The Battered Child
| DOI | 10.1177/002201837403800207 |
| Published date | 01 April 1974 |
| Date | 01 April 1974 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Battered
Child
R. v. Kepple
THE recent public inquiry into the death of
Maria
Colwell, the
7year old victim in this case, highlights
the
problem of
the
ill-
treatment of children,
and
indeed violence in the family generally.
In
contrast to the case of R. v. Lowe, (37
j.C.L.,
180), which in-
volved a case of wilful neglect resulting in a child's death, the case
of R. v. Kepple concerned deliberate violence by
the
defendant,
who was in fact
Maria's
stepfather.
Maria
Colwell's
natural
father died in 1965 shortly after she
was born,
and
there were then 5children of the marriage,
and
these
had
to be dispersed to various homes.
Maria
was given into
the hands of a
Mr.
and
Mrs. Cooper who acted as
her
foster
parents for about
6~
years.
In
1969 Maria's mother Mrs. Kepple
began to live with Kepple
and
subsequently married him,
and
had
afurther four children by him.
During
1969 the Children's depart-
ment
of the local authority arranged for
Maria
to visit
her
mother
from time to time and finally in October 1971 the care
order
with
the council was revoked
and
Maria
was sent back to live with the
Kepple family. She was said by
her
foster mother to have been a
normal healthy child while she was with her, although there was a
suggestion of a fit or convulsion in 1967.
During
1972 the Kepple household was visited on a
number
of
occasions by social welfare workers
and
also a
NSPCC
inspector
following complaints about
Maria's
condition. She was found to
be thin
but
not otherwise abnormal,
and
there was some absentee-
ism from school. She was seen by a doctor on December 5, 1972
for a sore
throat
and
eczema,
and
was found to have one or two
marks on her face
but
no other marks on
her
body.
However, on
January
7, 1973,
Mr.
and
Mrs. Kepple arrived
with
Maria
in a
pram
at
the Royal Sussex County Hospital,
and
Maria
was found to have been dead for some time.
The
pathologist
estimated the time of death as between 11.30 pm on the previous
night
and
3 am
that
morning.
The
defendant Kepple said
that
she
was alright on the previous evening
and
that
they
had
found
her
dead in the morning. As to a blow on
her
head which was present
he said
that
she was an epileptic
and
had
fallen downstairs. Both
parents persisted in
that
account when questioned by the police,
and
the defendant made astatement saying
that
he found her
167
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