Troubled killer was ‘almost invisible’ to carers

Hannah Bonser had been known to NHS and council workers for 19 years before she stabbed Casey Kearney, 13, in a Doncaster park. She had warned medics she was going to harm someone.

Bonser, 27, was jailed for life with a minimum of 22 years in July, but yesterday a review into her care painted a damning picture of neglect, and described her as “being almost invisible”.

The 145-page review, written by independent expert Prof Pat Cantrill details Bonser’s shocking family background, and the lack of interest shown in her plight from the age of just eight.

Many records which should have been kept by social workers at the time are missing, but those that exist show Bonser was living in horrendous conditions but was not removed or helped.

During her trial, Bonser’s lawyers attempted to persuade a jury she was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and should be convicted of manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

That was rejected, and Prof Cantrill said when considering the case, it was important to bear in mind that Bonser had intended to kill Casey and was not schizophrenic at the time of the murder.

During her trial, Sheffield Crown court heard Bonser had begged to be “locked up” just days before the stabbing on Valentine’s Day, telling NHS psychiatrists she was “criminally insane”.

Prof Cantrill said it was “simply not possible” to say whether Casey, who lived in Rossington, Doncaster, would still be alive today if Bonser had received more appropriate treatment and help. She did accept, however, that Bonser was failed for nearly 20 years, from the moment her squalid and bizarre family life was first reported by her family GP to the day she killed Casey.

“It is practically impossible to say if one of the services involved could have stopped the attack that took place,” said Prof Cantrill yesterday. “The only thing I can say is that if the services had assessed the case more effectively and got a better insight into her background it could have reduced the risk of the attack occurring.”

Prof Cantrill accepts Bonser was suffering from a “borderline personality disorder” and said much more should have been done to manage her problems.

The review document concludes there were multiple “missed opportunities” to work with her more effectively and makes 21 recommendations for the organisations involved, including Doncaster Council, which was slammed again less than a fortnight ago by children’s services watchdog Ofsted for the poor quality of its child protection services.

Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust, which was supposed to provide mental health services to Bonser, was also ordered to make improvements in practice.

Referring to Bonser’s long-term involvement with health and social services, the report says the “early signs of concern” first reported by the GP were not recognised and acted upon.

Prof Cantrill concludes: “A combination of factors influenced the care provided over 19 years. They include ineffective leadership and management, dysfunctional organisational systems, workforce and cultural factors and individual deficient practice.”

The review document was shown to Casey’s mother and father yesterday morning, but no comment from the family was available last night.

At the time Bonser was convicted Casey’s father Anthony welcomed the life sentence, and added: “There was never a doubt in our minds this was a calculated and deliberate act.”