A 31-year-old man, Matthew Scully-Hicks, a former fitness instructor, abused 18-month-old girl Elsie Scully-Hicks to death for two weeks after formally adopting her. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and to serve a minimum of 18 years in prison.
South Wales Police Cardiff
The birth family of Elsie has said she would "still be alive today" if she had not been taken away from "them". It was disclosed that one of her her biological grandparents had tried to adopt her when she was taken from her mom, but social services ruled she would struggle to handle it.
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South Wales Police Cardiff
South Wales Police Cardiff
South Wales Police Cardiff
Daily Mail Online
South Wales Police Cardiff
The court was told she suffered a cardiac arrest and was bleeding behind the eyes due to severe assaults caused by his stay-at-home father Scully-Hicks.
After months of abuse with violently shaking her and banging her head on a hard surface, the baby was dead while it was just two weeks after he formally adopted her with his 36-year-old husband Craig.
South Wales Police Cardiff
Mrs Justice Nicola Davies sentenced Scully-Hicks with consideration of a victim impact statement provided by Elsie's birth family.
In the statement, Elsie as originally named Shayla O'Brien. On behalf of the family, her birth grandmother Sian O'Brien said, "I accept that at the time of giving birth my daughter was living a chaotic lifestyle and was not in a position to care for Shayla and she was removed from the hospital five days after birth by social services."
"As a family, we continued to have contact with Shayla whilst she was in the care of the foster family." she complemented Elsie's family were "extremely attached to her and loved her very much".
"I wanted to bring her up in a happy, healthy and warm family environment, that was all taken away from me when social services and the family court decided I would not be able to cope," continued the statement. "We all continue to fight on even though every day we are numb with pain and hurt deep in the knowledge that Shayla was loved unconditionally by us all as a family and knowing that had she not been taken away from us, she would still be alive today."
South Wales Police Cardiff
Before weeks she was dead, the court heard, a number of suspicious injuries, including bruises and a leg broken, were found on her body as she had fallen down the stairs.
Mrs Justice Davies commented Scully-Hicks murdered the young, vulnerable and defenseless toddler after calling her "Satan in a Babygro" and telling her to "shut the f**k up" at his home in Llandaff, Cardiff.
"She had been entrusted to the care of yourself and your husband, Craig Scully-Hicks, her adoptive fathers," she said. "Shortly before 6:19 pm on May 25, 2016, you inflicted injuries of such severity upon Elsie as to cause her immediate collapse and her death on May 29."
"In deliberately inflicting serious injuries upon your 18-month-old adopted daughter you abused the trust which had been placed in you as Elsie's adoptive father."
Listing her injuries, the judge added: "Elsie suffered a cardiac arrest. She sustained hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, a brain injury including subdural haematoma, bleeding in the eyes, the retina, the perimacular folds and in the area of the optic nerve."
Daily Mail Online
She also said that Scully-Hicks realised his predispositions since he had called emergency services, but he took no steops to prevent a recurrence of the earlier incidents when Elsie suffered injuries as a result of his actions.
He called Elsie "a psycho", "the exorcist" and "Satan dressed up in a Babygro" in text messages and neighbours also heard he called Elsie a "little f****** brat" and a "silly little c***".
"You are an intelligent man. You would have known you were struggling to cope with Elsie, "Mrs Justice Davies added. "You knew that in November and December your frustration and anger towards Elsie had resulted in injuries to her. You told no one the truth of what had occurred nor the reason for it."
"You were living in comfortable social circumstances with the close support of professional agencies, your husband, and wider family."
"You have been assessed by two independent psychiatrists who found no psychiatric condition which would have affected your actions."
"Regular visits were made by social workers and the health visitor. To no one, not even your husband, did you have the courage to speak of your difficulties."
"You put your own self-interest before that of the young child you had been entrusted to protect."
Scully-Hicks, denying the murder, sobbed in the count when he was convicted.
South Wales Police Cardiff
Social services in the Vale of Glamorgan is now facing an investigation after they visited the family 15 times but still raised no concerns, even finding out the horrific injuries on her body.
Elsie was formally adopted by Scully-Hicks' couples on May 12, 2016 and suffered fatal injuries at their home in Llandaff, Cardiff, on May 25, which is two weeks after the adoption.
A spokesperson for the Vale of Glamorgan Council said, "The Regional Safeguarding Children Board, as the relevant statutory body, has commissioned an independent Child Practice Review into the tragic death of Elsie Scully-Hicks."
"It would be inappropriate for the Vale of Glamorgan Council to comment further until this independent review has concluded."
