Leticia Aalayah Wright
2002 - November 18,
2006
In the weeks before she was killed, neighbors would
look up and see
Leticia standing in her bedroom, looking out the
window. It was as if
she was holding a vigil, for herself. She would
smile and wave as the
people waved at her, however, she just looked so
sad. Neighbors said that the curtains were closed in the house in the last
week of Leticia's life and there wasn't much sign of anyone living there.
Neighbors called Social Services who would admit, later, that they had
failed this little girl.
On October 13, 2006, social workers went to visit
Leticia and her
mother at their home. Linda Blackie and Nichol
Stephenson noticed
that Leticia was quite. They asked her to bring
them some of her toys
and she did. Leticia seemed to be of normal weight
and had no marks
that were immediately obvious to the social workers.
A return visit on October 24, 2006, showed that Leticia had been registered
with a nursery, which seemed to satisfy the social workers and Leticia's
case was closed. If they had bothered to keep her case open and to check
back with her, they would have found that after week, she stopped going
to school.
Investigators believed that Leticia's abuse was
made worse by the visit from the social workers. On November 17, 2006,
Leticia would die at
the hands of her mother and her mothers boyfriend
who was addicted to Cannabis. Leticia was found lying on the floor, beaten
and naked
with burns on her body, she was close to death.
It had only been one month since social workers had been to visit her.
Leticia was taken to
the hospital where the paramedics and hospital
staff tried to save her,
they were not able to and with over 100 injuries
to her little body,
Leticia died the next day, November 18, 2006.
Sharon Wright and Peter McKenzie-Seaton are believed
to have been
taking turns beating and burning Leticia until
her body just gave out
and could not longer take the abuse and pain that
was described by
detectives as unimaginable. When they were questioned,
each of them placed the blame on the other. Sharon said that Peter had
beaten on
Leticia because he was upset at not being able
to afford to buy any
Cannabis. Peter did admit to biting Leticia, however,
he claimed he
was never with her alone.
In court, the jury heard testimony about the abuse
that Leticia had
suffered at the hands of these people. Leticia
had injuries to her head
that were described by a doctor as similar to those
someone would
receive if they had been in a major car crash.
The back of her head
was a "boggy mass" and her scalp was infected.
Her body had many
bruises, bite marks and cigarette burns. After
a search of the home,
Forensics officers found clumps of her hair in
a wheelie bin. There
were also traces of her blood on clothing and a
pair of fur lined hand
cuffs which were left in the kitchen. Leticia's
hair had left drag marks,
in blood, on the wall in the living room.
It was revealed that at several points in her life,
Leticia told two of her
aunts that Peter, who had a history of violence,
would come to her
room and for no reason at all, he would hit her.
Leticia also made it
clear that she didn't like her mother. On at least
one occasion, she was visibly upset because she didn't want to return to
her mother after a
visit with her biological father, Zaheer Hussain.
Outside of the court room, Detective Paul Taylor,
who was in charge
of the murder investigation said that these people
were evil:
"Leticia was a beautiful, healthy girl who
tragically
met a violent and brutal death at the hands
of her
own mother and Peter McKenzie-Seaton. The
level of
cruelty she was subjected to beggars belief"
Leticia's father said that he felt he would never
get over his daughters
death:
"She was a beautiful little girl, always happy
and smiling.
We will always remember her."
The Kirklees Council commissioned a report by an
independent
professional and though they found that the case
could have been
handled differently, no one could have predicted
what would happen
to Leticia. Paul Johnson of the Safeguarding Children
Board said:
"The tragic death of Leticia Wright in the
most dreadful
of circumstances could not have been foreseen
by any
of the people in the local authority who
dealt with
her and her mother"
In August of 2007, Sharon Wright who was 22 and
Peter McKenzie-
Seaton who was 21, were both found guilty and would
be sentenced
on August 10, 2007
"This has truly been an horrific case.
Detective Paul Taylor
Sharon and Peter were both sentenced to life in
prison with each of
them having to serve a minimum of 23 for what they
did to Leticia.
"Sharon Wright was a very heavy-handed,
unloving,
uncaring mother. What we also know is that
Peter
Seaton was a man of violence, and he was
pretty
inadequate in a lot of ways. As individuals
they were unpleasant people. When they got together they were
a fatal combination. They wanted to be together
and
Leticia was in the way"
Detective Paul Taylor
.
.
Statement from Leticia Aaliyah’s dad,
Zaheer Hussain and family
As a family we desperately miss Leticia and wish
she was here with us now. We haven't got over the shock of her loss and
we don’t think we ever will. The only comfort we can take from this situation
is the help and support shown to us by family, friends and people who knew
Leticia.
She was a beautiful little girl, always happy and
smiling, and she had everything to live for. Losing Leticia has left a
huge gap in our lives.
We would like to thank the people responsible for
bringing this matter to court. Now that the legal process has finished,
we hope that Leticia can rest in peace, and hopefully as a family we can
start to move on.
We will always remember her and she will always
be in our hearts.
For information about preventing child abuse in England
click 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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