Trycia Balhous
- August 14, 2007
Late in the year of 2006, Ntsimbi had taken her child,
Trycia and they move to London. Previously living in Paris, with the father
of her child, Ntsimbi had, even then, displayed behavior that was not of
a normal mind. Trycia's father had tried to get custody of her by telling
the French authorities that Ntsimbi had thrown the baby against a wall
and had then banged a knife on the floor. Custody was denied to him and
Ntsimbi was given custody of the baby. She then moved them both to London.
Neighbors had told police that Ntsimbi Galtricia
was not a well woman and they were right. Several times in the weeks before
she killed her daughter, neighbors had called police to complain about
the odd way Ntsimbi was behaving. A shopkeeper had complained that she
was in his shop many times saying he was her husband and the father of
her daughter, Trycia. This was not true at all and eventually Ntsimbi had
to be banned from the store:
"She always used to come in with her little
girl. Whenever she came in she told me that I was her
husband and the father of her child and she
told me to come back home. Once she tried to get
into the office"
Huseyin Alacayir
Another man had the same problems with her when she
would come to his barber shop and say her husband:
"Come home, everything's going to be all right"
Dougie
Ntsimbi had been arrested after the complaints were
filed and she was referred to mental health services and that team had
found her to be fit and took no further action:
"We are looking into the background of the
family as part of our investigation but we can confirm
a woman in her 20s on 8 August was arrested
on suspicion of harassment of a shopkeeper.
She was bailed pending further inquiries."
A police spokeswoman
Social services had done an evaluation on Ntsimbi
after the complaints had been filed. This mental evaluation had been done
only six days prior to the death of Trycia. Ntsimbi was found fit and her
daughter was left with her, even though she had been arrested shortly before
she stabbed the child to death.
"She was assessed by our mental health team
on 9 August but she was not found to be
suffering from a mental health disorder"
A spokesman for Barking and Dagenham council
The spokesperson went on to say that they had received
reports from the police about Ntsimbi's behavior:
"Crucially, the information we received from
the police didn't raise any concerns over the
welfare of the child. We didn't take action
over the child."
In August of 2007, Ntsimbi's daughter, Trycia, was
found dead a little after midnight. Paramedics were called to her home
in Barking Essex and there they found the little girl stabbed to death
and her mother was suffering from stab wounds. Ntsimbi was taken to the
hospital and was described as being in serious, though not in any life
threatening danger. A case review done by a multi
agency case review team started an investigation. Barking And Dagenham
Council said that Trycia was not on the child protection register
and had not been under their care.
Neighbors voiced their concerns to police before
she had died, about how this child was being raised. One complaint said
that Trycia was allowed to run in the street and once her mother had hurt
the child by picking her up by her arm in a rough way and dropping her
onto the sidewalk:
"I felt very sorry for her little girl because
despite everything she was so happy and she loved
playing with the other children outside. I
said to the police officer that they should take the kid
off the mother because she was clearly not
very well. I am disgusted that no one has done
anything to keep the little girl safe. This
seems to me as if it was completely preventable
if they had taken action sooner."
Kay James - neighbor
An 11 year old neighbor brought some flowers and
a teddy bear and placed it by the police barrier. There was a message left
with the items she placed there for Balthous:
"To a little angel, who was sent to bud on
earth and bloom in heaven. God bless you,
from your neighbour"
Hannah Nolan
On May 12, 2008 Judge David Paget said that social
services failed to take the police seriously about the condition of Ntsimbi:
"The forensic medical examiner was sufficiently
troubled to say there might be a fixed delusional disorder. It seems a
thousand pities in retrospect, and of course hindsight is a wonderful thing.
That his views were not followed up on more
precisely - it might have avoided this tragedy."
Dr Caroline Arden said that Ntsimbi was suffering
from Paranoid schizophrenia and that she was mentally ill. Caroline
Arden also said that Ntsimbi had not planned the attack on her daughter,
that it was unprovoked and impulsive. She said that Ntsimbi was still exhibiting
that same behavior and needed to be treated.
Ntsimbi admitted to manslaughter on the grounds of
diminished responsibility. Judge Paget sentenced her to be detained indefinitely
under the Mental Health Act. In the interest of public safety, Ntsimbi
was admitted to the John Howard Centre in Hackney.
For information about preventing
child abuse in England, click the links below. If they can't help you,
ask for someone who can. NEVER give up looking for help for an abused
child!
Call this number
to report child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child
1-800-422-4453
   
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