capacity for empathy or remorse, she said, and without treatment could well become an adult psychopath. If released now, she warned: "He will go on inflicting harm until someone stops him." | This week's hearing at Sheffield crown court left little doubt that both brothers were severely damaged. A particularly telling section of evidence came when one of the UK's most experienced child psychiatrists, Dr Eileen Vizard, said she had felt "intimidated" while interviewing the younger boy. He had no apparent capacity for empathy or remorse, she said, and without treatment could well become an adult psychopath. If released now, she warned: "He will go on inflicting harm until someone stops him." |
| Such a clear-cut verdict begs another question: why did Doncaster's children's services department not intervene earlier? The conclusion, in a serious case review, is that a number of agencies should have, but did not, missing no fewer than 31 opportunities. | Such a clear-cut verdict begs another question: why did Doncaster's children's services department not intervene earlier? The conclusion, in a serious case review, is that a number of agencies should have, but did not, missing no fewer than 31 opportunities. |
| Long before the brothers' crime, they and their large, quarrelsome family – seven sons in all, aged between 19 and nine – were notorious on an otherwise relatively peaceful street. | Long before the brothers' crime, they and their large, quarrelsome family – seven sons in all, aged between 19 and nine – were notorious on an otherwise relatively peaceful street. |
| The brothers were, neigbours said, forever at the centre of local trouble, whether harassing shopkeepers or throwing stones at buses and cars. | The brothers were, neigbours said, forever at the centre of local trouble, whether harassing shopkeepers or throwing stones at buses and cars. |
| One boy of a similar age commented: "You'd be in watching TV and hear a window smash, or see a fire out on the grass, and you'd go, 'Oh that'll be them two'. It always was." | One boy of a similar age commented: "You'd be in watching TV and hear a window smash, or see a fire out on the grass, and you'd go, 'Oh that'll be them two'. It always was." |
| The police were regular visitors at the family home, distinctive with its "Beware of the kids" sign and a front garden full of junk. | The police were regular visitors at the family home, distinctive with its "Beware of the kids" sign and a front garden full of junk. |
| It seems clear, however, that no one in authority ever uncovered the full story of what was happening inside the home. | It seems clear, however, that no one in authority ever uncovered the full story of what was happening inside the home. |
| The court heard how the brothers regularly watched their father punch and kick their mother, sometimes while drunk but often when sober, driven by an incurable envy which saw him forbid her from even talking to other men. The brothers learned not to intervene, the court was told; doing so meant either the mother was hit harder, they were struck, or both. | The court heard how the brothers regularly watched their father punch and kick their mother, sometimes while drunk but often when sober, driven by an incurable envy which saw him forbid her from even talking to other men. The brothers learned not to intervene, the court was told; doing so meant either the mother was hit harder, they were struck, or both. |
| The mother, meanwhile, treated the boys as adult confidants, pouring out her "intimate" secrets to them, the court heard. | The mother, meanwhile, treated the boys as adult confidants, pouring out her "intimate" secrets to them, the court heard. |
| Once she threatened to leave home, prompting the father to promise he would track her down and slice her face "to bits" with a knife. | Once she threatened to leave home, prompting the father to promise he would track her down and slice her face "to bits" with a knife. |
| It was shortly after the court heard this evidence that the younger brother, who had remained impassive when his own cruelty was explained in detail, started to sob silently into his cupped hands. | It was shortly after the court heard this evidence that the younger brother, who had remained impassive when his own cruelty was explained in detail, started to sob silently into his cupped hands. |
| Left unsupervised, the boys smoked cigarettes and their father's home-grown cannabis and drank spirits. They watched pornographic and violent films, identified in court as a possible inspiration for the sexual element of their attack. | Left unsupervised, the boys smoked cigarettes and their father's home-grown cannabis and drank spirits. They watched pornographic and violent films, identified in court as a possible inspiration for the sexual element of their attack. |
| While their emotional upbringing was deeply neglectful, neighbours dismissed reports that the boys scavenged for food and clothes. | While their emotional upbringing was deeply neglectful, neighbours dismissed reports that the boys scavenged for food and clothes. |
| "I used to see the mother bringing back three trolleys full from the supermarket," the family friend said. "It makes me laugh when I hear they came from a deprived family. They never wanted for anything, not in that way." | "I used to see the mother bringing back three trolleys full from the supermarket," the family friend said. "It makes me laugh when I hear they came from a deprived family. They never wanted for anything, not in that way." |
| Matters came to a head when the father left. Within months, the boys' mother asked that they be taken into care as she could not cope with their behaviour, bringing about their move to a foster home in Edlington, just south-east of Doncaster. | Matters came to a head when the father left. Within months, the boys' mother asked that they be taken into care as she could not cope with their behaviour, bringing about their move to a foster home in Edlington, just south-east of Doncaster. |
| "She just seemed to give up altogether," another neighbour said. "She obviously needed help with parenting. With seven boys it's got to be hard. She'd say to me, 'I don't know what to do with them'." | "She just seemed to give up altogether," another neighbour said. "She obviously needed help with parenting. With seven boys it's got to be hard. She'd say to me, 'I don't know what to do with them'." |
| Even then, it seems, there were missed chances. Another neighbour said that when the mother, a heavy cannabis user, called social services she "begged" them to put the boys in separate foster homes as she feared what they might do if left together. This was ignored. | Even then, it seems, there were missed chances. Another neighbour said that when the mother, a heavy cannabis user, called social services she "begged" them to put the boys in separate foster homes as she feared what they might do if left together. This was ignored. |
| While the boys' names cannot be reported for legal reasons, as soon as they carried out the attack everyone on their former street knew who had done it. The remainder of the family left in a hurry. Their eldest son's car remained on the driveway briefly, until its windows were smashed. Few mourned their departure. | While the boys' names cannot be reported for legal reasons, as soon as they carried out the attack everyone on their former street knew who had done it. The remainder of the family left in a hurry. Their eldest son's car remained on the driveway briefly, until its windows were smashed. Few mourned their departure. |
| "We all felt like having a party when they moved out," said one older neighbour, recounting regular abuse and egg-throwing. "It's not been the same since. Now it's quiet, kids can play out, you're not sitting at home thinking, 'What's going to happen next?'." | "We all felt like having a party when they moved out," said one older neighbour, recounting regular abuse and egg-throwing. "It's not been the same since. Now it's quiet, kids can play out, you're not sitting at home thinking, 'What's going to happen next?'." |
| A revealing insight into the brothers' domestic life came shortly before Christmas as the house was gutted by a team of workers ahead of the arrival of new tenants. | A revealing insight into the brothers' domestic life came shortly before Christmas as the house was gutted by a team of workers ahead of the arrival of new tenants. |
| "It was in a hell of a state when we started work. Just look at this," said one of the workers, pointing at an interior door. "It's just black with grime, with grease. We've just stripped out the bathroom. It was in a real mess before we took it out, just filthy. There was a real stink." | "It was in a hell of a state when we started work. Just look at this," said one of the workers, pointing at an interior door. "It's just black with grime, with grease. We've just stripped out the bathroom. It was in a real mess before we took it out, just filthy. There was a real stink." |
| The mother is believed to now be living in a caravan on the Lincolnshire coast. Friends of the father say he remains in Doncaster but keeps a low profile. | The mother is believed to now be living in a caravan on the Lincolnshire coast. Friends of the father say he remains in Doncaster but keeps a low profile. |
| "The biggest shame of all is that it took something like this to happen for something to get done," the older neighbour said. | "The biggest shame of all is that it took something like this to happen for something to get done," the older neighbour said. |
| "The council were too slow. Everyone round here could see what was happening with those kids, what they were turning into." | "The council were too slow. Everyone round here could see what was happening with those kids, what they were turning into." |