Alfie Steele: Mum and partner guilty of killing boy in bath

A mother and her partner have been convicted of killing her nine-year-old son in the bath after months of abuse.

Alfie Steele was found unresponsive at his home in Droitwich, Worcestershire, in February 2021.

Dirk Howell, 41, was found guilty of murdering the young boy and his mother, Carla Scott, was convicted of manslaughter.

Jurors cleared her of Alfie's murder. They were told by the judge they would never have to sit on a jury again.

They deliberated for 10 hours over the case after weeks of hearing horrific details of the nine-year-old's final months.

Alfie was subjected to a cruel discipline regime and had more than 50 injuries when he died.

Jurors heard how his punishments included beatings, being forced to stand outside and being dunked head first in cold baths.

The family was known to social services and neighbours had made repeated calls to police to raise concerns about how Alfie was being treated.

A safeguarding review will now explore what more could have been done to save him.

When emergency services arrived at his home on Vashon Drive at about 14:30 GMT on 18 February, nothing could be done to save him.

Although an exact cause of death could not be ascertained, evidence strongly suggested he died after being dunked in a cold bath.

Scott, 35, claimed Alfie had fallen asleep while enjoying a warm bath. However, his injuries and low body temperature - 23C (73F) - indicated a different story.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk