Teenage babysitter murdered two-year-old girl
• Family says council failed to respond to their fears
• Boy inflicted 68 injuries as mother went shopping
• Boy inflicted 68 injuries as mother went shopping
A 15-year-old babysitter was today convicted of the murder of a two-year-old girl who was beaten and suffered 68 injuries while her mother was shopping.
Demi Leigh Mahon was bitten, beaten and had her hair sheared off by Karl McCluney who was looking after her for 90 minutes last July while her mother, heroin user Ann Marie McDonald, went to pick up a child benefit cheque and to buy a birthday card.
Manchester crown court heard that McCluney took Demi to a park before attacking her at a flat in Eccles, Greater Manchester, then watching television as she lay injured. Following the verdict, the child's father and paternal grandmother criticised social services for failing to intervene despite their concerns.
McCluney had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but denied murder. The jury rejected his claim.
The case was adjourned for reports and McCluney will be sentenced on 31 July. Following McCluney's conviction the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, lifted reporting restrictions on the defendant's identity.
The attack on Demi was so ferocious, the court heard, that she was left brain-damaged after being punched repeatedly in the face.
Pathologist Dr Naomi Carter said it was neither "reasonable or credible" that the vast majority of the injuries were accidental. McDonald told the jury she had left her daughter with McCluney several times. She returned that day to find him standing outside the house and he told her: "I picked her up ‑ I might have hurt her ‑ and she fell in the park."
She screamed at him and asked why he hadn't called an ambulance. He claimed: "I haven't done nothing."
Demi's father, Gary Mahon, and grandmother, Frances Gillon, said they twice contacted Salford city council to no avail. Gillon said she first made contact in January 2008 after learning that police had raided the flat about drugs claims.
She said: "I spoke to someone and told him we were concerned about Demi's safety because of the way she [McDonald] was living. He said 'I'll get in touch with the police and get back to you'. I've not heard from him." She phoned again three weeks before Demi's death. Gillon said McDonald was released on police bail after the raid but refused to let her and her father take Demi.
"I didn't realise Gary had parental rights and his name was on the birth certificate. If I had known, I would have tried to take Demi with us," she said. "It is a disgusting failure by social services."
The local authority admitted it failed to initiate a child protection investigation despite the threshold being met. But a serious case review found the death could not have been anticipated.
Demi's mother is a drug user and drinker with mental health issues and also the victim of domestic violence. She regularly missed medical appointments and lied about her drug use and overdosed on heroin.
The review also found that the professionals focused on her, rather than Demi. It concluded: "It was clear that the threshold for child protection intervention had been met."
After the murder, McCluney attempted to cover up responsibility by telling a series of lies. The court was told that while being held in a secure residential unit the boy had told a member of staff: "Everyone will think I'm a monster. But no one can ever punish me as much as I punish myself."
A psychiatrist called by the defence said McCluney suffered from an unsocialised conduct disorder and had a below- normal IQ.
Demi Leigh Mahon was bitten, beaten and had her hair sheared off by Karl McCluney who was looking after her for 90 minutes last July while her mother, heroin user Ann Marie McDonald, went to pick up a child benefit cheque and to buy a birthday card.
Manchester crown court heard that McCluney took Demi to a park before attacking her at a flat in Eccles, Greater Manchester, then watching television as she lay injured. Following the verdict, the child's father and paternal grandmother criticised social services for failing to intervene despite their concerns.
McCluney had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but denied murder. The jury rejected his claim.
The case was adjourned for reports and McCluney will be sentenced on 31 July. Following McCluney's conviction the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, lifted reporting restrictions on the defendant's identity.
The attack on Demi was so ferocious, the court heard, that she was left brain-damaged after being punched repeatedly in the face.
Pathologist Dr Naomi Carter said it was neither "reasonable or credible" that the vast majority of the injuries were accidental. McDonald told the jury she had left her daughter with McCluney several times. She returned that day to find him standing outside the house and he told her: "I picked her up ‑ I might have hurt her ‑ and she fell in the park."
She screamed at him and asked why he hadn't called an ambulance. He claimed: "I haven't done nothing."
Demi's father, Gary Mahon, and grandmother, Frances Gillon, said they twice contacted Salford city council to no avail. Gillon said she first made contact in January 2008 after learning that police had raided the flat about drugs claims.
She said: "I spoke to someone and told him we were concerned about Demi's safety because of the way she [McDonald] was living. He said 'I'll get in touch with the police and get back to you'. I've not heard from him." She phoned again three weeks before Demi's death. Gillon said McDonald was released on police bail after the raid but refused to let her and her father take Demi.
"I didn't realise Gary had parental rights and his name was on the birth certificate. If I had known, I would have tried to take Demi with us," she said. "It is a disgusting failure by social services."
The local authority admitted it failed to initiate a child protection investigation despite the threshold being met. But a serious case review found the death could not have been anticipated.
Demi's mother is a drug user and drinker with mental health issues and also the victim of domestic violence. She regularly missed medical appointments and lied about her drug use and overdosed on heroin.
The review also found that the professionals focused on her, rather than Demi. It concluded: "It was clear that the threshold for child protection intervention had been met."
After the murder, McCluney attempted to cover up responsibility by telling a series of lies. The court was told that while being held in a secure residential unit the boy had told a member of staff: "Everyone will think I'm a monster. But no one can ever punish me as much as I punish myself."
A psychiatrist called by the defence said McCluney suffered from an unsocialised conduct disorder and had a below- normal IQ.
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