Tracey Connelly, jailed for causing or allowing the death of her 17-month-old son Peter, will face a two-day Parole Board hearing in May to determine if she should be freed from prison after admitting she was ‘selfish’
Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P(Image: PA)
Baby P’s mother will restart her freedom fight just months after she spoke publicly for the first time about her son’s horrific death and confessed: “I was selfish.”
Tracey Connelly, 44, mounted a fresh attempt to secure release in October last year but the case was postponed as Parole Board officials examined a file of evidence regarding her behaviour behind bars. Now authorities confirm they will restart the hearing next month and consider testimony in public and private sessions across two days to establish whether Connelly remains a danger to the public.
Last year Connelly acknowledged she refused to recognise that her cruel partner Steven Barker was harming little Peter before he perished in his blood-stained cot in 2007.
Confessing her “selfishness” caused the 17-month-old’s death, she revealed she was blinded by love, telling prison specialists she “wanted a Prince Charming”. Connelly faced a Parole Board panel to deliver her first public testimony about Peter’s death, more than 18 years after he died from a series of appalling injuries.
Declining to appear on camera while launching her bid for freedom, Connelly acknowledged that she continued to present a threat to children under her supervision. She told the hearing: “I was a bad mother. I failed to protect them. I put my needs first. I took all my anger out at the world on my children.
“I didn’t give them what they needed and they deserved better than me.” Connelly was sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison in 2009 for causing or allowing Peter’s death in Tottenham, north London, while Barker received a minimum sentence of 12 years for torturing the unfortunate child. Connelly had never publicly disclosed details about her son’s death, even declining to testify at her trial.
However, as she launched a new bid for freedom after being recalled to prison twice for violating her licence, details of her offences were presented to a Parole Board panel. She was reported to have “felt anger towards her children, believing they were interfering in her relationship with her partner and they were a hindrance”.
Connelly finally confessed that she refused to accept that little Peter was being abused by Barker. She told the hearing: “There was a lot more that I probably could have done to protect my children. If I had told the professionals that this man was living with me and explained that we were more than he was just visiting, there are 101 things I could have done.
“I could have done more. I was in my own bubble where I wanted my Prince Charming and unfortunately my children paid for that.” She added: “I was selfish. I wanted my happy ever after.”
When she was imprisoned, it was alleged Peter was left in his pushchair with chocolate spread smeared across his face to conceal the bruises. But yesterday Connelly refuted claims that she had used chocolate to mask Peter’s injuries. She said: “There was a suggestion where I covered [Peter’s] face in chocolate. But I washed it off in front of a social worker and there were no bruises on his face.”
Speaking about Barker she added: “I knew deep down what was happening. I challenged him [Barker} once and he made me feel so small I didn’t challenge him again. I didn’t believe that I could be living with a man who was capable of this, rather than the truth. I wanted to prove everyone wrong.” She added: “I kept [Barker] a secret, I was arguing that this couldn’t happen.”
She frankly acknowledged hitting her children, saying: “I used to do it if they misbehaved. The reality is that it was more when I wasn’t coping. “There’s no point trying to say they were naughty so I slapped them, it was easier for me to slap them rather than deal with it and try to explain like a proper mother would have done.”
A two-day hearing is set for 20 and 21 May where panel members will continue to evaluate Connelly’s risk and decide whether to release her from prison or not, or recommend her transfer to open prison conditions.
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