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Mum of murdered tot has baby taken into care
THE mother of the Doncaster baby whose horrific murder shocked the country has had another daughter.
Tina Hunt, the mother of Amy Howson who was sadistically murdered by her father, gave birth to the child in custody in July.
The baby has now been taken into foster care, a spokesperson for the Doncaster Safeguarding Children Board has confirmed.
Last week Amy's father James Howson was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison for the murder of his daughter following a trial by jury at Leeds Crown Court.
Adrian Howson QC, defending, told the court how, when Howson was expelled as a teenager, a teacher predicted in a report: "This boy will commit a murder before too long. I've never seen such a disturbed young man."
Sentencing Howson, the judge, Mrs Justice Cox said that the murder was a "chilling and brutal attack".
Howson showed no emotion as he was led from the dock. The 25-year-old, formally of Nelson Road in Edlington, had inflicted weeks of sustained attacks on Amy before holding her over his knee or a chair and using extreme force to snap her spine.
"The bone was completely dislocated resulting in spinal shock, rapid unconsciousness - mercifully - and to death," Judge Cox said.
Howson had a troubled history and had been violent towards women when he was young, the court heard.
After murdering Amy, he then waited with her body until the morning of December 23, when she was eventually pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
Hunt, 26, was given a 12 month sentence suspended for two years after admitting allowing the death of a child and child cruelty. After hearing that Howson completely dominated Hunt and was often violent, Judge Cox said that Hunt's culpability fell "at the lowest end of the scale." She added that Hunt was in the lowest one per cent band of intelligence and that she had to be careful to balance the protection of children against the pressures on immature and inadequate parents.
Amy had been starved and was the same weight of 13lbs as she had been at six-months-old, the jury had heard. Her body was covered in bruises, slap marks, bed sores and all four of her limbs had been "yanked and twisted" causing several fractures in the weeks before she died, a pathologist said.
Howson's attacks on Amy became especially vicious when he found out that Hunt was pregnant with their second child, the jury heard.
Showing what prosecutors called "animal cunning" Howson attempted to pin the blame for Amy's injuries on Hunt, who was 12 weeks pregnant at the time of her daughter's death, suggesting that she could have killed Amy as she lay sleeping in his arms.
Admitting a charge of child cruelty by not seeking medical attention, Howson acknowledged that despite CCTV cameras rigged around his front door, he had not allowed health workers to see his daughter for the six months leading up to her death.
A full investigation into the actions of the local authorities in connection with Amy's death has been launched by the Doncaster Safeguarding Children Board, who confirmed that Hunt and Howson's new-born child has been taken into care.
The spokesperson added that Hunt's ten-year-old son was currently being cared for by his grandparents.
They said: "The death of Amy and the abuse she suffered was horrendous and the parents have rightly been brought to justice.
"The Safeguarding Board has commissioned a full review of the circumstances surrounding Amy's death to ensure any lessons learned are fully actioned."
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Weather for Doncaster
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
