Major Wirral review after murder of Chloe Fletcher

May 13 2009 by Kevin Core, Birkenhead News

A MAJOR review is being launched after the alleged murder of Chloe Fletcher at her family home.

Wirral Council has confirmed that the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) has commissioned a “Serious Case Review”, which will investigate all the agencies who had a caring role in Chloe’s upbringing.

The four-year-old was found dead in her Oakdale Avenue home, in Wallasey, after a phone call was made to police in the early hours of Wednesday, April 29.

Her mother Laura Fletcher, 22, has been charged with murder and will appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, May 21.

The aim of the review will be to advise the council and its partners on lessons that should be learned.

The last Serious Case Review in Wirral was into the circumstances surrounding the care of Jamie Smith, who was convicted of the murder of Birkenhead’s Stephen Croft.

After a vicious attack Mr Croft’s body was left on a bonfire near the town’s YMCA building.

The review found that opportunities to assess his risk to the public were missed and that poor record keeping had led to bad communication.

The results of the latest review will not be known until the criminal proceedings surrounding Chloe’s death are complete.