BBC NEWS | England | West Midlands | Neglect charge over girl's death



Neglect charge over girl's death

A woman and man have been charged with neglect after the death of a seven-year-old girl.

Khyra Ishaq, of Leyton Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, was taken to hospital on Saturday where she was pronounced dead.

Tests are continuing to find the cause of Khyra's death.

Angela Gordon, 33, and 29-year-old Junaid Abuhamza were charged with neglect at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Monday.

The pair, believed to be Khyra's mother and stepfather, were remanded in custody until 28 May.

A Birmingham Crown Court spokesman said Ms Gordon and Mr Abuhamza would appear at the court for a preliminary hearing on that date, charged with causing or allowing the death of a child between 9 May and 17 May.

According to neighbours there were six children living in the house, three boys and three girls.


West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to the address in Handsworth at 0545 BST on Saturday. From that address Khyra was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

A statement by West Midlands Police said inquiries into the girl's death were continuing. "Her cause of death has not been confirmed at this stage," it added.

Valerie Frances, the sister of Kyra's natural father, said she was "shocked" by the news of her niece's death.

Speaking outside the house in Handsworth she said: "All the time I have been coming here I couldn't get into the house, as far as I am concerned because nobody was there.

"The last time I saw them was last year some time. I've been coming here all the time, knocking on the door on four occasions and no-one came to the door."

Birmingham Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood pledged to write to the chief executive of the council on Thursday calling for an inquiry to look at all the issues in the case.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: "We are deeply saddened by the death of this child and our sympathies go to the child's family and friends at this difficult time.

"This death is now the subject of a police inquiry and Birmingham City Council are fully supporting their investigation."

The door and ground floor windows of the house in Leyton Road have been covered with metal shutters.

A family friend, who did not want to be named, said: "Khyra was a happy girl. I saw her with her mum about nine or 10 days ago, she looked normal."

The coroner's office said it would be "at least another week" before a second post-mortem examination takes place.

The seven-year-old girl who starved to death as her 5 siblings scavenged for bread left for the birds

By David Williams and David Wilkes - Daily Mail
Last updated at 3:42 AM on 22nd May 2008

It was a scene even experienced paramedics never expected to see in Britain in 2008.


Lying on mattresses in a squalid bedroom were six starving children, all seriously emaciated.

For one, seven-year-old Khyra Ishaq, rescue came too late. She died in hospital hours later.

Last night it emerged that Khyra, her brothers and sisters were so hungry they even stole bread put out for birds in nearby gardens.

Horrified neighbours in Handsworth, Birmingham, said the children had been taken out of school earlier this year after being bullied.

But no one had seen them in the street for well over a month.

Agonised questions were being asked about how yet another child could have been allowed to die such an appalling death.

Local MP Khalid Mahmood angrily demanded an inquiry - accusing both the local education authority and social services of ' huge incompetence'.

He claimed that at least one social worker had visited the family after the children were taken out of school but there had been no follow-up visits.

Khyra's mother Angela Gordon, 33, and her live-in boyfriend Junaid Abuhamza, 29, have appeared in court accused of neglect and been remanded in custody.

Court officials said they will face a second charge of causing or allowing the death of a child when they appear again next week.

The case has chilling similarities to that of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie, whose death from neglect and abuse at the hands of her aunt and her boyfriend in February 2000 was meant to lead to a massive overhaul of child protection.

Now Khyra's death has brought the same questions about how a child could have been allowed to die of hunger and whether child protection officers, teachers, doctors or neighbours were aware the family had problems.

The horror came to light when paramedics were called to the house in the early hours of Saturday. They were told a girl was having breathing difficulties.

But after seeing the state of Khyra, her three brothers, aged 12, nine and eight, and two sisters, aged 11 and four, they called police.

One paramedic was said to have been in tears.

Miss Gordon - a Muslim convert whose family came to Britain from Jamaica - had told her neighbours the children had been bullied at school, apparently because they wore Muslim clothes.

She was said to have had been making arrangements for them to be taught at home - a pile of English and Maths teaching books could be clearly seen on one of the window ledges yesterday.

Labour MP Mr Mahmood said: "It just beggars belief that we have allowed this to happen. I understand there was at least one visit by an education social worker after the children left school, but not one follow-up visit.

"I find that an amazing dereliction of duty that they have not followed it through. There is some sort of structural failure here. It should not have been allowed to get to this stage.

"We have to be far more stringent with people who don't take their children to school.

"They appear to have allowed the children to disappear out of school, not even with a followup call to social services. I find it amazing that six children can go like this and nobody cares."

Child protection officials in Birmingham refused to say whether the family were "known'" to them.

A City Council spokesman said: "We are deeply saddened by the death of this child and our sympathies go to the child's family and friends at this difficult time.

"This death is now the subject of a police inquiry and Birmingham City Council are fully supporting the investigation. We are therefore unable to make any further comment."

Unemployed Miss Gordon, who previously used the name Angela Greenland, has lived in the racially-mixed Handsworth area for more than a decade.

She rented her terraced house from a local housing association.

She lived there initially with Khyra's father Delroy Frances, who converted to Islam and changed his name to Abu Zaire Ishaq, but he moved out more than three years ago.

His sister Valerie arrived at the house yesterday, holding a young child, and unaware of her niece's terrible death.

She said she had not seen the children since the beginning of the year, adding: "When I saw them last, they were in perfect health.

I've been coming here all the time, knocking on the door and no-one came to the door.

"I am very unhappy about the way I have found this out. The family should have been told in a proper way. I don't think my brother knows."

The door and ground-floor windows of the house were covered with metal shutters yesterday.

Forensic experts and police had earlier taken away items including carpets and clothing.

Neighbours were in shock as they watched the activity.

One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, added: "We would never expect something like this. We knew they were going through some trouble about a year ago.

"Before that we used to see the children and they looked happy and normal, but after that we didn't see them.

"They seemed like normal, happy kids, but then they disappeared. The house wasn't very well kept. It's not the cleanest of places. We only live a few doors down. It's shocking."

He said police had been outside the house for up to four days after the raid on Saturday and described an ambulance arriving in the middle of the night.

Other neighbours told ITV that three of the children were seen in recent months looking "extremely thin".



Mohammed Khalil, who lived nearby, said he used to see some of the children in their uniforms on their way to the nearby Grove School but that he had not seen them for months.

"The children's father, he didn't live there. He was living there but then he moved out," he said. "I think there was another man living there. I saw him a couple of times."

Parents collecting children from the primary school tonight were handed a letter informing them of Khyra's death.

Signed by the school's headteacher, Pamela Matty, it read: "Dear Parents, We have been informed by the police that a child in Handsworth has died.

"As a mark of respect for the family and the community, we are postponing tonight's music concert to a future date."

Police wearing protective forensic suits had been seen removing furniture and carpets from the house over the weekend.


Pictured: The seven-year-old girl who starved to death as her 5 siblings scavenged for bread left for the birds | Mail Online

so sad
so sad

This is what happens when you leave other men to bring up your child.

Sad doesn't even begin to describe it.

Rest in Peace

They're children, they're not going to be committing a sin for going to school in the dyam school uniform! As a result of bullying what does the mother do? Dress them in the school uniform? No. She removes them from school and gets some books. To teach them at home? Maybe. The problem is that she NEGLECTS TO FEED THEM! WTF!!!

This isn't just sad, it's totally sickening!

"Officers arrived to find the six starving children lying on mattresses in a bedroom on Saturday." Where were their beds? Why were six children stuck in one room? Was this happening because of the "live-in boyfriend Junaid Abuhamza"?? The mother is responsible for what happened to these children. How come she isn't emaciated and starving? Funny dat.

Does Islam allow "live-in boyfriends"? If she could break this fundamental law, she could have dropped her hypocrisy, put the children back in school uniform and allowed them to remain in school!

I'm tired of hearing news reports concentrating on social services, what do we expect from them (?), why not focus on the individual! This woman is lucky ONLY ONE of those children died! Decent peoples' children don't starve, no matter what religion they choose to follow. Fassyhole needs to be lock up for good!

****merged****

To be honest I'm going to call out that child's NATURAL father, he needs to be shot....how in the hell could anyone be doing that to your child and you don't know... That man ought to be ashamed....and all those BLACK MEN not keeping tabs on their children need to buck up their ideas....its an absolute disgrace that yet another BLACK has died in this way!!!

The father of a seven-year-old girl who allegedly starved to death said the "manner of her death" was "absolutely disgraceful".

An independent inquiry has been launched into the death of Khyra Ishaq, of Handsworth, Birmingham.

Angela Gordon, 33, and Junaid Abuhamza, 29, have been charged with neglect in connection with her death.

"I'm just as ignorant as everyone else as to what happened," said her father, Ishaq Abu Zaire.

"But like I say... you can put your house on it that we're going to find out, one way or another, we are going to find out exactly what happened here."

Birmingham social services have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Khyra's death.

Her father said he feels let down by the authorities.

"As far as I can see because I have a dead child right now, they did nothing, they did nothing.

"They never lifted a finger to do anything... so they are responsible as well."

He said the last time he saw all of the children, including Khyra, the girl was happy and there was "no concern..with regards to her health".

Khyra's father had been out of the country until Saturday and he said he had not seen his children in more than a year.

Maybe its me....but I think this guy is taking the right royal piss..... Where is is HIS responsiblity or that of his family in checking up on the girl.. He hasn't seen his child for a YEAR and he has the bloody cheek to be castigating the authorities if i were him i shut my mout wid shame!!!

Kunfuju.......I was also wondering hwy he was putting some of the blame of the authorities....if he was gone for a year, he betta have a damn sure good reason.!!

It almost baffles me how a child in the UK can starve to death, what the fugg was the mother doing....this is beyond child negligence, it's like manslaughter.