After his father passed away of a heart attack in December 2023, a two-year-old boy in England, Bronson Battersby, starved to death in their rented property at Skegness, Lincolnshire.
A social worker found their bodies two weeks after a neighbour last saw the father-son duo on 26 Dec.
Investigations into the tragedy are ongoing.
According to The Sun, Bronson and his father Kenneth were last seen on Boxing Day last year which fell on 26 Dec.
Source: The Sun
At the time, Bronson had been under the care of child services.
Speaking to BBC, executive director of the council’s children services Heather Sandy confirmed that a social worker visited the property on 2 Jan and 4 Jan but received no answer on both occasions.
“She looked at other addresses to try and locate Bronson, and when she failed to do that, she spoke to her manager and she contacted police,” Ms Sandy said.
Five days later on 9 Jan, the social worker went back to the property and alerted the landlady, who then gave them access.
Source: The Sun
Authorities subsequently found Bronson’s and Kenneth’s bodies, with an emaciated pet boxer dog Skylar as well.
According to preliminary tests, Bronson passed away from dehydration and starvation.
Speaking to The Sun, Bronson’s mother 43-year-old Sarah Piesse said she had the results of the post mortem.
Source: The Sun
“Bronson starved to death because his dad died,” she said. “They think Kenneth died no earlier than 29 Dec.”
It means if the social worker had pushed to get in when she got no reply on 2 Jan then Bronson would still have been alive.
Sarah told The Sun that she had been unable to hold Bronson during the identification process.
“I couldn’t pick him up because his body was too fragile,” she said. “I could only touch him. He had been left there too long.”
Source: The Sun
Sky News reports that Bronson was two inches too short to reach the fridge, resulting in the tragedy.
The Lincolnshire County Council is conducting a “rapid review” of the involvement of social services in the case.
The police force in the county also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a police watchdog.
Addressing the incident, Derrick Campbell from IOPC described it as “truly shocking”, stating that the circumstances the pair died in were “harrowing.”
“It is appropriate we carry out an independent investigation to consider the police response to any prior welfare concerns that were raised,” he said.
“We will be examining whether there were any missed opportunities by police to check on Mr Battersby and Bronson sooner.”
The rapid review would reportedly take about 15 days to complete.
A national panel would then receive the findings and decide on how the case should proceed.
Also read: Baby Of Russian Couple Who Believe In ‘Feeding On Sunlight’ Starves To Death, Parents Arrested
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from The Sun.
The integrated resort was fined S$2.25 million in December 2023 for failing to perform due…
She had to take on three jobs to support her children after becoming a young…
Investigations into two remaining foreign nationals, who are both outside Singapore, are ongoing.
He is out on bail of S$4 million.
The initiative sparked debate among parents who are worried that such a gesture may attract…
Two individuals were transported to NUH for treatment.