Death of schoolgirl, 10, stabbed in sleep by mum to be probed by safeguarding panel

The death of a schoolgirl stabbed 11 times by her mum while she slept will be probed by a safeguarding panel. Shay Kang suffered wounds to her chest inflicted by a Swiss Army knife during the shocking killing.

Her mum Jaskirat Kaur - also known as Jaskirat Kang - wielded the blade at the family home during a 'mental health episode'. She was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time and believed she was being targeted by 'lasers and technology'.

The mum told police after the tragedy: "I would kill her again. I wanted her to die, I don't regret it." Now, the child's case will be subject to a review.

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A Sandwell Children's Safeguarding Partnership spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with everyone who knew Shay. The partnership has commissioned an independent local child safeguarding practice review (LCSPR), in line with our statutory responsibilities, to consider whether there are any learning opportunities arising from this tragic event."

Child safeguarding practice reviews were formerly known as serious case reviews. They look at how organisations worked together to provide services to a child and their family.

The reviews also look at what 'lessons can be learned to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents happening in the future'. A panel of senior managers involved with Shay and her mum will meet with an independent author, who will write a report.

Kaur admitted manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order at Wolverhampton Crown Court on October 25. Concerns were raised about the welfare of year 5 pupil Shay after she failed to attend Brickhouse Primary School for nine months between December 2022 and September 2023.

Police and social services became involved, prosecutor Sally Howes KC said. In the year before Shay's death, Kaur called police and asked to speak on a secure line.

She asked for officers to be discreet when they arrived at her home in Robin Close, Rowley Regis, on January 11, 2023. During the time between her call and police attending, Brickhouse Primary School called police requesting a safe and well check on Shay as she had not turned up.

When officers arrived, the curtains were drawn and Kaur seemed to be suffering from paranoia. Shay was 'contented and willing to chat', the court heard.

A second call from her primary school to police was made on January 19, 2023. Kaur said she was unwilling to speak to officers without a lawyer and said he was not sending her daughter to school because a 'male was going to take her from there'.

Officers suggested Kaur speak to her GP about her paranoia, noting Shay appeared happy and in good health. They did not think she was in immediate danger, the court was told.

A third call to police was made by her school on September 20, 2023. Police arriving at the family home noted that Shay appeared nervous, was hard to understand and giving monosyllabic answers.

Officers showed the school's pastoral team body-worn camera footage from the interaction, with staff 'shocked' at Shay's state. Social workers then became involved as police considered her a 'child in need' and an assessment was carried out on September 27, 2023.

A social worker noted that the house was in darkness and Shay did not speak but looked 'relatively healthy but pale'. She had an 'unsteady gait' and her arm movements were 'stilted and robotic', while Kaur was said to be paranoid and anxious.

A child in need plan was implemented in November 2023 as social services felt Kaur was meeting her daughter's basic needs and had started to engage with them. But the mum was 'not particularly coherent and demonstrated examples of paranoia', while Shay's speech had regressed to babbling.

Shay returned to school in January 2024, with her speech improving. The child told teachers she had no one to speak to while she was at home, revealing how she and her mother spent time in separate rooms.

She said they 'did nothing and went nowhere', the court was told. Shay also told teachers she would spend time daydreaming or playing on her Nintendo DS, while there was no physical affection from her mother.

People in the public gallery sobbed as graphic details of the moment Kaur killed her daughter were read to the court. Kaur called 999 and told police "my kid is dead" hours after killing Shay on March 4.

When officers arrived at her home, the 33-year-old said there were 'projections coming in and out' of the property with 'tech and lasers and stuff'. She added: "It was me (that killed her) because I didn't want her getting took by it."

Kaur admitted she had wanted to kill her daughter for the past seven months, telling detectives during interview: "They can't adopt her, they can't take her. It's not going to make sense, but to me it does.

"I was worried about Shay growing up. I knew that there needed to be an end date. I would kill her again. I wanted her to die, I don't regret it." Two forensic psychiatrists determined Kaur had been suffering paranoid schizophrenia when she carried out her attack.

Dr John Croft said Kaur was suffering from severe mental illness, had been experiencing delusions and felt she was being targeted by technology. She also feared her daughter would be taken from her.

He said she believed she had killed her daughter to 'protect her from suffering and harm'. Carla Newby, Brickhouse Primary School's pastoral officer, told the court she arranged Shay's funeral along with her husband Paul Newby - the school's head teacher.

Through tears, Mrs Newby said: "Shay was always a bright, happy, fun-loving child who was well-liked by all. Her smile could brighten up the dimmest of days.

"This is the most horrific and devastating situation we have ever had to manage. We spent time with Shay as she rested in the funeral home. We placed a pink blanket and a teddy bear in her coffin for her to snuggle.

"It was an honour for us both to have been chosen to arrange her funeral and give her a send-off she deserved. May Shay find some peace now."

Katherine Goddard KC, defending, said Kaur would be 'forever grateful' to the school community for the love shown to Shay. She added: "This is not a short-term mental condition, it is deep-seated and long-term, with no guarantee of future improvement.

"In short, she will not recover from this condition quickly and there will remain a real risk of relapse. She has received no visits except for her legal team and received no letters and no-one has tried to contact her in any way.

"This represents the bleak sadness of the future that this defendant faces." Judge Michael Chambers KC accepted a recommendation that Kaur - a patient at the secure hospital Chadwick Lodge in Milton Keynes - should be given an indefinite hospital order to protect the public from serious harm.

He said: "This is a truly dreadful and tragic loss of life. Every child looks to his or her mother for love and protection and this was a gross breach of that trust.

"The enormity of what you have done is difficult to comprehend. What you have done has impacted many lives and the community rightly have been shocked.

"Shay had her whole life before her. She appeared as a happy and contented girl. That was the appearance she gave to the world, but sadly the reality of life at home was very different.

"The conditions in which she lived and the context in which she died were the direct result of your severe mental illness. It led to you both living a socially isolated existence."