Edlington - Who Is Really To Blame?

When all the political rhetoric and sensational attention seeking headlines have been cast aside, what are we left with? – Two evil boys who committed unspeakable and violent abuse on two children of a similar age.

It is perhaps unfortunate that in and amongst this sad saga Doncaster Council is in the midst of charge and counter charge over its ability to run the social services department, and the recently published reports on the councils failings have done much to mask the true source of the problem.

Blame has been laid at the door of the various agencies that have been involved with the family of the two boys. The finger has been pointed at a lack of cross agency information sharing, lack of leadership, and various other causes, yet the true cause of all this sad case seems to have been overlooked. – The parents of the boys involved.

Going back to basics, I believe that no child is born evil. This has to be allowed to happen during the early years of a child’s growth. The people who allow this to happen are the parents.

It is already surfacing that the family was grossly dysfunctional – “toxic” to use just one of the descriptions of the home life. Which responsible parents would allow their children to watch such video nasties as the Chucky films, or show them pornographic videos? Which responsible mothers would feed their children cannabis?


A relative of the boys who carried out the Edlington attacks has told how their mother would lace their food with cannabis to get them to go to sleep.

She recalled how the brothers grew up in a chaotic household watching horror movies from a young age.
The boys would often be up all night and had even set fire to their own wardrobes in their bedrooms, she said.
"You just knew one day they'd really hurt someone and that is exactly what they've done," she told the BBC.
The woman, who does not want to be identified, said: "They have always been naughty boys, but they could have been lovable kids given the right family."

She said the boys' mother would leave the children, who had been excluded from school, to their own devices.
"From the age of about six or seven they used to watch horror movies, Chucky films, the sort that grown-ups daren't watch.

Is this the picture of a responsible mother?


They often witnessed domestic violence and on one occasion they saw their father threatening to slash their mother's face.
From the age of nine the older brother smoked cannabis and drank cider and the family home saw "routine aggression, violence and chaos".

Is this the behaviour of a responsible father?


"..... A short time later, as police and locals gathered to search for the 11-year-old who was still missing, officers were approached by the attackers and their father. He said his sons had been with him and were not responsible for any attack."

Not only is the father irresponsible, but he actually covers up for his son’s evil attack.

So what about prosecuting the parents?

The parents of two brothers detained indefinitely after they tortured two young boys in a "sadistic" attack could face prosecution, police have revealed.

It’s a bit late now though isn’t it? Talk about shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Why in Heaven’s name weren’t they prosecuted years ago, when the boys began offending?