Woman involved in Wythenshawe toddler death jailed

A woman involved in the death of a toddler in Wythenshawe has been sentenced to five years in prison after appearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday (5 June).

Sharleen Hughes, 36, of Rochdale, had previously been found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and two counts of perverting the course of justice.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128190/rochdale-woman-found-guilty-of-causing-the-death-of-a-child

 

 

Her partner, Michael Wild, 30, of Shevington Gardens, Wythenshawe was found guilty of the murder of 22-month-old Ella-Rose Clover and was sentenced on Monday (3 June), at Liverpool Crown Court to life in prison and will serve a minimum of 20 years in prison.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128235/couple-found-guilty-after-a-baby-girl-was-murdered

Ella-Rose was rushed to hospital by paramedics after suffering from a medical episode on 21 January 2018, but despite the best efforts of paramedics, the toddler tragically passed away.

Over the course of enquiries, officers found that Ella-Rose was often entrusted in the care of Wild and Hughes – the toddler's godmother and a close family friend.

 

 

The court heard how on Friday 19 January, Hughes collected Ella-Rose from her mother to look after her for the weekend.

She was wearing a bandage around her head to cover a wound to her ear which was later determined to have been inflicted by Wild the previous weekend.

Early on Sunday morning, Hughes drove to a shopping centre leaving Ella-Rose in the care of Wild. When she returned home later that morning, she noticed a rash on the little girl’s head which she took pictures of.

A short time later, Hughes left the house again to collect items she had purchased online, leaving the baby girl with Wild.

When she returned a couple of hours later, she found Ella-Rose on the sofa in cardiac arrest with Wild sat on the opposite side of the room.

She immediately called for an ambulance who instructed her on how to deliver CPR. When paramedics arrived, no-one was tending to the baby girl and she was left alone on the sofa.

The baby girl was rushed to hospital but did not survive.

Enquiries found that Wild had abused Ella-Rose on several occasions, inflicting blows to her abdomen and leaving her requiring surgery.

A Home Office post mortem determined that the baby girl died as a result of internal bleeding and cardiac arrest.

Ella-Rose's mum, Pagan Clover, said: "There is no way to describe how it felt losing Ella, The pain is physical; it feels like nothing I have ever experienced.

"Ella’s death hasn’t just affected me; it had had an indescribable impact on my entire family and network of friends.

"Ella was a little monkey, she was infectious and everybody loved her, now everybody’s heart is in pieces.

"My son Harry will never get the chance to meet his big sister. Freyah will never see her sister, her best friend again. My family and I will suffer for the rest of our lives.

"Ella showed nothing but love for Sharleen and Mick, they were a massive part of our daily lives and always came across as loving and caring towards me and my girls. Then they both breached our trust and Ella’s in the worst way possible.  Never would I have believed that either of them could ever hurt our baby.

"Ella was loved beyond words and there will always be a hole in my heart that only Ella can fill.  There are no words to describe the feeling of pain and loss.”