AN independent case review of the death of three year-old Mikaeel Kular at the hands of his mother Rosdeep Adekoya has found that the circumstances leading to his death “could not have been predicted.”
The report, released by Fife Council, claimed that social and childcare services had been happy to return him to the care of his mother in August 2013 following a period of time in foster care.
The report reads: “Ms Adekoya’s ability to physically care for him was never in question. She felt a need for space and time that resulted in him being left unattended and is the reason he was placed in foster care.”
“It’s important to stress that professionals who had regular contact with the family never had any concerns about the physical care of Mikaeel throughout this case.”
“The decision to return Mikaeel to his mother’s care was taken by a range of professionals who agreed that he was well looked after and that he had been in foster care long enough.”
Fife Council were criticised in the wake of Mikaeel’s death, following revelations that social workers had ceased to be involved in his case in December 2013, just weeks before his death.
The report absolves the council and social workers of any responsibility, although it does “make a number of recommendations around the sharing and management of information.”
Many of the criticisms of the councils actions stemmed from the alleged mismanagement of information around the case, including the fact that teachers did not know that that Mikaeel had been put into care and GPs’ concerns around Ms Adekoya’s mental health were not passed on to social workers.
Mikaeel Kular died after being beaten by his mother over a period of three days.
Ms. Adekoya buried his body in a suitcase in nearby woods, initially claiming that he had gone missing before breaking down during questioning and admitting that she had killed him.
Ms. Adekoya pleaded guilty to the charge of culpable homicide in August last year and was sentenced to 11 years.
