Alfie Steele: mother and partner jailed over killing of nine-year-old | Crime
Crime This article is more than 8 months oldAlfie Steele: mother and partner jailed over killing of nine-year-old
This article is more than 8 months oldCarla Scott sentenced to 27 years for manslaughter and Dirk Howell jailed for at least 32 years for boy’s murder
A mother has been jailed for 27 years for the manslaughter of her nine-year-old son, Alfie Steele, who was repeatedly beaten and held down in a cold bath, and her partner has been ordered to serve at least 32 years in prison for the boy’s murder.
Alfie died on 18 February 2021 after being found with 50 injuries all over his body. He was hit with a leather belt and “dunked” in the bath at his home in Droitwich, Worcestershire.
His mother, Carla Scott, 35, was found guilty earlier this week of manslaughter and child cruelty, while 41-year-old Dirk Howell was convicted of murder.
Passing sentence on the pair at Coventry crown court on Thursday, Mr Justice Wall told them: “You have both refused to tell the truth about the day of Alfie’s death, preferring to lie to pretend that it was no more than a tragic accident and to cover up for one another.
“What is clear is that Alfie did not have the quiet death you tried to portray: a death in which he had an epileptic fit and gently fell asleep in the bath.
“His death was violent and brutal.”
The day Alfie died was yet another day on which the couple decided that Alfie was “to be tortured”, the judge said.
The six-week trial was told Alfie was denied food as an act of cruelty and routinely subjected to other “sinister” punishments, including being locked outside his home in cold weather, and made to stand in a statue-like pose.
The judge told Scott and Howell: “Alfie died either through drowning, concussive head trauma or mechanical asphyxia.
“The doctors could not determine which it was. For the purposes of this sentence, it does not matter which.
“Whatever the mechanics of his death, the true cause of his death was your cruel and unlawful conduct towards him.”
The judge told Howell: “Some of your actions can only properly be described as sadistic. I am sure you got pleasure from inflicting pain.”
Scott was found guilty of child cruelty, and Howell admitted cruelty. Both denied unlawful killing but were convicted by jurors.
Alfie’s mother was ordered to serve half of a six-year sentence for cruelty committed over an 18-month period, with a further consecutive 21-year sentence, of which she must serve at least two-thirds in custody, for manslaughter.
She appeared to become emotional in the dock as she was told the overall effect of the sentence was that she would serve at least 17 years in prison.
A review is under way into social services and police contact with Howell and Scott after it emerged several 999 calls made by neighbours in April, May and August 2020 had supplied details of Alfie’s ordeal.
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