Alfie Steele: Mother and partner convicted of killing nine-year-old boy after months of abuse
A mother and her partner have been convicted of killing the woman’s nine-year-old son who had 50 injuries all over his body at the time of his death.
Alfie Steele died after being repeatedly beaten and held in a cold bath as part of a “sinister” regime of punishment inflicted on him.
Dirk Howell, 41, was found guilty of murder and Carla Scott, 35, was convicted of manslaughter but found not guilty of murder at Coventry Crown Court.
The judge, Mr Justice Wall, remanded both defendants into custody to be sentenced at 11am on Thursday.
Alfie’s many injuries included bruises all over his body and signs he had been deprived of oxygen.
The trial heard that after his mother met Howell, Alfie “suffered assaults and cruelty, by being beaten, assaulted, punished with cold water and made to endure a life that no child should lead”.
On 18 February, 2021, Scott called 999 to report that her son wasn’t breathing. She told the call handler that Alfie had fallen asleep in the bath at their home in Droitwich, Worcestershire.
When two police officers arrived at 2.30pm, Howell was not at the house.
Scott told the officers that she had found Alfie “submerged”, adding he had previously “hit his head”.
By that stage Alfie was lifeless, not breathing and was already cold to touch – just six minutes after the 999 call.
During their trial, both defendants told jurors that Alfie was not “dunked” in a bath at his home as a punishment prior to his death.
Carla Scott has been convicted of the manslaughter of her son Alfie Steele and Dirk Howell has been convicted of his murder
The six-week trial was told Scott and career criminal Howell tried to cover up the killing by delaying calling 999 after Alfie was either drowned, asphyxiated or went into cardiac arrest.
The court heard Alfie, who was found lifeless with a body temperature of 23C, may have been put back in a warm bath as the couple tried to pass off the murder as an accidental drowning.
Scott lied to police that she had last seen Howell a couple of days before Alfie’s death. In fact, CCTV showed him running away from the house around the time the 999 call was made.
He was arrested a short time later as he tried to board a train at Droitwich station.
The trial heard both Scott and Howell thought it was acceptable to hit Alfie with “belts, or a slider, like a heavy-duty flip flop, and use other more sinister forms of punishment”.
This included “dunking” him “in cold baths whilst naked” or forcing Alfie to “stand outside, in the middle of the night and have cold water” thrown over him.
A recording made by a neighbour in which Alfie can be heard screaming “open the door” repeatedly after being locked out of the house was played to the trial.
Carla Scott speaks to paramedics
Concerns about Alfie had been raised with the authorities on many occasions and police and social workers had been involved.
In the year before Alfie’s death, neighbours had made a number of 999 calls.
On 4 April, 2020, neighbour Daniel Grindrod called to tell police “I’m hearing some really worrying noises from next door”, adding: “I’ve heard what sounds like a child in distress.”
The following day neighbours Graham and Rosemary Willetts called 999 to report “something very strange” about the house.
They called police again the next month and Mrs Willetts described seeing a boy in the garden being disciplined.
“He’s standing like a statue,” she said. Asked by the caller if they’d reported the family before, she said: “Yes, yes, this lad we believe is called Alfie.”
In August 2020, just over six months before Alfie died, next-door neighbour Gemma Allcott made a harrowing 999 call telling police: “It sounds like my neighbours are doing something bad to their kid in the bath, like they’re really hurting them.”
The caller told police it sounded like Alfie was “being hit and held under the water or something” at his home in Vashon Drive.
Social workers had put in place a protection plan that meant Howell was not allowed to stay overnight at the house, a rule the couple repeatedly flouted.
Social worker Hayley Waldron told the trial that in March 2020 there had been legal discussions over whether to remove Alfie from Scott’s care, but because Scott had been seen to be working with social workers at that stage it was deemed the situation did not cross that threshold.
An independent child safeguarding practice review is under way to establish whether more could have been done to protect Alfie.
A body has been found in the search for 23-year-old runner Jenny Hall.
She was last seen leaving her home in Barracks Farm, County Durham, in her car just after 3pm on Tuesday.
Police said there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances after a body was found in a very remote area in Teesdale on Sunday morning, five days after she went missing.
Jenny Hall went missing on Tuesday. Pic: Durham Constabulary
“We’re sorry to report that officers searching for missing woman Jenny Hall, have sadly found a body,” Durham Constabulary said in a statement.
“Officers carried out an extensive search alongside specialist partners and have been working around-the-clock to locate Jenny after she went missing on February 18.
“The body was found in a very remote area in Teesdale just after 9.30am today.
“Formal identification has yet to take place. Jenny’s family have been notified and are currently being supported by specialist officers. They have asked for privacy at this devasting time.
“It is not believed there are any suspicious circumstances and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
A major police search was launched after Ms Hall’s disappearance.
Her car, a red Ford Focus, was found on Wednesday parked on the B6278, near remote moorland between Eggleston and Stanhope.
Mountain rescue teams, specialist drones and sniffer dogs had been combing the Hamsterley Forest and the surrounding areas, where there are a number of running trails, this week.
Digital intelligence officers also carried out extensive inquiries into Ms Hall’s mobile phone, smart watch and running apps.
A fresh amber weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the Met Office – with much of the UK already on alert for high winds and showers.
Northern Ireland, Scotland and the UK’s west coast and the Midlands have yellow warnings for wind on Sunday – meaning the possibility of transport delays and short-term power cuts.
There are also rain warnings in place for several parts of western UK.
The new amber warning has been issued for rain in south and central Wales and is in force from 3pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday.
An amber warning means danger to life from floodwater, homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, and there is a chance some communities will be cut off.
Winds across the west of the UK will increase throughout the morning with gusts up to 70mph in exposed areas, the Met Office said.
Zoe Hutin, a meteorologist at the forecaster, said Sunday is expected to be the “worst day” before conditions improve.
“The wind warning itself for the mainland UK ends at 6pm, but we can expect to continue to see quite blustery conditions even into the evening as the mainland rain itself pushes through.”
She added: “By the time people get up on Monday, we’ll still have some of the residual rain from that front in the far south-east of the country, and quite cloudy across England as well.
“But actually elsewhere, it could be a decent start.”
The Met Office’s yellow weather warnings for much of England and Scotland came into force at 6am and are expected to run until 6pm on Sunday.
A separate yellow warning for Northern Ireland came into force at 3am and runs until 3pm.
Rain and high winds are expected across the west of the UK
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People who have noticed some slightly higher temperatures the last couple of days may be dismayed at the latest predictions.
“Through the week, those temperatures are trending back down,” Ms Hutin said.
“And so it will be getting cooler each day, but they will actually just be recovering to around average for the time of year. So it won’t be cold.
“It will just be returning back to where we would expect to be for this time of February.”
Sir Keir Starmer has said the United States “is right” about the UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence and security.
The prime minister, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, said he is clear Britain “will take a leading responsibility” in protecting the continent.
“Instability in Europe always washes up on our shores,” he said.
“And this is a generational moment. I’ve been saying for some time that we Europeans – including the United Kingdom – have to do more for our defence and security. The US is right about that.”
He added “we can’t cling to the comforts of the past” as it is “time to take responsibility for our security”.
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Donald Trump sparked an emergency meeting of European leaders this week after he said European NATO members should spend more on defence, while the US should spend less.
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Sir Keir has said he will set out a path for the UK to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, up from the current 2.3%, but has not indicated when that will be.
It is believed he may announce the details when he visits Mr Trump in Washington DC on Thursday, bringing forward the announcement that was expected in the spring when a defence spending review is published.
The prime minister reiterated the UK will “play our role” if required in Ukraine following a peace agreement after he earlier this week said the UK would send troops to be part of a peacekeeping force.
Sir Keir will meet Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday. Pic: AP
However, his comments caused a row with Germany and Italy who said it was premature to commit to boots on the ground, although France agreed with the UK.
Sir Keir said: “As we enter a new phase in this conflict, we must now deepen our solidarity even further.”
He added: “There can be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine.
“And the people of Ukraine must have long-term security.”
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This week has seen US officials meet their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine – which has been met with indignation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as none of his team were invited.
No Europeans were invited either, sparking concern the US is pandering to Vladimir Putin.
Sir Keir has promised Mr Zelenskyy he will make the case for safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty when he meets with Mr Trump, who has called the Ukrainian president a dictator.
Mr Trump also said Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will visit the White House too this week, “haven’t done anything” to end the war.
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