Mother and partner found guilty over death of 16-month-old toddler
Star Hobson suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital in September 2020
Last updated 14th Dec 2021
A mother and her partner from Keighley have been found guilty over the death of a 16-month-old girl who was repeatedly assaulted in their care.
Star Hobson died in September last year from "utterly catastrophic" injuries, which she received at her home in Keighley.
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Prosecutors said she was "repeatedly physically assaulted over the weeks and months before her death".
Star's mother 20 year old Frankie Smith, denied murder, alongside her partner, Savannah Brockhill, who's 28 years old.
Brockhill has been found guilty of Star's murder.
Smith has been found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child.
Extensive damage to Star's abdominal cavity
The jury has heard that the injuries which caused the toddler's death involved extensive damage to her abdominal cavity "caused by a severe and forceful blow or blows, either in the form of punching, stamping or kicking to the abdomen".
Mr MacDonald said Smith and Brockhill were the only adults in the flat at the time.
The prosecutor said investigations had found evidence on the little girl's body which meant that "in the course of her short life, Star had suffered a number of significant injuries at different times".
Mr MacDonald said there had also been two fractures to the toddler's right leg "caused by forceful twisting", which had been refractured as they healed.
He also described a fracture to the back of Star's skull, and bruising, "much of which is considered to be non-accidental in origin".
CCTV footage reveals a total of 21 blows to Star
Jurors were shown a series of clips from a CCTV camera which prosecutors said showed Brockhill delivering a total of 21 blows to Star in a car over a period of nearly three hours, some as the toddler sat in a car seat.
The footage came from a camera at a recycling plant in Doncaster where Brockhill was working as a security guard, and was filmed about eight days before Star's death.
The video appeared to show Brockhill punching and slapping Star with what the prosecutor described as "considerable force", and at one point the youngster fell out of the vehicle. Brockhill also grabbed Star by the throat.
Another film which was shown to the jury, described by the prosecutor as "disturbing and bizarre", showed Star falling off a plastic chair and hitting the floor.
The mobile phone footage had been slowed down with music added, plus a caption which said "in this moment she realises she has messed up".
Another clip, filmed on both defendants' phones, showed Star being so exhausted that she fell forward and went to sleep in a bowl of food.
Mr MacDonald told the jury the toddler was "clearly exhausted but treated completely without love".
He said "there was also a degree of cruelty and psychological harm" inflicted on Star in the weeks and months before she died, as well as physical assaults.
Relatives concerned for Star's health
A number of relatives and friends of Smith told the jury of concerns they had over bruises they saw on Star which, in some instances, they filmed.
Jurors were told that a number of referrals were by them made to social services from January 2020.
Brockhill, of Hawthorn Close, Keighley, and Smith, of Wesley Place, Halifax Road, Keighley, both deny murder and also causing or allowing Star's death.
Summing up the case on Thursday, Mrs Justice Lambert told the jury that the prosecution case is that it was Brockhill who inflicted the fatal injuries on the toddler.
The judge said both women deny inflicting the injuries and each says it must have been the other.
Smith told the jury she was not in the room when Star suffered the fatal injuries but did not suspect Brockhill until she reassessed the situation in prison.
Brockhill described how she ran into the room after hearing a thud and found Star on the floor groaning. She said she administered CPR to the youngster and called 999.
Anita Banerjee from the CPS said: “Brockhill has been found guilty of the murder of Star Hobson and Smith has been found guilty of causing or allowing her death. They were responsible for inflicting catastrophic injuries on a helpless young child.
“Throughout her short life Star was subjected to endless physical assaults and psychological harm.
“Instead of love and protection, she experienced a world of humiliation, cruelty and pain at the hands of those who should have protected her most.
“It is impossible to imagine how any parent or carer could inflict this level of pain and suffering on an entirely defenceless little girl. Our thoughts remain with Star’s family, as they have been throughout.”
The defendants will be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court at 2pm on 15 December.