Stacey Davis, a mother jailed for leaving her baby at home to die alone, was accused of “wishing he had died instead of the family dog”, a Serious Case Review revealed.
The 35-year-old, of Caretakers Close, Melksham, was handed a two-year stint in custody after admitting that she left twelve-month-old Ethan in his cot for over two hours whilst she ran unimportant errands.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Ethan had a 15cm skull fracture and had high levels of cannabis in his hair. Davis accepted she smoked the drug around him but denied the head injury was a deliberate act – claiming he fell over. Despite having visible injuries, she decided not to take him to hospital.
His father Luke Turvey, 36, from Great Cheverell, and his family have now said that Ethan was let down by Wiltshire Council and the multiple agencies that were involved in his care.
The comments were backed up by a Serious Case Review (SCR) published in 2019; it confirmed that more could have been done by professionals to protect Ethan.
The SCR detailed how Davis’ own family members alleged that she “had not bonded with Child K, had expressed the view that she “hates” Child K”.
It also says they reported how she previously ”wished he had died instead of the family dog” – allegations she denied at the time and no further action was taken.
The SCR also found that Luke was effectively disregarded by professionals – ignored when he should have been spoken to, even when he sustained a broken nose, allegedly inflicted by Stacey.
It recorded how there was little information, from all the agencies involved with the family, about Like, his relationship with Ethan and his role in Ethan’s care.
Luke blasted the authorities – saying that believes that social workers were naturally against him, assuming that he was the abuser because he was male.
He said: “I think they failed Ethan and our family because of how we were treated and how it was assumed it was me because I’m the man. It was like they assumed it was me from the off because I’m the male and it’s usually man.
“Social services should have investigated all allegations that were made against her, rather than ignoring them. They should have spoken to me more, but they did everything through her.
“At the start, I wasn’t even involved – even with the health visitor, they almost dismiss you. When something happens, it’s like, where’s the father?
“They were coming at me about missed doctor’s appointments but obviously everything was in her name and it was all letter form. I wasn’t living there, how would I know? If she doesn’t tell me there’s an appointment, I wouldn’t know.
“Everyone who dealt with this has said sorry – the police for example – but still no apology from social services, because they know they really messed up.”
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Ethan’s auntie, Lexi Connors, 39, said that Luke wasn’t provided with any support for the alleged domestic violence he was facing.
She said: “I rang social services after she allegedly broke his nose, saying I was really concerned that she was home alone with the children.
“I was really concerned because she was still going to be in a rage, and I was worried she might do something to the children.
“I feel like with everything we’ve seen since this happened, I feel like there’s still a lot of gender discrimination in social services.
“I’ve spoken to so many people who are having similar issues. Social services don’t ever seem to listen to the fathers.
“You’re always going to get bad fathers, but it’s almost like they are not looking at facts. They assumed it was Luke. We were treated so badly, even after the truth was out there.”
The family wanted a five-year jail term handed down – because that’s how old his son would have been today but overall welcomed the result.
Lexi added: “Ethan was in his cot and nobody was coming for him – nobody deserves to die alone. You should always have somebody there – your mum, your dad, someone.
“I know the judge was thorough and fair given the guidelines he had to follow.
“The defence were pushing for a suspended sentence, I’m just glad she’s in custody. She won’t have an easy time in there.
“What’s hardest for us is that she has refused to tell us where Ethan’s ashes are.”
