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Police have released an update on the death of a two-year-old boy who was found starved near the body of his dad.
Bronson Battersby was found dead, curled up and clutching the legs of his dead father Kenneth, 14 days after he was last seen alive in Skegness, in Lincolnshire in England’s northeast.
The father and son’s bodies were found at a home on January 9, two weeks after Kenneth died of a heart attack, leaving Bronson alone and without anything to eat or drink.
The family was known to children’s services.
Lincolnshire Police has now referred the case to the UK’s office for police conduct as questions are raised about the tragedy.
In a new statement, Lincolnshire Police deputy chief constable Julia Debenham offered her “heartfelt condolences” to Kenneth and Bronson’s loved ones.
“Their tragic deaths have understandably captured the attention and hearts of the public, and to those who were close to them we send our condolences,” she said.
“The full circumstances involved are now the subject of a review and details will be examined within that, which will determine if there are lessons for any agency to learn. What I would like to make clear is that we did respond to information supplied to us, but for reasons of transparency we have also referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). This is standard procedure, and they will be undertaking their own independent investigation.
“Any speculation around the exact actions of any agencies involved at this stage is premature, though I do understand why our communities want answers as soon as possible.
“I know there are many questions about the exact actions that the police took, and we are limited in what we can say because of the pending inquiries.
“I would like to reassure the public that where we get calls for concern in relation to children, we take necessary and appropriate action to make sure they are as safe as possible, which is always based on the best information and intelligence available to us.
“Please be assured that once we have the results of the review and IOPC investigation we intend to publicise those so the public have full details of the circumstances, which I hope will provide clarity.”
Lincolnshire County Council has also launched a “rapid review” to determine why Bronson was not found for a week after alarm was raised by his social worker.
The council’s executive director of children’s services, Heather Sandy, said the deaths were “devastating”.
“It is a tragedy that Kenneth died of a heart attack,” she told BBC Radio 4.
“He was at home on his own with Bronson and that meant that there was nobody left to give Bronson care, and sadly as a result of that, Bronson has also passed away.”
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