Judge criticises social workers after mother killed two-year-old daughter » Health » 24dash.com

A judge today criticised social workers for not helping a young mother who killed her two-year-old daughter.

Trycia Balhous was stabbed five times by her mother Galtricia Ntsimbi who then turned the knife on herself but was saved.

Six days earlier, Ntsimbi had been arrested for harassing a local shop keeper and the police doctor had referred her to social services.

But the Old Bailey was told she was not charged and did not receive follow-up help even though it was later found she was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

Judge David Paget said: "It seems a thousand pities that his views (the doctor's) were not followed up more precisely. It might have avoided this tragedy."

Prosecutor Christopher Tehrani said the doctor thought Ntsimbi was suffering from a "fixed delusional disorder".

Mr Tehrani said: "He suggested a follow-up. The trouble was the defendant was referred to the local social services. There was no follow up."

The court was told that Ntsimbi came to Britain from France in the winter of 2006.

She had given birth to Tricia after a short relationship. The father had unsuccessfully tried to gain custody after Ntsimbi threw the child against a wall when she was six months old.

Ntsimbi had started acting strangely during the summer of last year, according to local people in Barking, east London, where she lived.

She was once seen to throw the child to the ground and abandoned her in the street on another occasion.

She accused a local shopkeeper of being the girl's father and was banned from the shop before her arrest on August 8.

Ntsimbi's mother became concerned about her and arrived at the flat in Maybury Road from Paris on August 13.

After ordering her to bed, the mother heard screams and found Ntsimbi and the child covered in blood, said Mr Tehrani.

Ntsimbi was sent to a mental hospital without limit of time after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

After the sentencing of 24-year-old Ntsimbi, Barking and Dagenham council said: "This clearly was a tragic incident.

"The family only came to the attention of agencies a matter of days before Trycia's death and there was no history of intervention prior to this.

"Following her death, a serious case review was carried out on behalf of the Barking and Dagenham Local Safeguarding Children Board.

"The serious case review concluded that it was highly unlikely that Trycia's death could have been prevented."