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Archie Spriggs : Boy's murder by mum 'could not have been foreseen' Archie Spriggs : Boy's murder by mum 'could not have been foreseen'
(about 1 hour later)
The death of a seven-year-old boy who was murdered by his mother on the day of a custody hearing could not have been foreseen by authorities involved with the family, a coroner has said.The death of a seven-year-old boy who was murdered by his mother on the day of a custody hearing could not have been foreseen by authorities involved with the family, a coroner has said.
Archie Spriggs was strangled by his mother Lesley Speed at their home in Church Stretton, Shropshire, in September 2017. Archie Spriggs was strangled by his mother Lesley Speed at their home near Church Stretton, Shropshire, in September 2017.
She was jailed in March 2018 for at least 18 years for his murder.She was jailed in March 2018 for at least 18 years for his murder.
A conclusion of unlawful death was given by senior coroner John Ellery.A conclusion of unlawful death was given by senior coroner John Ellery.
"Having considered all the evidence and recognising the admitted system failings, I don't believe on the balance of probabilities that they caused or contributed to Archie's death or that it could have been prevented," he said.
"The harsh truth is that Archie's death was due to the actions of Lesley Speed and no state agency could have reasonably foreseen or predicted the outcome."
The inquest at the Shirehall in Shrewsbury heard from Archie's father who said he had tried to protect his son from his ex-partner.The inquest at the Shirehall in Shrewsbury heard from Archie's father who said he had tried to protect his son from his ex-partner.
Mr Spriggs said he reported bruising to Shropshire Council in 2013 after his son said he had been "held upside down and shaken", and again in 2014.
He claimed authorities "repeatedly dismissed" his concerns about his son's safety and missed opportunities to prevent his death.He claimed authorities "repeatedly dismissed" his concerns about his son's safety and missed opportunities to prevent his death.
Speaking after the inquest, Mr Spriggs' lawyer Stephen Clark said the inquest had "identified serious systems failures, concerns about Archie were not recorded properly, those concerns were not handled properly and opportunities were missed for Archie to be properly protected".
"Having heard all of the evidence, the family are very concerned those key lessons have not been learned from Archie's death," he said.
"Without further reflection done, they are concerned that there will be another case like Archie's."
At the criminal trial last year, the judge accepted Archie's mother, then aged 44, had a "chronic" mental illness.At the criminal trial last year, the judge accepted Archie's mother, then aged 44, had a "chronic" mental illness.
A serious case review commissioned by Shropshire Safeguarding Children Board listed a series of recommendations for the board to undertake including how to refer urgent concerns and engaging with parents.
It accepted that agencies had missed opportunities to intervene in the family's situation and the board said it had acted on the report's recommendations.
Speaking after the inquest, Karen Bradshaw, director of children's services with Shropshire Council, said: "We acknowledge and welcome the coroner's findings that Archie's death could not have been predicted or prevented by the council, the school, or any of the agencies involved in Archie's care, but stress that service improvements have been made."
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