AN inquest into the death of murdered toddler Star Hobson has been adjourned until the summer while police investigations take place.
At a brief hearing this morning at Bradford Coroners’ Court in Little Germany, Senior Coroner Martin Fleming delayed the inquest so he can obtain and consider full police files into Star’s death.
Star was 16 months old when she was murdered on September 22, 2020, at the flat in Wesley Place, Keighley, where she lived with her mother Frankie Smith.
Smith’s girlfriend Savannah Brockhill, 28, was jailed for life for murdering Star on December 15 following a lengthy trial at Bradford Crown Court, while Smith, 20, was found guilty of allowing her daughter’s death and jailed for eight years – a sentence which was extended to 12 years earlier this week at the Court of Appeal.
Present at the hearing were Gez Lyons, senior investigator from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, and Louise Clarkson, Child Death Overview Panel Manager for Bradford District and Craven.
Mr Fleming said Star’s case is “very tragic and complex” and he was “requesting the full police filed following the sentencing remarks of the trial judge”.
“Plainly in this whole process the family are central to what the coroner does, and I can liaise with them to obtain their views,” he said.
“I will need several weeks to obtain and consider the files. There is a substantial file for me to consider.”
No members of Star’s extended family were present for the hearing, which only lasted around five minutes.
Mr Lyons told the court the IOPC investigation resumed on December 16, following the conclusion of the trial into Star’s killing. You can read what the investigation entails here.
Mr Fleming adjourned the inquest of Star Hobson for 16 weeks, with it next scheduled to be heard – again for mention – on Thursday, July 7.
A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Ms Clarkson was at the inquest in her role as Child Death Overview Panel Manager for Bradford District and Craven.
"This service is hosted by Bradford Teaching Hospitals and, as such, Ms Clarkson was not representing the Trust but the wider Bradford District and Craven system in relation to child death.”
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