Forced to Sleep In a Trash Bag Filled With Her Own Waste

Forced to Sleep in a Trash Bag Filled With Her Own Waste

Early Life in the Ivory Coast

On November 2nd, 1991, Bertha and Francis Climbié welcomed their daughter, Victoria Climbié, into the world. Victoria would become one of seven children in a hectic but happy household. The family lived in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a city home to millions, most of whom live well below the poverty line. Whilst Bertha and Francis were not financially wealthy, they were rich in love and dedication to their children. They had grand plans for Victoria, who was a bright and lively child, described as the entertainer of the family.

Victoria and her sisters would giggle together as they put on shows and dances for their parents, with Victoria making sure that everyone else was smiling too. Her parents also described her as an inquisitive child who wanted to know everything about the world around her. In the mid-1990s, Victoria began attending school in the Ivory Coast, and it was clear to her teachers that she was special. She excelled in all of her subjects and helped her fellow students whenever they struggled. Bertha and Francis dreamt that one day their daughter would get the chance to study abroad and perhaps even attend university. Victoria had the kindheartedness and intelligence to be a doctor, and the analytical skills to become a scientist.

The Arrival of Marie-Thérèse Kouao

In October of 1998, the Climbié family received a surprise visit from Marie-Thérèse Kouao. Marie was related through blood on Victoria’s father Francis’s side, and the Climbié family welcomed her with open arms into their home. The Climbiés valued family over everything, and even though she was a distant relative, it was still crucial for them to open their hearts and care for her.

Very quickly into this visit, Marie explained her real motivations for being there. She and her children had been living in Paris, France, for the last few years, and she had seen how excellent the French education system was. Being that the Ivory Coast’s official language was French, they already spoke the language, and the adjustment to their new life was very quick. Marie was also known in the family for being affluent as a result of years of hard work and sacrifice—at least, that is what she had told them.

Marie knew of the conditions in the Ivory Coast and wanted to use her wealth for good. She approached Bertha and Francis with a proposition: she wanted to take one of their children back with her to France so they could receive a proper education. Bertha and Francis knew how big of a deal this was and how it could dramatically transform the lives of one of their children. After a short discussion, the couple picked Victoria. She was intelligent and polite, and never stepped a toe out of line. They knew that she would flourish in France and hoped it would kickstart their beloved daughter’s long and successful academic career.

By the end of October 1998, all of the details had been smoothed out, and Victoria’s bags were packed. This was the last time that the Climbiés would see Victoria.

Just as Victoria and Marie were preparing to leave, Marie dropped a bombshell: Victoria would no longer answer to that name. She was now Anna. Victoria and her parents were perplexed and puzzled by this name change, but Marie swooped in with what seemed like a plausible explanation. Before arriving at the Climbié home, Marie had visited another family with a daughter named Anna. Anna had been chosen first by Marie to move to France with her, and as such, she had obtained a passport and documents for her in that name. When Marie arrived in the Ivory Coast, Anna’s parents apparently had changed their minds. The flight to Paris was leaving in a matter of days, and Marie claimed to have no time to change the name on the documents.

Bertha and Francis trusted their relative, and deep down in their hearts, they believed that what they were doing was best for their daughter. That was all they had ever wanted for her and her siblings. The explanation out of the way, Victoria began answering to the name Anna, and Marie fitted her with hair extensions so she matched her passport photo. Miraculously, they made it through customs without any incident.

A Nightmare in Paris

In November of 1998, after touching down, Marie hailed a taxi to a tiny apartment that was paid for by the government. Instead of working, Marie found it easier to collect benefits and take life at her own pace. Victoria was immediately enamored with Paris, soaking in all the new culture she could find. She happily walked down the streets of her new city, wondering if one day she could own a cozy home there.

Unfortunately, things were about to get horrific. It was only a matter of days before Marie’s mask slipped off her face. Once described as having soft brown eyes, Marie’s were now darkened, filled with malice and rage towards 7-year-old Victoria.

Marie enrolled Victoria in school under the name Anna. She was an intelligent and thoughtful girl, and that showed through to the teachers who loved her. However, it didn’t take long for Victoria to start missing days—and sometimes a week. After several months, the school had a review in which they found that Victoria’s attendance was only at 50%. During this review, teachers voiced their concerns about Victoria, whom they knew as Anna. The once bright, ready-to-learn student had been replaced by a sullen and withdrawn one. Victoria sometimes fell asleep during lessons and was seen with cuts and abrasions to her head.

When questioned about this, Marie told them that Victoria had a skin condition and even provided fake medical documentation to prove it. The school didn’t buy Marie’s defense, but without any further evidence, all they could do was monitor the situation. As the months went by, Victoria’s attendance continued to plummet—the result of hospital visits, according to Marie. It appeared that Marie was an expert in forging documentation; she had somehow made doctor’s notes for Victoria’s supposed illnesses, and nobody questioned them. It is not known whether Victoria was even registered with a doctor during her time in Paris.

The New Year came and went, and 1999 was not going to be much kinder to Victoria. She had missed so much school in Paris, but it was not because she was battling a skin condition. No, it was because Marie was beating her. Marie would get upset with her over the most minor details, often for no reason at all. The beatings she gave Victoria left her covered with welts, bruises, and marks, and Marie knew that this would trigger a social services investigation. After beating Victoria, Marie held her back from school to give the wounds plenty of time to heal.

She continued this pattern into early 1999, but by this point, the suspicions of her teachers were growing. Skin condition or not, there was no reason for Victoria to have missed so much school. They eventually informed French Social Services about Victoria’s absences. Marie was furious when they became involved and inevitably took it out on Victoria through beating and scolding her.

On March 25th of 1999, Victoria walked through the school gates sporting a new look. This wasn’t a typical new look of a child who had cut her hair short or into a different style; this was a new look of the worst kind. Teachers immediately noticed that Victoria’s hair was gone. She was wearing a wig. Underneath the wig, Victoria’s head had been shaved, and there was evidence of cuts and bruises on her.

Social Services were informed of this revelation, but Marie was already one step ahead of them. For the remainder of March 1999, Marie kept Victoria out of school, citing an issue with one of her fake conditions. Social Services worked with other agencies and the school to form a plan of action, but they were too late. When Social Services swooped into Marie’s apartment to talk to her, she was gone. They discovered that in April of 1999, Marie had given a forwarding address and they had left France entirely. They were too late. Victoria, who they only knew as Anna Kouao, was in danger, but the address Marie had given to them was for a relative in the UK, and it would be impossible to find her in a sea of 67 million people.

Relocation to the UK and Early Warning Signs

Again, Marie finessed her way through customs and successfully got herself and Anna into the UK. The UK has a strong system of council houses that people can apply for and are granted permission to live in. These houses have subsidized rent and other benefits for those living there. These homes were created to help house the working class in Britain, and since then they have remained a British institution. There is a negative connotation around council houses, but they are the same as any home.

Marie stayed in a bed and breakfast with Victoria for several days around Acton in West London. Fed up with this arrangement, Marie dragged Victoria to the nearest housing office and demanded she be given a permanent place to stay. Marie knew how to work the system, and she used Victoria as a pawn. She cited how disrupting it was for Victoria to be living in a bed and breakfast, so the local council responded by placing the pair in a hostel. This hostel was arguably worse, as they had to share facilities with other residents and it was noisy 24/7.

The school year still had several months left, with the 6-week summer break being in mid-July. Marie had ample time to enroll Victoria in school and chose not to. This was mostly out of sheer laziness and because it meant she could have Victoria all to herself and hide her abuse.

Once the pair had settled in the hostel, Marie paraded Victoria around West London and took her to see a distant relative named Esther Ackah, who worked at a local hospital. Straight away, Esther had her suspicions about Victoria, whom she only knew as Anna. Something was not sitting right with her. Just a few hours into the pair’s visit, she began to realize why:

“I had just come from work from the hospital. Then I saw this bubbly little girl smiling, you know, jumping about. ‘Oh, this is Anna.’ We started chatting. Obviously, the girl knew she wasn’t Anna, but she was responding to Anna because she had been briefed that way.”

Esther said that the relationship between Marie and Victoria was “frosty,” as she put it. Marie tried her best to convince Esther that Victoria was her daughter, but the relationship dynamic was off. Victoria cowered in Marie’s presence and awaited her approval to do anything. Esther also noticed that Victoria was wearing a wig, which she considered bizarre for a girl her age. On one occasion, Esther gently removed the wig, and as she did, Victoria winced. Esther’s eyes bulged in horror as she saw Victoria’s shaved head covered in cuts, marks, and abrasions. Naturally, she confronted Marie about Victoria’s condition, who brushed her off, saying Victoria had scalded herself with boiling water.

It wasn’t long before Esther began to sense something was wrong:

“The only thing about the child was that the child was wearing a wig, and I found it very peculiar, and we took the wig off in fact, and there were little blisters on the head, and she said the child had some, um, either hot water accident or something. So, you know, that’s it. The child was quite happy wearing the wig; when you took it off, she just put it back on.”

Victoria appeared happy to be wearing the wig, although it is unknown whether this was something programmed into her by Marie. Despite everything she had gone through up until this point, Esther saw glimpses of a happy, intelligent, and outgoing young girl. She was polite and well-behaved but didn’t speak much as her English skills were limited. This left Marie to do all of the talking and explaining, further isolating Victoria.

After the bizarre and unannounced visit from Marie and her daughter, Esther would have to wait six more weeks until she saw the child again. By now, Victoria’s condition had rapidly declined, and her cheek bore a deep gash on it. Esther noted how Victoria was covered in a long-sleeve t-shirt and pants despite how humid the weather was, and how Victoria appeared to be malnourished. Marie came up with excuses quickly this time, claiming that Victoria had fallen on an escalator.

Six weeks later, Esther bumped into the pair in the street, and she was shocked at Victoria’s appearance:

“I noticed a scar on the right cheek of Victoria and I said, ‘What’s happened to the child’s cheek? You know, this bruising or scar?’ And she told me that the child fell from an escalator. They were going to the city and fell on the escalator, causing the bruising.”

Unimpressed with Victoria’s condition, Esther demanded to see the hostel they were living in. When she arrived, she found people smoking in all parts of the building, including the room where Victoria and Marie were staying, and noted a revolving door of people going in and out. Clearly, this was an extremely unsafe environment for a 7-year-old girl, but local Social Services stated they were aware of the situation but had nowhere to place them.

Esther then decided to contact a different Social Service, Brent Social Services, to report the suspected abuse against Victoria:

“I rang Brent Social Services. I had visited a girl called Anna, they lived in this address. I made it clear, and I told them my concerns that the house wasn’t very clean, was dirty, people were smoking, and the room was small and untidy, and Anna didn’t look very well. I would want somebody to go there urgently to investigate. So whoever took the referral reassured me that somebody was going to go urgently.”

The report was taken, but when weeks passed without word, Esther became nervous. Usually, if a child is in immediate danger, social services are required to act instantly. Unfortunately, we know that this is not the case, and social service failures are seen worldwide. So, after weeks of not hearing anything, Esther called up Brent Social Services only to find out that the report had gotten lost in the system. She was assured that the report had now been filed and that action would be taken shortly. However, no action was taken. Victoria was not removed from the care of Marie, and the abuse subsequently continued.

A Brief Reprieve: Priscilla and Avril Cameron

In June of 1999, Victoria would get a short reprieve when Marie decided to get a job. As she would be gone for most of the day, Marie entrusted Priscilla Cameron to watch over Victoria. Priscilla and her daughter, Avril, ran a daycare, and this was the first time since she left the Ivory Coast that Victoria had the chance to interact with other children.

Priscilla noticed that at first, Victoria was withdrawn and shy, but once Marie left, her bright, bubbly side came out. At 10:00 p.m., Victoria’s demeanor changed. She stood up straight, stopped playing, and anxiously listened to the burgeoning footsteps. It was Marie. Priscilla and Avril noticed that the two spoke exclusively in French, but she could make out that Marie called her daughter vile and wicked. Marie never spoke softly to her daughter, only shouting and screaming orders at her. Even the other children in Priscilla’s care felt uncomfortable when Marie was there.

“I said to my mom, ‘That doesn’t seem right. Why would she come in, you know, shouting at the child?'”

Much like Esther, Priscilla and Avril noticed Victoria’s injuries. They too saw the oddly affixed wig, the bruises, and the burn marks on her head. Priscilla also noticed a newer and fresher injury: Victoria’s fingers had cuts all over them, as if someone had dragged a blade up and down them. Her fingers were an obvious source of discomfort, and Victoria allowed Priscilla and Avril to bandage them up and apply lotion.

Esther, Priscilla, and Avril were the only three to have shown Victoria any love or affection during her time in the UK. Victoria was like most children; she just wanted to be loved and wanted to have parents who were proud of her. Had Victoria stayed in the Ivory Coast, she would have enjoyed a beautiful, loving childhood surrounded by her siblings and friends. Instead, she would spend her final years living in fear and misery, wondering if her next punishment would be her last.

One night, when Marie finally came to Priscilla’s home to collect Victoria, she was confronted about the cuts on her fingers. Marie was a master manipulator, telling Priscilla that the injuries had been self-inflicted, with Victoria slicing her fingers on a razor blade. It is unknown whether anyone at the same hostel was ever interviewed and asked about these injuries or any of the abuse that took place.

Enter Carl Manning

On July 6th, 1999, Marie uprooted herself and Victoria again, this time moving to 267 Somerset Gardens in Haringey, North London. But she wasn’t alone. A month earlier, 43-year-old Marie had met 27-year-old Carl Manning. Their relationship moved far too fast, and they were living together within a month. As far as Carl was concerned, Victoria was Marie’s daughter Anna, whom he hated.

The three were forced into a tiny bedsit with Victoria not having a place to sleep. Marie had worked her magic on Carl; in just 30 days, he would do anything she asked of him, as would become apparent months later. Poor Victoria was forced to sleep on a sofa bed in the main room where a double bed was also located.

Carl’s anger and resentment for Victoria had already boiled over when they were forced to move in together, but now things were getting worse. Carl viewed Victoria as a burden and was upset that she had to sleep in the same room as them, as this interfered with their voracious private life. Most of the time, Marie dumped Victoria off at Priscilla’s, and then some days she would be there from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. when Marie was forced to collect her.

Just days after being forced to move in with a man she didn’t know, Victoria found herself being abused by him. Marie and Carl would ignore Victoria and her basic needs, forcing her to stay on the sofa bed when she was at home. They did not let her watch TV or talk to anyone outside of their home.

On July 13th, 1999, in the late hours of the night, Priscilla and Avril got a knock at the door. It was Marie. The pair told Marie it was too late for her to be there with Victoria and that she would need to go home, but Marie was insistent. She told them that she was leaving Victoria with them indefinitely because Carl hated her. Victoria smiled politely during this entire exchange. Victoria had become more and more of a burden on the couple, and as a result, Kouao decided on a drastic course of action:

“She turned up with Anna and a bag with clothes in them, and she said to my mother that the person that she’s living with, he doesn’t want Anna there. So if my mother can keep her. So my mom said, ‘Listen, I’ll keep her for the evening. It is late. I’ll keep her for the night, and then tomorrow you’ve got to find somewhere for this child. You can’t abandon this child. It is your child.'”

Sensing that Victoria was in imminent danger, Priscilla told Marie to go home and that she would care for Victoria for the night. They could talk things over in the morning. Fortunately, Victoria barely made it to the morning.

The Breaking Point and Medical Intervention

What would transpire next would shock the entire nation. When Victoria entered Priscilla’s home, she wore long layers and a baseball cap. As Victoria removed the cap, Priscilla quickly learned why she had been forced to wear it. As Victoria entered the house, her appearance shocked the Camerons:

“She had a hat on and my mom said, ‘I know you’re in the house, you know, take your hat off.’ She took the hat off and then we saw these injuries.”

Victoria’s face was covered in cuts and bruises. Most of these were fresh. There was a chunk of skin missing and hanging from her right eye, and her eyes were bloodshot. Priscilla also reported that Victoria had circular burn marks on her cheek consistent with cigarette burns. Little did Priscilla know, these injuries were just the tip of the iceberg:

“The injuries, some of them were fresh, so she was recently beaten. There was a cut over her right eye. There was a healing burn on her right cheek. It was horrific to see that, and out of all this, this girl was smiling.”

Priscilla sent Victoria to bed with clean pajamas and freshly washed sheets, and she later fell asleep. The silence was broken in the early morning hours of July 14th. Priscilla heard a strange groaning sound emanating from Victoria’s room. At first, she and her daughter thought that Victoria might be having a nightmare; given all the trauma she had gone through, it would have made sense. But when they went to check on her, they found her in a horrible, horrible state. Victoria was groaning and writhing because she was in extreme pain.

Priscilla and Avril removed Victoria’s clothes to get a better look at her injuries. What they witnessed caused both of them to sob. Victoria’s chest, back, legs, and thighs were covered in cigarette burns. She had cuts, marks, and bruises all over her body, and she was clearly malnourished. The cuts on her fingers were oozing with pus, and her body was struggling to fight off the infection due to her malnourishment.

Priscilla and Avril decided they had seen enough and whisked Victoria into their arms and through the doors of the Central Middlesex Hospital Accident & Emergency:

“I went through what I thought was happening and I said, ‘Listen, I don’t normally do this because it’s someone else’s child. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, but I’m seeing injuries and I’ve took it upon myself to bring the child to the hospital.'”

The pair waited by Victoria’s side as her examination, conducted by Dr. Ekundayo Ajayi-Obe, went on into the wee hours of the morning. That is how many injuries there were. Dr. Ajayi-Obe recorded cigarette burns across her chest, her back, her legs, and thighs, just as Priscilla and Avril had:

“Eventually, sometime in the afternoon, the doctor saw us. She took about 2 hours to examine her from head to toe, and it’s only when she took her clothes off then we saw more injuries. And there were strange marks, so she asked me, ‘Do you know what these marks are?’ I said no. She said, ‘These are cigarette burns, and they’re all along her thighs, across her back.’ There was a mark right across, and then there was one right across her legs. And she turned to me and she said, ‘Okay, I’ve done my examination and I can say to you these are non-accidental injuries.’ And she said, ‘I will have to put certain things in place.’ So she said, ‘First thing I’ll do, I’ll ring Social Services.’ In my mind, I’m saying, ‘Well, at least something’s happening now.'”

Dr. Ajayi-Obe, who was a pediatric specialist, was disgusted by what she saw and immediately contacted Brent Social Services—the same social services that had lost Esther’s report months earlier. Brent Social Services acted this time and placed Victoria in a sort of protective custody. Victoria would be watched over 24/7 by police officers, and Marie would not be allowed to see her.

Brent Social Services knew they needed to move quickly, but again, somehow, they catastrophically failed Victoria. While under the care of Dr. Ajayi-Obe, Victoria’s condition improved. She began to perk up a little and flashed everyone her signature smile. Victoria remained in the hospital overnight, and as morning came, so did the staff rotation. A new consultant stepped into the pediatric ward, and unfortunately, this change of staff would prove fatal for Victoria.

During the morning rounds, Dr. Ruby Schwartz checked on her. She quickly read her notes and looked over her injuries. Bizarrely, Dr. Schwartz wrote that Victoria had scabies, not cigarette burns consistent with abuse. As Dr. Schwartz was a consultant, she was able to overrule the other doctors. As the diagnosis had now changed, the police protection order was revoked, and Marie Kouao was called. This would mark the beginning of the end for Victoria.

Marie was beyond furious, and this anger was directed squarely at Victoria. Social Services briefly met with Marie after Victoria’s hospitalization, but nothing was implemented. None of the social workers picked up on the hostile relationship between the pair or how Victoria was terrified of her so-called mother:

“I just felt angry, frustrated, and sort of a feeling of hopelessness because I knew what I saw, and for the doctor to say rashes—excuse me, what about the burn on her face, the cut over her eyes? I’m not a medical person, but I know the difference between a rash and a cut.”

Return to Hell

At home, the abuse continued and became even more severe. Victoria was no longer allowed contact with the outside world, and she was confined to the dingy bedsit. To make matters worse, Victoria didn’t even have a warm, dry place to sleep. She had initially been forced to sleep on the sofa bed, but she began to have bathroom accidents. Carl later confessed that he slapped Victoria to try to correct the behavior. This of course only made the bed-wetting worse, so Carl took to punching the little girl as punishment. The sofa bed was thrown away, and Victoria was forced to sleep in the bath with a small pillow and a little blanket.

The bathroom was cold, dark, and scary in the eyes of a 7-year-old. She would be thrown there each night and have to spend most of her days confined there alone.

Just a week after Victoria had been admitted to Central Middlesex Hospital, she was taken to North Middlesex Hospital, this time by Marie. The injuries suffered by Victoria are well documented online and are incredibly graphic. In just a week, Marie and Carl had given Victoria extensive burns to her face and heavy bruising to her right eye. In the photos taken to document her injuries, Victoria is still smiling despite the pain she had been subjected to.

Marie told the attending doctors that Victoria had run herself a scalding hot bath to alleviate the itchiness of her scabies. In reality, it was much more likely that Marie and Carl had either forced Victoria into the bath or used a kettle to inflict their damage. The burns were so severe, along with the cigarette burns on her body, that she required a 13-night stay in the hospital.

The nurses who attended to Victoria called her a “little ray of sunshine,” and when Marie wasn’t there, she was a normal, happy child who liked to play and interact with the other children. When Marie was there, it was a very different story: Tori retreated into her shell and immediately stopped playing. The nurses also noticed the relationship between Marie and Victoria was off. No child should be that scared of their own mother. On one occasion, Victoria was so terrified by Marie’s presence that she wet herself.

When nurses were bandaging her wounds and caring for her, they found belt marks and bite marks all over her body. This time, Haringey Social Services would be called. Haringey Social Services was now the third social service, along with two hospitals, that had been made aware of and documented the abuse against Victoria. (Many years later, Haringey would be behind another catastrophic failure in the “Baby P” case. They claimed that lessons had been learned in the case of Victoria Climbié, but this proves the system is rotten the whole way through).

On August 6th, Victoria Climbié was discharged into the care of Marie and Carl. Haringey Social Services had visited the little girl in the hospital, but they failed to pick up on the bizarre mother-daughter relationship. Despite obvious signs of abuse, social services allowed Victoria to go home with Marie and Carl.

Following her discharge, Victoria was assigned social worker Lisa Arthurworrey, who had been on the job for just 18 months and had dozens of other cases to handle. Lisa conducted two visits to 267 Somerset Gardens in the summer of 1999 and disturbingly, she found nothing wrong with Victoria’s living conditions. To make matters worse, Lisa never actually spoke to Victoria at all, and all communication was made with Marie. For some reason, Lisa had no concerns about a 7-year-old girl being forced to sleep in the bath with a thin blanket and small pillow. Lisa continually tried to schedule more visits with Marie, but she would make up excuses as to why she wouldn’t be able to make it. It appears that Lisa never pushed Marie to make time for these visits. The abuse flew further under the radar.

On November 1st, Lisa received perhaps the most bizarre call of her career. On the other end of the phone was a sobbing Marie. She began to accuse her boyfriend Carl of SA’ing Victoria. Marie was instructed to bring herself and Victoria to the Haringey Social Services office immediately so that emergency accommodations and a plan could be put in place for them.

In reality, we do not actually know if Carl was doing what he was accused of; however, Marie’s main motivations for making the statement were clear: she wanted a better home, and a recent application to the council had been denied. She knew if she could prove that she and her daughter were in trouble, the council would likely expedite the case.

A flustered Marie rushed through the doors of Haringey Social Services with Victoria in tow. She was led to Lisa’s desk and took a seat. When Lisa finally arrived, her stomach churned. Not only had Marie brought Victoria, but she also brought Carl—the very man she had accused of SA’ing her daughter. Lisa was extremely confused, and after explaining that she would need to report this to the police and Carl would be taken into custody, Marie retracted the statement and acted as if she had never said a word.

This should have been a glaring red flag for Haringey Social Services, but Marie and Carl were allowed to return home with Victoria again. Lisa made a note to monitor Victoria’s case and laid out a 15-step plan of action. When Lisa took this plan to her bosses, she was given little to no help or guidance, and they seemed extremely uninterested in the case.

Following the events of November 1st, Lisa called Marie constantly, begging her to set up another meeting at 267 Somerset Gardens. Around this time, Marie stopped answering her phone and the front door. After several unsuccessful home visits, Lisa placed a note on Marie’s door asking her to call her, which of course went unanswered. Things became so serious that Lisa called the police to find Marie as she was worried the three of them had fled.

But by December 1999, Haringey Social Services began winding down its investigation into Victoria Climbié. Lisa spoke to her superiors about her worries and failure to contact the family, to which she was told to mark the case “no further action” and to close it. Lisa was forced to close Victoria’s case, not knowing that the little girl was still behind the doors of 267 Somerset Gardens screaming for help.

The Final Winter

The abuse against Victoria took an even darker turn. British winters are especially harsh, with temperatures often dropping below 0°C with strong winds and rain. According to reports, Victoria had spent most of her days in the bathroom, which was unheated. Her only source of warmth was a black bin bag that had been pulled up to her neck and sealed with tape. Her hands were also tied behind her back, rendering her immobile.

The black bin bag quickly filled with Victoria’s bodily waste, which only angered Carl and Marie further. Food and water were withheld from Victoria on a regular basis, and in one harrowing account, when Victoria was given food, she was fed from a plastic plate with her hands tied behind her back, forcing her to eat like an animal. She also began developing sores and infections from being in her own excrement all day long.

This abuse would continue well into Christmas and the New Year. Marie sent letters to Victoria’s family telling them how happy she was and how well she was doing in school. Marie kept contact with the family minimal to hide the fact of what she was really doing to their daughter.

The harsh winter continued into January and February, and it was in February 2000 that Marie’s behavior took an even darker turn. On February 24th, 2000, Marie took Victoria to The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Marie asked the leader to perform deliverance and told the elders of the church that Victoria had been possessed by a demon. She explained that Victoria’s numerous injuries were caused by this demon who was hellbent on ruining their lives.

Thankfully, the elders in the church saw through Marie’s blatant lies and began to discover the horrifying truth. Victoria was emaciated, pale, and cold. She could barely walk without help, and she could not speak. One elder was so worried about Victoria that she ordered a taxi for her and Marie to the North Middlesex Hospital. Marie protested, but with so many witnesses present, she had no option but to take Victoria to the hospital. The deliverance was not performed.

When Victoria arrived at the hospital, the doctors and nurses on duty were horrified. She was immediately whisked away into a bed and doctors began to work on her. According to hospital reports, Victoria’s core body temperature was so low that the equipment could not pick it up. Eventually, her core temperature was found to be 27°C—10 degrees lower than the normal average of 37°C. This alone could have been fatal for Victoria, but the horrors kept coming.

Victoria quickly slipped into end-stage organ failure. The mixture of the low core body temperature, dehydration, starvation, and physical abuse had forced Victoria’s body to shut down organ by organ. This is a very painful process. As her condition worsened, doctors made the decision to transfer Victoria 12 miles down the road to St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. At this point, Victoria was somewhat stable, but doctors knew they needed to raise her core temperature if she was to survive.

At St. Mary’s, she was placed in the ICU and monitored closely. Medical reports indicate that through the afternoon and night, she went into cardiac arrest several times, as well as suffering multiple respiratory arrests. The outcome was bleak, and those on duty at St. Mary’s braced themselves for what came next.

Tragic End and the Aftermath

At 3:00 p.m., Victoria Climbié finally succumbed to her condition. She passed away in a hospital bed alone and without any family by her side. Marie immediately put on a show for the staff present at St. Mary’s, running up and down the hall screaming, “My baby, no, my baby!”

Doctors at St. Mary’s knew that Victoria’s condition had been caused by extensive abuse, and the Metropolitan Police quickly took Marie away. Days after her death, pathologist Dr. Nathaniel Cary conducted Victoria’s autopsy. He noted that Victoria had no less than 128 separate injuries to her body, and not one part of her body was left unharmed. She had scars, scabs, cuts, bruises, abrasions, and cigarette burns littered across parts of her body. Dr. Cary later reported that Victoria’s case was the worst case of child abuse he had ever encountered.

(Disturbingly, between 2022 and 2023 alone, there were 32,961 reported instances of child abuse in England and Wales. In 2021 and 2022, there were 29,967 reported instances, and between 2002 and 2003, there were 4,190. This disparity may be due to the fact that child abuse is now reported upon more frequently than before, as people are no longer ashamed or scared about speaking out. These cases are all cases reported by the police in England and Wales, and there are likely thousands of other children being abused that the government has no idea about).

On February 26th, the day after Victoria died, Carl Manning was also arrested at his home at 267 Somerset Gardens. Why it took the police so long to arrest Carl is unknown, but it gave him a head start. When officers arrived to arrest Carl, they found the once dingy, dirty apartment now smelled strongly of bleach. Carl had scrubbed the bathroom, desperate to destroy forensic evidence, but as the media would later report, this was futile. Reports later indicated that Victoria’s blood was found in the bathroom and furniture of the main room. Carl Manning and Marie Kouao were both charged with homicide and held indefinitely.

The Metropolitan Police initially had difficulty identifying Victoria. She had entered the country as Anna and had been known as that since the falsified passport was found in the home, leaving the Metropolitan Police with a long task ahead of them. Eventually, they were able to identify her body as belonging to the now 8-year-old Victoria Climbié of the Ivory Coast. Her parents were soon notified. Just weeks earlier, they had received a letter from Marie telling them how well Victoria was doing, and now their daughter was dead. Her body was repatriated to the Ivory Coast, and her community held a funeral for her.

Trial and Legacy

On November 20th, 2000, Marie Kouao and Carl Manning appeared at the Old Bailey before a jury in a courtroom packed with journalists and reporters. Marie told the court that Victoria had been possessed by a demon which caused her death as they were taking over her body. During the trial, Marie continually laughed as evidence was presented.

Next up was Carl Manning’s turn to face the jury, and he was far more forthcoming than his girlfriend. Carl admitted to hitting Victoria with a belt, a bike chain, and a hammer. In a chilling statement made to the Metropolitan Police, Carl said that was the thing about Victoria: you could hit her time and time again and she would always take it. Victoria never screamed or cried, most likely terrified that if she did, the punishment would be doubled. He told the jury he never meant to seriously harm Victoria, whilst Marie showed no remorse for her crimes.

Four agonizing days later, the jury finally came to a conclusion. Carl and Marie were sentenced to life in prison and no minimum term was set. The pair may be eligible for parole, although it is unlikely that they will ever see the light of day.

Following the murder of Victoria Climbié, the government launched the Laming Report, headed up by William Laming. This report dove deeper into the circumstances in which Victoria had entered the country and how she had slipped through the cracks of three social service agencies and two hospitals. It also outlined how social services in London are overstretched and overworked, and do not have adequate budgets to meet the needs of the children it is supposed to protect, much like we often cover here in America.

Unfortunately, things have not changed in the UK. Instances of abuse continue to rise, and there are not enough resources to help fix this problem. Victoria’s death did spark conversations nationwide about abuse and child protection, and new legislation was brought in to help protect the most vulnerable. But unfortunately, things have not changed in the UK; instances of abuse continue to rise, and there are not enough resources to help fix this problem.

Victoria Climbié was buried in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, surrounded by her friends, family, and community. Her death sparked many changes in the UK; unfortunately, these changes would not be enough to save “Baby P” in 2007, who died whilst under the care of the same council as Victoria Climbié.

Victoria’s case horrified the nation, but it still has not been enough for the government to put more resources and funding into social services. Now more than ever, social workers are stretched to their limits. How many deaths will it take for the government and authorities worldwide to tackle this problem head on?