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Parents plead guilty to manslaughter for starving their daughter
25/02/2010
Junaid Abuhamza and Angela Gordon, have pleaded guilty to the Manslaughter of seven-year-old Khyra Ishaq on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
As a result of the content of a number of psychiatric reports that have been received about both Junaid Abuhamza and Angela Gordon, the Prosecution team has accepted guilty pleas from both individuals to the Manslaughter of seven-year-old Khyra Ishaq on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Both defendants also pleaded guilty of five counts of cruelty to a person under 16 years.
Martin Lindop, District Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in Birmingham, said: In every prosecution, the CPS has an ongoing duty to review the evidence and decide whether there remains a realistic prospect of securing a conviction. As a result of the content of a number of psychiatric reports on both Junaid Abuhamza and Angela Gordon, which we received at a very late stage in the case, we have concluded that the charge of murder in relation to Khyra Ishaq could no longer be sustained. We have therefore, accepted their guilty pleas to Manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
This was the first case of its kind in the West Midlands where we have had to initiate a prosecution on an individual for starving a child to death, and due to the circumstances of this case, this was one of the most distressing cases that we have had to deal with in recent times.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team of prosecutors and caseworkers for their hard work in putting this case together over the last two years. I would also like to praise the officers from West Midlands police for their thorough investigation which enabled us to charge these two individuals and prosecuting Counsel for all their assistance and guidance throughout this difficult case.
Finally, we appreciate that this case has been difficult for Khyra's birth father and her other family members and we continue to extend our sympathies towards them.
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Notes to Editors
- The West Midlands CPS Group consists of four prosecutions areas Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands. Website www.cps.gov.uk/westmidlands
- The DPP has published his long term vision for the prosecution service and its role within the wider criminal justice system. It includes modernising the service and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of criminal justice - read The Public Prosecution Service: Setting the Standard at www.cps.gov.uk/pps
- The CPS consists of 42 Areas in total, each headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP). These are organised into 14 Groups, plus CPS London, each overseen by Group Chair, a senior CCP. In addition there are four specialised national divisions: Organised Crime, Special Crime, Counter-Terrorism and the Fraud Prosecution Service. A telephone service, CPS Direct, provides out-of-hours advice and decisions to police officers across England and Wales. The CPS employs around 8,250 people and prosecuted 1,032,598 cases with an overall conviction rate of 86.6% in 2008-2009. Further information can be found on our website: www.cps.gov.uk
- The CPS, together with ACPO and media representatives, has developed a Protocol for the release of prosecution material to the media. This sets out the type of prosecution material that will normally be released, or considered for release, together with the factors we will take into account when considering requests. The Protocol is published on our website at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/agencies/mediaprotocol.html
- For further information, please contact Vinny Bolina, CPS West Midlands Group Communications Manager on 0121 262 1531 or 07753 895 240
