A review into the tragic death of baby Finley Boden, who was murdered by his parents, has found that safeguarding practices were ‘inadequate’. The 10-month-old should have been one of the most protected children in the area, the review said.

Finley’s parents, Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden, caused 130 injuries to their son before he sadly died at their home in Old Whittington, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on Christmas Day 2020.

Despite worries about the parents’ drug use and the state of their home, a family court returned Finley to them on November 17 that year. After going back home, poor Finley suffered a lot of abuse and had 130 separate injuries when he died. He also had illnesses like sepsis and pneumonia.

Read more: Octopus Energy issues message to customers with £239 boost from April

In May, Marsden and Boden were given life sentences with minimum terms of 27 and 29 years at Derby Crown Court. On Wednesday, the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership shared the results of a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into Finley’s death.

The review, which doesn’t name anyone, said: “In this instance, a child died as the result of abuse when he should have been one of the most protected children in the local authority area.” The review stated that, while Finley’s parents were responsible for his death, “professional interventions should have protected him”.

Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden were convicted of murdering Finley Boden (Derbyshire Police/PA)
Undated handout photo issued by Derbyshire Police of Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden. The two parents who murdered their 10-month-old son just weeks after he was returned to their care are to be sentenced for his killing. Marsden and Stephen Boden were convicted in April of the murder of Finley Boden on Christmas Day 2020 after a trial at Derby Crown Court. Issue date: Thursday May 25, 2023.
(Image: PA Media)

It said the “most significant professional decision” was that he should live with his parents, and concluded that “the safeguarding environment in which that decision was made had been incrementally weakened by the decisions, actions, circumstances and events which preceded it”. Most of what had been experienced by Finley in the final weeks of his life “was unknown to professionals working with the family at that time”, the report said.

Get all the latest and breaking news in Yorkshire by signing up to our newsletter here.

But it added: “The review has found, nevertheless, that safeguarding practice during that time was inadequate.” At their sentencing last year, Mrs Justice Amanda Tipples said Marsden and Boden were “persuasive and accomplished liars” who “brutally assaulted” their son.

Derbyshire County Council’s children’s services apologised for the “missed opportunities”. The council’s executive director for children’s services, Carol Cammiss, described Finley’s death as “a tragedy for everyone who knew him and everyone involved in his care”.

She said: “Despite the significant Covid restrictions placed on our work at the time, we know there were missed opportunities for stronger practice and we apologise for that.” She stated that the council had swiftly acted after Finley’s passing to “review and strengthen our systems and continue to monitor the way we work with babies and families”.

Get all the latest and breaking West Yorkshire court news straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter here.

She also said that the council accepts the review’s findings and recommendations “and takes full responsibility for its actions in this case”. The Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership said it fully accepts the review’s recommendations and will “take the additional action necessary to further reduce the risk of a repeat of a similar incident”.

The review made 11 suggestions in total, including that the partnership carries out “a multi-agency audit” of recent parenting assessments to consider the quality of analysis and conclusions, involvement of partner agencies, evidence of scrutiny by managers. and, effectiveness of information-sharing and professional challenge.

Other suggestions included that the local authority should provide evidence by the end of June of improved practice in distinguishing between informal family arrangements and formal placements in which the local authority has responsibility to provide support since 2020.

The review also made recommendations on the safeguarding children partnership working with local public health commissioners of substance misuse services, and to ensure arrangements are in place “to deliver an effective local response to domestic abuse”.

Get all the latest and breaking South Yorkshire court news straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter here.


Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
YorkshireLive

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

‘Gutter-level’ talk: China-Philippines discord deepens over Taiwan

After Taiwan’s presidential election last month, China was quick to rebuke the…

Florida man steals EMS truck before crash, arrested days later while trying to flee: sheriff

Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to…