A single mother of three killed her youngest child in a drug-induced rage. This left two six-year old twins in the care of their grandfather whilst criminal court proceedings were brought against the mother.
In the two years between the murder and the end of the trial, the father of the twins also murdered a step child in a separate event. By the time we became involved, the children were in desperate need of help and attention from the State. Although the grandfather had been doing a good job raising them, he needed support, and it was support that neither the NHS nor the local authority wanted to give.
Whist it was decided the grandfather could probably look after one child, it was believed that he was struggling with the second for various reasons. We requested, and were granted, the services of child psychologist who conducted a full review of the children. After some deliberation the advice was not to split them up, despite the family arguing of the need to give them equal opportunities on their own.
We fought for the complex rights of the twins. We stated that they needed proper care attention, support and a safe environment. We argued that the local authority should pay to support them. The State agreed and we won the case. Now the twins live together and, at 10 years old, are positioned with a loving foster family.
The twins had lost a sibling and had neither parent able to look after them – an extremely traumatic time for anyone, let alone six-year-old children. Keeping the twins together gives them the support of each other and the foster home gives them a safe environment to grow up in and enjoy their childhood.
