I’m somewhat confused as to why this case hasn’t got the levels of interest on here that Arthur’s has. Three threads compared to 9 pages?!
I haven’t commented much on either because to be honest I can only take so much and it’s not much, but it seems like baby Star has been completely forgotten about.
I’m not sure, it feels like there is a lot more to debate in this case as well. Star’s case also didn’t get as much national news as Arthur’s case either, which I suspect is because the media are nervous of the same-sex couple and traveller aspects and getting accused of discrimination. Same reason, in part, why social workers failed Star. I didn’t hear about the case until relatively recently. I have tried to promote it a few times on Arthur’s thread.
But, on tattle.life, a gossip forum, Star’s case has 9 threads and has generated a lot of interest, more so than Arthur’s case. Maybe it has balanced out. The rules are more lenient there and there is a LOT to talk about with regards to social media. SB's family are wrong uns. So are certain other involved parties to this case, which I can’t allude to here.
I’m interested
@squish why you think that FS should get a relatively lenient sentence. I followed the trial up till about day 20, so maybe I missed a lot, but to me being thick or even learning disabled doesn’t excuse someone from knowing you just don’t treat a baby like Star was treated. FS had the wherewithal to know that the injuries didn’t happen when Star was with her; surely even the stupidest person could figure out in that case who was causing them.
It seemed like FS had plenty of support around her in the form of her mum, her sister and her friends, so the fact that she carried on letting the person who was battering Star look after her shows a high degree of culpability IMO. Ultimately going out drinking was far more important to her than Star’s wellbeing.
You stopped following just before FS took the stand, it is very clear from how she presents that she is genuinely a simpleton. A few pages back you can see me wondering if she’s really
that thick, or if she’d just been brilliantly coached by her team. People on tattle have long speculated if she’s learning disabled. It turns out that she has an IQ of just 70 - equivalent to a 9 year old child - and was also found to have a high level of a trait called compliance, meaning that she defers to people she perceives to be in authority. This explains some of her behaviour in court, where she was unceremoniously acquiescing to many of the negative things that the prosecution were saying about her. She has admitted many things that make her look bad, without explaining them. For example, her baby had been living with her grandparents for 2 months, and FS decided to take her back on a whim, purely because she thought Star looked adorable in her new clothes. FS was asked, did you not consider for a moment the effect this would have on Star? "No." Did you not consider the effect this would have on your grandparents? "No." When asked if her behaviour to Star on various videos was cruel, she admits it, and says she didn't think it was at the time.
If someone is convicted of causing/allowing the death of a child, they get a lesser sentence if they themselves are the victim of domestic violence, coercive control, or are learning disabled. All of these are factors for FS. I do think this is fair, for the following reasons.
SB was 26-27 years old and of a normal intellect, FS was 18-19 and intellectually challenged. She played with dolls until she was 16 years old. She came from an unstable background. Already this is not an equal partnership.
Multiple witnesses have confirmed that SB was violent towards FS on a number of occasions. Multiple witnesses - friends and family of FS - have also confirmed that they themselves were frightened of SB and what she might do if they angered her.
SB was jealous and would phone or text FS hundreds of times when FS was out. FS would sometimes FaceTime SB for 12 hours overnight to prove she wasn't with anyone. SB was allowed to sleep with whoever she wanted (except one ex girlfriend, who SB was carrying on with anyway), while FS was not. SB would play mind games, by sometimes not being controlling and saying "it's your night", and not messaging FS, or outright ignoring her.
FS deferred to SB, due to her inherent compliance and trusting those more intelligent than herself, due to fear of what SB would do to her or her family if she disobeyed, and due to SB's threats that she would commit suicide if FS left.
SB was staking a claim on Star, and wanted to change her name to SB's late mother's name. At some points she complained to FS that she (SB) wasn't being treated like a parent. SB was insistent on taking Star between 11-13th September, when she was caught on CCTV battering Star, even though FS wanted her back half way through.
SB didn't allow FS to let Star see most of her family members. FS went along with this, due to the social services reports, and SB telling her that her family were trying to take Star away.
SB was more experienced with children than FS and demanded that Star have a strict routine and discipline, even from 6 months old. FS deferred to her, as she does with her mental characteristics. She went along with SB's abusive tactics like making her stand at the wall, and thinking that Star was tantrumming or attention seeking when really she was in pain. SB additionally tried to convince FS that Star was a horrible brat who would ruin her life and who thought nothing of her mother (at the wise old age of 16 months).
SB was trained in first aid, and told FS that Star would be fine and not to call 999. FS deferred to her, as she always did.
When Star died, SB told FS that armed police were waiting outside the hospital, and that they would both be done for murder. FS went along with SB's demand to say that they both found Star at the same time. I don't believe that FS is bright enough to create a lie like this, so I think it's the truth.
There is much, much more that I'm not remembering, but the overall picture is that SB is a predatory, sadistic and controlling person, while FS is very vulnerable and a victim of SB herself. FS family have said that she was obsessed with SB in a way that she hadn't been with any relationship before.
FS did not have a good support network; she had a number of willing babysitters, but overall, she did not have the support that most mothers have. Especially not from Star's father, who was also violent to FS. The only reliable support she had was from her grandparents, who SB banned her from seeing due to their social services report.
On the other hand, FS did engage with SB's abusive discipline tactics, and did things off her own back that she now admits were cruel, such as scaring Star for the fun of it, scaring her awake, ordering her to walk up stairs then making her stand against the wall for a prior event that Star wouldn't remember.
She also was a lazy mother, who prioritised her partying, and her wants above Star's needs. It didn't even occur to FS for the most part that some of the things she did were hurtful to Star - such as abruptly ripping her away from her great-grandparents - because she didn't even think of anyone else's feelings in the first place, including Star's.
Also, when SB was trying to drive her car off a cliff with FS in it, FS had enough about her to save her own skin and grab the steering wheel.
Even after SB's severe assaults on Star on the 13th finally gave FS cause for concern about SB's conduct, and said "stay away from us" and that she never gets bruised like that with me. FS later changed her mind and was asking SB if she would have Star soon, but Star was killed before that happened.
FS's own family describe her as selfish and lazy. I do believe that if FS had exactly the same mental faculties, but had the personality trait of being caring rather than selfish, then SB's abuse wouldn't have gone so far.
It's for this reason that I personally feel that FS is guilty of causing/allowing the death of a child, but there are one hell of a lot of mitigating factors. She will always be like catnip to predators, and she will never be capable of looking after a baby. But I don't think she is an evil person or a danger to society. When judging her actions, remember she has the mental age of a 9 year old.
I do not think she is guilty of murder, because SB clearly made efforts to hide the serious physical abuse from FS, showing that SB did not think she could convince FS that abuse that severe was acceptable. FS had expressed her concerns about Star's injuries from her time in SB's care. Even though she later changed her mind about SB staying away from them, it shows that outright injurious behaviour was not something that FS was on board with.
I think that SB had got away so far with beating Star so severely, that she thought she could have a quick punch while FS was in the toilet, and it would all be fine. She had seriously injured Star before and she had recovered, which explains her lack of urgency to call 999, and her lack of urgency when the paramedics finally arrived.