A recent review of the care of a baby who was murdered by his parents just 39 days after being placed back into their care has found significant shortcomings in the assessment and planning of his return to the family home. The safeguarding partnership said that “professional interventions should have protected” the baby, Finley Boden, who suffered 130 “appalling” injuries at the hands of his parents. These injuries included 57 breaks to his bones and burn injuries to his hand.
Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden were jailed for murdering Finley Boden on Christmas Day in 2020. The review found that there were “significant shortcomings” in the care of Finley, who should have been one of the most protected children. Marsden had initially hidden her pregnancy with Finley but an interim care order was implemented after he was born, removing him from his parents’ care. However, he was later returned to their care following a family court hearing on 1 October.
The judge in the murder trial described the couple as “both persuasive and accomplished liars” who denied Finley medical care by using the pandemic to avoid contact with the authorities. The boy also suffered 71 bruises and two burns on his left hand – one “from a hot, flat surface”, the other probably from “a cigarette lighter flame”.
Boden and Marsden were ordered to serve a minimum of 29 and 27 years respectively. Following the review, the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (DDSCP) said it would “take the additional action necessary to further reduce the risk of a repeat of a similar incident”. Derbyshire County Council’s children’s services accepted there had been “missed opportunities” in Finley’s case
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