Probe into attacked baby's death

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Detectives are investigating the death of a boy who was attacked in hospital when he was just five days old.

Corinthian Kemp suffered a brain injury days after he was born at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary in August 2007, and died two years later in August 2009.

Police are awaiting a pathologist's report to ascertain the cause of death before any charges will be brought.

A serious case review reported that before Corinthian's death there had been domestic violence in his family.

The review panel heard that details of the domestic violence had been passed on by police to Children's Social Care but did not result in protective action being carried out.

Mental problems

Care professionals did not release Corinthian from hospital after his birth for fear he was at risk of domestic violence and because of concerns about his parents, who were thought to be drug users with mental health problems.

They found that social workers, health professionals and police all had concerns about the family's well-being but failed to work together and encourage one another to take "assertive action".

Assumptions that the hospital was a safe place for the baby in the days immediately after his birth were also criticised.

They were never formally discussed and, had they been, a concern might have been raised that "the ward was undertaking something it was not suited to doing; namely, supervising contact between parents and a baby".

'Worrying picture'

The review panel concluded that better inter-agency collaboration before the baby's birth would have led to information sharing, analysis, planning and review.

It also said that various factors such as the very young age of the parents, their histories of drug abuse, mental ill health and domestic violence, would have presented a "high level of anxiety" when considered in isolation.

When looked at in combination with one another they would have "painted a different and more worrying picture."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said inquires were ongoing as officers awaited a pathologist's report to ascertain the cause of Corinthian's death, and they were investigating if charges should be brought in relation to the infant's death.