Hastings dad blasts ‘vile and evil’ ex-wife after she is jailed over daughter’s death

Tom Leitch said he wept in court as 49-year-old Elaine Clarke was jailed for nine years and seven months last Thursday (February 24).

He found out his daughter Debbie, who had Down’s syndrome, had died through Facebook and branded his ex-wife ‘evil and vile’.

Tom’s 24-year-old daughter was found dead in her bedroom by a family member at her home in Blackpool, Lancashire, on August 29, 2019.

Ambulance crews found faeces on the floor, as well as maggots crawling in her room, police said.

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Tom said: “I am hoping that the CPS and police will appeal against the sentence because it’s not good enough.

“She (Clarke) got off with a light sentence. She is evil and vile. She’ll be out in six years and she got time off her sentence for being on remand and pleading guilty.”

Tom added that when he found Clarke’s comment on Facebook about Debbie, he had to contact the police in Blackpool to verify it.

Police spoke to him a couple of days later, Tom said, to confirm that his daughter had been found dead.

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He said he was able to get half of Debbie’s ashes before burying her next to his father.

Tom added he missed years with his daughter after he split with Clarke.

The heartbroken dad said Clarke then remarried, and Tom then faced a battle to spend time with Debbie, who was eventually sent to live with her mum by social services.

Tom said every time Debbie saw him, her face ‘lit up’.

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Following the discovery of Debbie’s body at home, a major police investigation was launched, with four people, including Clarke, arrested.

Debbie and Clarke had moved to Blackpool in 2016.

Police said in 2018, Debbie was diagnosed with eczema and Norwegian scabies.

She received treatment as an outpatient and was prescribed medication. Instructions were given to her mother how to administer this.

Police said in 2019, relatives visiting the address noticed Debbie had lost weight and her skin condition had worsened.

A family member visited in July 2019 and went into Debbie’s room.

She later told police the room smelt of filth, with plates of mouldy food on the floor.

Police said Debbie’s skin condition had severely worsened, with the relative urging Clarke to take Debbie to the doctors.

She later phoned Clarke, who claimed Debbie was eating, talking and had had a shower.

A few weeks later the same family member returned to the property.

Debbie’s condition had worsened again, police added, with the relative later telling police she appeared ‘half-dead’.

She told officers Debbie’s room resembled a horror movie, with plates of rotting food and bags of soiled clothes.

Police said she was so concerned she phoned Debbie’s doctor, as well as social services, for support.

A doctor later made a home visit and said he felt Clarke was supportive and had no safeguarding concerns. Debbie was sat on the sofa and had been showered.

Police said Clarke dismissed the concerns raised, with the doctor prescribing further medication for Debbie’s skin.

The doctor subsequently made unsuccessful attempts to visit Debbie and speak with her mother.

Police said social services attended the address twice on July 29, 2019, but were prevented from entering the property by a relative.

On August 1, 2019, social services returned. Debbie was downstairs, waiting, while the worker visited her bedroom and noted nothing of concern.

Other visitors to the address in the weeks before Debbie’s death asked after her, but Clarke said she was not well and they could not see her.

Police said the visitors said they could hear Debbie crying. She was found dead days later.

A post-mortem gave Debbie’s cause of death as severe emaciation and neglect with extensive scabies skin infection.

The pathologist found Debbie weighed 23kg – 3st 10lbs – at the time of her death.

Police said mites were found on her body and clothing. Her skin and body had wasted away, with her bones visible.

Clarke, of Garden Terrace, Blackpool, appeared at court to answer the charge of gross negligence manslaughter, pleading guilty.

A man was also given summons for the offence of allowing or causing the death of a vulnerable adult but, following consultation with the CPS, it was decided he would no longer face trial, with no evidence offered.

The remaining people were released without charge.

Detective Chief Inspector Lee Wilson, of Lancashire Police’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: “In my time working as a police officer, this remains one of the most difficult and tragic cases I have investigated.

“Debbie’s death was wholly avoidable. She should be alive and well, living a good and happy life today. That she isn’t lies firmly at the feet of the one person upon whom she relied – her mother, her paid carer.

“We know Debbie came to Blackpool having been a happy, thriving college student. Sadly, in just a few years, she was let down in the most extreme manner by the dark and malevolent personality that is Elaine Clarke. Clarke has shown no remorse at any stage in this lengthy investigation – any tears she has shed were, I am convinced, for the predicament she now finds herself in. She is truly a despicable individual.

“Debbie had her life ahead of her. She required regular help and attention, and craved affection and love from her mother whom despite everything done to her she clearly doted on and loved. That support was coldly withheld as Clarke prioritised her own needs.

“It is clear Clarke made deliberate choices to leave Debbie to her own devices, effectively abandoning her to her fate. This, even though they lived in the same house. Debbie was left in abject squalor, left to die in a faeces-laden, maggot-infested bedroom, with plates of rotting food. Debbie was rarely changed and showered, in fact only when it came to covering up what was going on and concealing the truth of the situation.

“When she knew visitors were coming from social services, or local doctors, Clarke would tidy up, wash Debbie and make it appear all was well. When they left, she would leave Debbie in her room, often crying, calling for her mummy.

“The evidence provided by witnesses including family members was vital in establishing the behaviour of Clarke, who is clearly a liar, as well as being very manipulative and cruel.”