Daniel Pelka – A Lost Voice

Daniel Pelka was a young, blonde-haired, bright-eyed boy with his entire life ahead of him. Sadly, his basic right to life has been prematurely cut short and, as a collective society, we are all culpable.

The young boy’s Polish parents, Eryk Pelka and Magdelena Luczak, migrated to the United Kingdom in search of a fruitful and prosperous life. Shortly after the trip, Daniel was born in Coventry, but relations between the young child’s parents deteriorated, following Magdelena’s unceremonious affair with another Polish national, named Mariusz Krezolek.

The abhorrent events that transpired, thereafter, has shocked and stunned the UK, in equal measure. With Daniel’s father out of the picture, his mother and surrogate father figure systematically abused the boy over the course of several months, until his untimely death in March 2012. Daniel faced food withdrawal, psychological torment and sustained beatings, the results of which were plain to see, with marks, scars and bruises scouring his entire body.

Daniel’s sibling, protected by anonymity, was privy to much of the twisted debauchery that occurred and, in a recent court case, elaborated on the details; he described how Daniel was submersed under water, at the family home, until he fell unconscious and had his head “bashed” against the bath. He went on to explain how, during periods of Daniel’s starvation, he would frequently sequester additional rations of food from his parents, just so he could feed his brother.

“I had to make food for him, I had to clean him up.”

The child also states that Daniel was, humiliatingly, not permitted to leave his bedroom (a dark, unheated box-room, essentially serving as an imprisoning cell), not even to go to the toilet; instead, he was expected to defecate in his own room, and live among his own excrement. When he wasn’t locked inside his bedroom, his parents forced him to make endurance runs around his home. On occasions, when Daniel was caught secretly consuming extra food, he was force-fed quantities of salt to make him vomit.

However, what makes this case all the more astonishing is the fact that so many alleged professionals and agencies, designed to monitor and protect vulnerable, young people, can completely miss the all-too-obvious signs of abuse and neglect.

Teaching staff at Daniel’s school, Little Health Primary, found the young boy, on school premises, routing around in garbage, and pilfering food from fellow students, desperately searching for sustenance to satiate his hunger. Remarkably, in Birmingham Crown Court, Beatrice O’Brien stated, “we watched him walk up to the bin, look to see if anyone was looking and pick out either the core of an apple or a pear and start eating it.” She went on, “I was very concerned. He did not look well and he had lost a lot of weight.” Teaching Assistant, Amy Tokely, wept in the same courtroom, as she discussed how Daniel wanted to eat “muddy and dirty” pancakes, which had been dropped on the floor (hardly surprising, since he was dispatched to school with little more than half a sandwich in his lunch-box). Based upon these auspices, the teaching staff’s concerns were escalated further, and the Deputy Head contacted Daniel’s GP, who conducted a medical exam and subsequently prescribed nutritional tablets.

In addition, Police Officers were called upon to investigate suspicions of abuse, in 2010, when Daniel had sustained a broken arm. The police elected not to press charges, later justifying their judgement based upon the notion that the injury was “consistent” with information provided by Daniel’s parents; Mariusz and Magdelena had told police officers, Daniel had slipped off of the sofa, resulting in the afore-mentioned fracture.

Three weeks before his death, a community pediatrician performed basic checks on Daniel Pelka, determining that he was underweight, but not wasting. However, when the young boy’s body was examined, post mortem, experts identified clear signs of physical abuse and neglect; his hair was falling out, his spine and rib cage were protruding quite perceptibly, and his weight reflected that of an 18-month-old (just one and a half stone).

Adding to this damning verdict, the child protection consultant, who had made the previous observations, says his stature was akin to a concentration camp victim. The radiologist corroborated the assessment, comparing the child’s condition to that of an emaciated cancer patient.

Although not widely publicized in the U.S., it is important to remember these events and draw lessons from such tragedies, as these are universal issues we must contend with. It is not this author’s intention to point the finger at any one individual or body, or play a part in any culture of blame. However, it’s fair to say that quite significant mistakes in protocol and procedure have been made. The teaching staff reported the issues to the relevant authorities; GPs and pediatricians served up their medical opinions and social care workers attended the home, alongside members of the police force. These individuals were supposed to be fulfilling their collective duty of care when they were summoned to investigate but, time and time again, Daniel’s case was allowed to slip through the net, unabated. Many are calling for improved communication between these governing bodies. Hospitals have multi-disciplinary teams of healthcare workers, liaising to provide patients with the best possible treatment; is it perhaps time that social care workers, teachers and GPs institute an analogous system?

Daniel died of serious head injuries, in a dark, unpleasant room after months of callous torture; regardless of who’s to blame, no one was there to help that little boy. We failed Daniel Pelka in life, let’s hope we don’t fail him in death.

Written By: James Fenner