Thursday 17 June 2010

Women And Children Mental Health Workers First!

Julia Lovemore, 41, a Christian fundamentalist with bi-polar disorder, was even visited by mental health workers on the day she killed six week-old Faith, Cambridge Crown Court was told.

But after finding her husband, Faith’s father in a “psychotic” state, they left for help without checking if the baby or her mother were in danger.
Did they call the police? We aren't told, but the father then made his way to the local doctors surgery with the lifeless body.

Oh, and another daughter, who had been doused in white spirit....
Earlier, John Farmer, prosecuting, told the court that Lovemore, who had mental health problems since her mid 20s, killed Faith on June 17 last year while in a "florid state of psychoses".

He said she ripped out pages from the Bible out of “frustration”, stuffed them into her child’s mouth, sat on her, bounced up and down and smothered her to death.

Profound mental ill health and engagement with religious beliefs turned out to be an explosive cocktail,” Mr Farmer said.
No s***, Sherlock...
Outside court, Cambridgeshire Local Safeguarding Children Board Vice Chairman, Gordon Jeyes, said: "The death of any child is a tragedy and we are deeply upset and saddened by what has happened.

"The circumstances around this death were exceptional. There were complex issues within the family around mental health, and the practice of their religious beliefs.”
So, let me get this straight. A little bit dim, and you'll pursue a couple to the ends of the earth, but raving psychosis and it's 'No probs, keep the kids!'..?

Is that how it works?
He said while the report highlighted the fact that agencies worked together he admitted the couple’s mental illness “and the way they chose to practice their religious beliefs was not sufficiently understood”.
Because what was there to understand?
Cambridgeshire police said prosecuting the case had been a "long and complex" undertaking.

"This was a tragic case which saw a young life ended deliberately,” said Detective Superintendent Dan Vajzovic:

"Every child has the right to be protected and feel safe in their own home and it is a parent's responsibility to ensure this is the case.”
Yes, indeed it it.

And with parents this stunningly incompetent, it's for the state (and the State's delegated authorities) to step in to end that responsibility and shoulder it themselves.

That mean YOU, Cambridgeshire police and social services...

3 comments:

Umbongo said...

JuliaM - if only Ofsted had been involved, you know this couldn't have happened

elizabeth said...

It's so much easier to take over the monitoring and regulating of ordinary sucessful families than to do what is actually needed.

JuliaM said...

"...if only Ofsted had been involved, you know this couldn't have happened"

:D

"It's so much easier to take over the monitoring and regulating of ordinary sucessful families than to do what is actually needed."

I can sympathise with their usual argument that there's not enough resources to remove all 'at risk' children. Up to a point.

When you see how quickly they leap into action in other cases, without such obvious cause, it makes you wonder...