UN Girl necks herself after chores row - Show your trademark sympathy Kiwis!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-47032653

A 13-year-old girl was found hanged after she went missing from home following an argument about chores, an inquest has heard.

Amber Peat's body was found in bushes three days after she walked out of her home in Mansfield on 30 May 2015.

She left at about 17:10 BST and was reported missing almost eight hours later, at 00:56 on 31 May.

Amber "always had a sad face" and "felt very put upon" at home, her former teacher told the inquest.

Joanne Holt told Nottinghamshire Coroner's Court: "She had lots of jobs to do that her siblings perhaps weren't expected to do in the same way.

"She didn't feel she was treated fairly in comparison to her siblings.

"She felt her siblings perhaps got away with things that she perhaps didn't get away with."

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Image captionAmber's body was found in Westfield Lane, about a mile from her home in Bosworth Street
Amber lived with her mother Kelly Peat and stepfather Daniel Peat, while her biological father Adrian Cook lived in Scotland.

Mrs Holt was Amber's class teacher at John Davies Primary in Huthwaite for just over a term, from January 2013 onwards, until the teenager moved schools during the summer term.

The inquest heard how Amber went to many different schools as she had moved house "no less than 11 times", according to assistant coroner Laurinda Bower.

The coroner asked Mrs Holt to tell her what she remembered about Amber.

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Image captionAmber's mother and stepfather appealed for information when she went missing
Mrs Holt said: "I remember she was quite an unhappy child. That's what stands out mostly in my head.

"She never really seemed happy. She was usually alone. She always had a sad face."

Mrs Holt said she had tried to talk to Amber's mother about her problems "on a number of occasions" after school.

"I think on two occasions we had a meeting with mum but couldn't get much response from her," she said.

"I didn't feel that anything was acted upon or really acknowledged that there was a problem."

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Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionFloral tributes and messages to Amber Peat were left near where her body was found
Det Con Tina Gilfoyle, who investigated Amber's death for Nottinghamshire Police, said she had been "troubled quite a lot" while on a family holiday to Cornwall in the week before her death.

Family members told police "there had been arguments" and Amber "had been prevented from going to the beach," the detective said.

While there, Amber and her cousin wrote a "Run Away List" containing items such as a torch and a wig, but her cousin apparently thought it was a joke.

Amber's stepfather allegedly threatened to hit her if she continued scowling at him while on the drive home from holiday, the court heard.

That is what one of Amber's siblings told police, but Mr Peat has not yet given his evidence and has not been questioned about the allegation.

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Image copyrightPA
Image captionVolunteers from the community helped police search for Amber
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Image captionPosters were put in the windows of shops and houses as the public joined the search for Amber
Amber was apparently made to clear the car out when they arrived home from holiday, and on the day she died she had been asked to clean a cool box.

"She wasn't happy about it," Det Con Gilfoyle said.

"She is reported as complaining and trying to get mum's attention, and so mum shuts the door leaving Amber alone in the hallway. A short while later the door slams and Amber is gone."

The officer said Amber's family went to look for her, but also went to Tesco and did some shopping before finally reporting her missing.

The inquest continues.

The officer said Amber's family went to look for her, but also went to Tesco and did some shopping before finally reporting her missing

Priorities guys...
 
There is a serious case review going to take place. Basically all the agencies that the family are already involved with will have to share what they knew about this family and what they did or didn't do to protect the children. It will be interesting reading and I bet will show the stepfather was a cruel and abusive man and that even if the mother didn't actively join in she also never tried to stop it. Now the inquest has finished the SCR will be published.

It seems like the family had already been referred to social services a year before this poor girl killed herself.
The 11 house moves and multiple schools by the age of 13 are huge red flags for a dysfunctional family. Other reports seem to suggest that the stepfather has been removed from the family home after Amber's death which implies he is considered a risk to the kids and/or mother by social services. I work with kids who have had very disrupted educations/gone to multiple schools in a short space of time and there is usually a lot of shit going on at home and I'm never surprised when they end up in foster care a few months later. So many crappy parents damaging their kids. Man, this has really upset me because she sounds so much like the children I deal with. Kiwifarmers are giving me the feelz too by being so empathetic to this poor kid.
 
More on topic, it's a real pity what happened with this girl, I can only wonder what the hell is wrong with her mother, and if maybe her biological father would have saved her from this terrible life she had if he was around (:optimistic:). Also fuck BBC for the misleading/clickbait title.
most Cinderella story dont ends in a happy ending.
Also This is the UK, her Biological Father had no chance to help her.
 
There is a serious case review going to take place. Basically all the agencies that the family are already involved with will have to share what they knew about this family and what they did or didn't do to protect the children. It will be interesting reading and I bet will show the stepfather was a cruel and abusive man and that even if the mother didn't actively join in she also never tried to stop it. Now the inquest has finished the SCR will be published.

It seems like the family had already been referred to social services a year before this poor girl killed herself.
The 11 house moves and multiple schools by the age of 13 are huge red flags for a dysfunctional family. Other reports seem to suggest that the stepfather has been removed from the family home after Amber's death which implies he is considered a risk to the kids and/or mother by social services. I work with kids who have had very disrupted educations/gone to multiple schools in a short space of time and there is usually a lot of shit going on at home and I'm never surprised when they end up in foster care a few months later. So many crappy parents damaging their kids. Man, this has really upset me because she sounds so much like the children I deal with. Kiwifarmers are giving me the feelz too by being so empathetic to this poor kid.

Guess that explains why it's suddenly in the news almost half a decade after she died.
 
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...er-telling-just-wanted-little-girl-again.html

Hanged schoolgirl sent mother a letter telling her she 'just wanted to be her little girl again'
Earlier today it emerged 'Cinderella' schoolgirl Amber Peat wrote a letter to her mother before she was found hanged telling her: 'I just want to be your little girl again' - but her parent laughed at it, an inquest heard today.

The 13-year-old from Mansfield, who was found hanged in a hedgerow three days after she ran away from home following a row about chores, penned the note during a meeting with a youth worker.

The inquest heard today that her letter began 'Dear mum, I just want to be your little girl again'.

But her mother Kelly Peat 'laughed' at it in the spring of 2014 – leaving Amber feeling 'disappointed', Amber's youth worker Sorele Swallow told the inquest into her death today.

Miss Swallow also said that Amber had been told not to talk about her home life and and warned: 'What goes on in this house stays in this house'.

Amber was struggling with the demands of growing up, worried about her place in her family and told a teacher she believed her parents 'cared more for their dog' than her before she died on June 2, 2015, it was claimed.

The schoolgirl's body was discovered three days after she left the home in Mansfield, she shared with mother Kelly, step-father Danny, and two younger siblings.

The inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court has previously been told Amber's mother and step-father didn't report her missing for almost eight hours after going shopping and having supper.

The coroner was told claims from teachers that she 'didn't get as much attention at home as would be considered normal'.

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Youth worker Sorele Swallow told the inquest Amber agreed to write the letter to her mother to improve their relationship and said the teenager was disappointed when her mum laughed
On the fifth day of the Nottingham inquest, the youth support worker who was allocated to Amber, then 11, after the family was referred to their local council by a GP gave evidence.

Miss Swallow, who had a series of one-on-one meetings with Amber in 2014, described her as 'delightful' and a 'lovely, bright little girl with a great sense of humour who was cheeky but not in a naughty way'.

However, she said the youngster was 'struggling a little bit to find her place in the family.

Miss Swallow added: 'Although she was a little girl she was the eldest child in the family.

'There were issues of having to share with another sibling. How do you find space for yourself in that situation?

'She spoke positively about her mum, that she had a good sense of humour and a good relationship before but not as good now.

'She felt her behaviour had damaged the relationship but did not know what she could do to stop behaving the way she did.

'She was worried she was not herself anymore, and growing up and not being able to be silly anymore. She wanted to still be a little girl.

'Mum was pregnant, and when the new baby was born she would have to be even more grown up, and did not want to be.'

Miss Swallow said she suggested Amber wrote a letter to her mum discussing her issues.

The youth worker added: 'It was an apologetic tone.. I want things to be back, I want things to be right with us. She referenced her attitude.

'She said she would give it to her mum.'

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Kelly Peat, and step father Danny Peat appeal for missing Amber to come home before she was found dead in 2015
Asked by coroner Laurinda Bower if she had had done so, Miss Swallow replied: 'Amber said that she had given it to her mum but that her mum had laughed at it. She looked at it and didn't take it seriously so she wasn't going to do it again.

'She seemed disappointed when she told me.'

Miss Swallow was also quizzed by Ms Bower about an occasion when Amber claimed she had been left at home alone to wash pots as a punishment and had 'escaped' out of a window before climbing back through and going to sleep in bed ahead of her parents' return.

The inquest heard that in a later meeting, Amber claimed her parents had told her 'what goes on this house stays in this house' – something Miss Swallow said 'concerned' her.

Following an incident in April 2014 in which Mr and Mrs Peat refused to pick Amber up from school because their 'dog was in labour' after she ran away from home at night, Miss Swallow wrote a 'case note' containing a number of 'concerns'.

One was 'family heavily sanctioning Amber's undesirable behaviour' – and included a punishment which saw her told to wash every pot in the house.

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The family did not report Amber missing until they had 'been to Tesco and had their tea'. Pictured above the missing poster which was put up once it had been reported that Amber was missing
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Volunteers from the local community (pictured above) pitched in during the search for Amber
Miss Swallow said: 'Any sanctions you put in place need to be proportional to what the child has done.

'I did not see the point in it. If a child has got an attitude, and a lot do, I am not sure what they will learn from that action.

'I understood it to be washing everything.'

The inquest heard another concern saw Amber 'stating she no longer feels part of the family anymore. Everyone gets on with everyone else apart from me. We are drifting apart and will soon have nothing left.'

Miss Swallow added Amber said she 'had been told she would not be doing anything on her birthday because of bad behaviour' – but this didn't seem to worry her as much as her concerns over not feeling part of the family.

The youth worker told the hearing she supported escalating Amber's case to social care – the next level of intervention – but the move never took place after her family agreed to meet with her school.

She was then asked by Ms Bower if she thought Amber was capable of taking her own life, and if she was aware of incidents when the schoolgirl had placed a ligature around her neck in front of other people.

Miss Swallow said she wasn't, adding: 'I do not believe any child of that age has the capacity to understand the full consequences of their activity.

'I don't think she could have understood the gravity of her actions.'

She said she did not believe Amber had any mental health issues, telling Ms Bower: 'I can categorically state that at no point was I concerned she would harm herself or hurt herself in any way.'

On Thursday, the inquest heard Amber told a teacher her parents 'cared more for their dog' than her.

David Wallace, Amber's Head of Year at Tibshelf Secondary School, described how he was called by a caretaker after she turned up at school at night having ran away from home.

Mr Wallace said he called her family to see if it was safe for her to return home, but was told neither parent could come to collect her because 'their dog was in labour'.

He was forced to drive Amber home himself, telling the inquest she was 'very quiet'. Mr Wallace added: 'She remarked that they wouldn't care, they were more interested in the dog'.

The inquest heard there was 'minimal emotion' when Amber was returned.

At a subsequent meeting at the school, in May 2014, Mr Wallace said he had 'a gut feeling' all was not well at home.

Peter Kenworthy, pastoral lead at the school, told the hearing that 'with hindsight' the school could have done more to refer Amber's case to social care services.

But he said a focus at the time was on ensuring improvements in her behaviour since joining the school was not undone by the disruption of another house move.

The inquest, which is expected to last around a month, continues.

Well this is a pretty huge red flag:

Amber had been told not to talk about her home life and and warned: 'What goes on in this house stays in this house'.


:(
 
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-47048827

Apparently he has borderline personality disorder and it sounds like he blamed Amber for his “moods”:

Dr Gadsden said Mrs Peat told him that Amber's stepfather had mental health issues and borderline personality disorder. According to Dr Gadsden, Amber said she felt responsible for her stepfather's bad moods.

Also her mother wanted to take her out of school for a whole week when she was due to sit her SATs exams, because the parents were getting married at the weekend. They really didn’t care about that little girl at all :(
 
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-47048827

Apparently he has borderline personality disorder and it sounds like he blamed Amber for his “moods”:



Also her mother wanted to take her out of school for a whole week when she was due to sit her SATs exams, because the parents were getting married at the weekend. They really didn’t care about that little girl at all :(

Good God. I wouldn't wish a borderline parent on my worst enemy.
 
Sorry for double post, but the coroner is thinking this was an accident now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-47329736

Yeah she tripped and fell directly into a noose dangling from a tree, could happen to anyone. That's not fucking retarded at all. Kids contemplating suicide always get dismissed with "they don't understand what they're saying" and while that may be true in some cases (especially with very young ones, like under 9) she obviously understood it well enough if she actually fucking did it. Nothing will happen to the family (emotional abuse is shitty but not illegal) but someone, preferably someone without their head up their ass, needs to keep an eye on those other kids.(I know :optimistic::optimistic::optimistic:)
 
God, I feel so bad for this poor little girl. It couldn't have been more obvious that she was being abused unless she had a neon sign above her head saying so. If people had just paid attention and taken action, she'd probably still be around.

The system failed her.
 
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