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Khyra's mother guilty of killing | Khyra's mother guilty of killing |
(30 minutes later) | |
A mother who starved her seven-year-old daughter to death has been cleared of her murder and has had her plea of guilty to manslaughter accepted. | A mother who starved her seven-year-old daughter to death has been cleared of her murder and has had her plea of guilty to manslaughter accepted. |
Prosecutors accepted Angela Gordon's defence of diminished responsibility over the death of Khyra Ishaq. | Prosecutors accepted Angela Gordon's defence of diminished responsibility over the death of Khyra Ishaq. |
Gordon's partner Junaid Abuhamza had a manslaughter plea accepted following a report on his mental health. | Gordon's partner Junaid Abuhamza had a manslaughter plea accepted following a report on his mental health. |
Khyra was found severely emaciated at a house in Handsworth, Birmingham, in 2008 and died in hospital. | Khyra was found severely emaciated at a house in Handsworth, Birmingham, in 2008 and died in hospital. |
Denied food | Denied food |
Birmingham Crown Court heard medical professionals treating Khyra found her condition was "outside of their experience". | Birmingham Crown Court heard medical professionals treating Khyra found her condition was "outside of their experience". |
Paramedic Steve Hadlington told the retrial, an earlier trial collapsed, that Gordon, of Leyton Road, showed very little emotion as he and his colleagues tried to save her daughter. | Paramedic Steve Hadlington told the retrial, an earlier trial collapsed, that Gordon, of Leyton Road, showed very little emotion as he and his colleagues tried to save her daughter. |
Khyra died in hospital of an infection which the prosecution said was the result of her being deliberately starved. | Khyra died in hospital of an infection which the prosecution said was the result of her being deliberately starved. |
Who is the man who killed Khyra? Could Khyra have been saved? | Who is the man who killed Khyra? Could Khyra have been saved? |
Police said she had been beaten, starved and kept a virtual prisoner away from the other children which Gordon, 35, was looking after. | Police said she had been beaten, starved and kept a virtual prisoner away from the other children which Gordon, 35, was looking after. |
Jurors were shown pictures from inside the terraced house, including photographs of a "well-stocked" kitchen and a cane used as part of a "punishment regime". | Jurors were shown pictures from inside the terraced house, including photographs of a "well-stocked" kitchen and a cane used as part of a "punishment regime". |
Prosecutor Timothy Raggatt QC said: "It isn't that this house was short of food, as you can see, there is lots of food in this household." | Prosecutor Timothy Raggatt QC said: "It isn't that this house was short of food, as you can see, there is lots of food in this household." |
Gordon and Abuhamza, 31, have also admitted five charges of child cruelty relating to the other children. | Gordon and Abuhamza, 31, have also admitted five charges of child cruelty relating to the other children. |
The decision by the Crown to accept Gordon's plea on the lesser charge of manslaughter came after she admitted the child cruelty charges and psychiatrists agreed that she had been suffering from severe depression when Khyra died. | The decision by the Crown to accept Gordon's plea on the lesser charge of manslaughter came after she admitted the child cruelty charges and psychiatrists agreed that she had been suffering from severe depression when Khyra died. |
Mr Raggatt said: "It is extraordinary that it emerges so late (in the trial) but the sole reason for that is the denial... that Angela Gordon has put up around herself for all these months." | Mr Raggatt said: "It is extraordinary that it emerges so late (in the trial) but the sole reason for that is the denial... that Angela Gordon has put up around herself for all these months." |
Det Insp Sean Russell said his officers were "reduced to tears" | |
Before she pleaded guilty to child cruelty and was cleared of murder, her counsel, Michael Burrows QC, said psychiatrists had agreed that her condition impaired her ability to function effectively as a mother. | Before she pleaded guilty to child cruelty and was cleared of murder, her counsel, Michael Burrows QC, said psychiatrists had agreed that her condition impaired her ability to function effectively as a mother. |
He said: "The jury already know that Angela Gordon has been assessed by three psychiatrists. | He said: "The jury already know that Angela Gordon has been assessed by three psychiatrists. |
"From what they have said in reports, it is clear and beyond dispute that Angela Gordon was, from the beginning of 2008, depressed, and for a period of around a month before Khyra's death, severely depressed." | "From what they have said in reports, it is clear and beyond dispute that Angela Gordon was, from the beginning of 2008, depressed, and for a period of around a month before Khyra's death, severely depressed." |
Abuhamza's plea of guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder was accepted earlier this month. | Abuhamza's plea of guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder was accepted earlier this month. |
He was convicted by the jury after direction from the judge, Mr Justice Roderick Evans. | He was convicted by the jury after direction from the judge, Mr Justice Roderick Evans. |
Abuhamza had told the court he was brutally abused as a child and witnessed his father beating his younger sister to death when he was five years old. | Abuhamza had told the court he was brutally abused as a child and witnessed his father beating his younger sister to death when he was five years old. |
He told jurors he had beaten Khyra with a cane, had made her stand outside in the cold and had thrown cold water over her. He said he blamed himself for Khyra's death. | He told jurors he had beaten Khyra with a cane, had made her stand outside in the cold and had thrown cold water over her. He said he blamed himself for Khyra's death. |
Khyra's father 'tried to get help' | Khyra's father 'tried to get help' |
After the case, Khyra's natural father Ishaq Abuzaire said he was satisfied with the result. | After the case, Khyra's natural father Ishaq Abuzaire said he was satisfied with the result. |
"I think manslaughter was the right decision and the right outcome," he said. | "I think manslaughter was the right decision and the right outcome," he said. |
He said it had been "horrific" to see professionals reduced to tears and also disclosed that he had not been able to bring himself to look a pictures of Khyra's injuries. | He said it had been "horrific" to see professionals reduced to tears and also disclosed that he had not been able to bring himself to look a pictures of Khyra's injuries. |
Det Insp Sean Russell, of West Midlands Police, who led the investigation said he believed Khyra had been kept a virtual prisoner in an upstairs room. | Det Insp Sean Russell, of West Midlands Police, who led the investigation said he believed Khyra had been kept a virtual prisoner in an upstairs room. |
He said she had been the subject of numerous beatings, starved of food, and kept away from the other children. | He said she had been the subject of numerous beatings, starved of food, and kept away from the other children. |
"The defendants had created a situation in which the children, who were being educated at home, had been kept away from their extended family, friends and the outside world," he said. | "The defendants had created a situation in which the children, who were being educated at home, had been kept away from their extended family, friends and the outside world," he said. |
Martin Lindop of the Crown Prosecution Service said the manslaughter pleas were accepted as a result of psychiatric reports. | Martin Lindop of the Crown Prosecution Service said the manslaughter pleas were accepted as a result of psychiatric reports. |
"As a result of the content of a number of psychiatric reports, which we received at a very late stage in the case, we concluded the charge of murder in relation to Khyra Ishaq could no longer be sustained," he said. | "As a result of the content of a number of psychiatric reports, which we received at a very late stage in the case, we concluded the charge of murder in relation to Khyra Ishaq could no longer be sustained," he said. |
Gordon and Abuhamza will be sentenced on Friday next week. | Gordon and Abuhamza will be sentenced on Friday next week. |