Yahoo News In a hospital waiting room, a killer childminder's final despicable act
In a hospital waiting room at Royal Blackburn Hospital, Gemma Collinge and Allen Frangleton sat desperately waiting for news.
Their nine-month-old baby, Harlow, had been rushed to the unit after he collapsed at his childminder's home in Hapton. It didn't make sense. When Gemma had dropped Harlow off that morning, he was a happy, healthy baby. Now he was fighting for his life.
As they prayed for him to get better, Karen Foster, the Ofsted registered childminder, waited with them. Turning to Gemma, she put her arms around the desperate mum and said, 'I hope nothing I've done has caused this.'
It was a chilling display from a woman who had shaken Harlow so violently his brain was bleeding.
READ MORE:
From the moment Foster called 999 on March 1, 2022, the lies came tumbling from her lips. She told the operator Harlow had choked while eating blended pasta in his high chair. She later told paramedics the little boy had collapsed in her arms after a feed.
Doctors quickly noted the injuries on Harlow's CT scan were typical of the type of non-accidental injuries seen on shaken babies.
Foster was arrested on suspicion of GBH but the lies flowed freely. She claimed on March 1, 2022, she had been looking after three children - Harlow and two four year olds. She omitted to mention another 11-month-old baby as Ofsted ruled prohibited her from caring for more than one child under one at any given time.
Gemma knew something was wrong. She had always had an uneasy feeling about Foster and had started searching for other childcare options for Harlow. Whenever possible, she left her precious baby with family members and had enrolled him into a local nursery, which would accept him when he reached his first birthday.
Each time Gemma raised concerns, Foster was quick to reassure her. She said Harlow was unsettled as he was not use to being with other children and copied them when they cried. She claimed she had previously worked as a nurse, telling some parents she had specialised in paediatrics.
But Gemma was not the only parent to be worried about the care Foster was providing for the children. Months earlier, another parent had written to Ofsted, claiming Foster was minding up to 10 children at once - four more than her registration allowed.
In 2018, Foster had declared she had no illnesses or conditions which would affect her ability to care for young children. The same year, she successfully applied for PIP, a DWP disability benefit, claiming she suffered with fibromyalgia, sciatica and anxiety.
Days before she shook Harlow, she renewed her claim, saying she was so severely disabled she needed help to cut up her food, use the toilet and was constantly drowsy and tired. She claimed she barely went out of the house due to the extent of her disability.
In hospital, Harlow fought for breath, as his brain continued to swell. After four days in the loving arms of his parents, Gemma and Allen agreed his life support could be withdrawn and he died. With no explanation as to how Harlow suffered his injuries, Lancashire Police launched a murder inquiry.
Foster stuck to her story. In July 2023, she was arrested on suspicion of murder but maintained her denials until she was due to stand trial at Preston Crown Court. With a weight of medical evidence showing Harlow's injuries were non-accidental, Foster's defence team prepared to argue someone else must have hurt the little boy.
A jury was selected, but before they could be sworn there came a breakthrough. Foster was willing to admit manslaughter.
She said she had been under immense pressure, suffering constant pain and financial worry that she would not be able to continue to work much longer. On March 1, 2022, she had shaken Harlow in frustration when he fell from his high chair and cried.
In the dock at Preston Crown Court, she remained stony faced as details of Harlow's tragic final days were heard. Walking with a crutch, she showed no emotion as she was led away to begin a sentence of 12 years and seven months.
Mr Justice Cotter said it was 'inconveivable' that she was as disabled as she had claimed on her PIP application, but she was clearly not fit enough to manage the physical strain of caring for so many children. Her medical issues should have led her to reduce the number of children in her care but instead, she chose to take on extra for financial gain.
Foster's defence said the childminder faced pressure due to the pandemic and was caring for the children of emergency workers. Her own family described her as a loving mother and grandmother, and references said she had cared for children with complex needs in the past.
Harlow’s mother, father Allen Frangleton, older siblings and wider family, sat in the public gallery, weeping as Foster’s case was heard and their victim impact statements read out.
Ms Collinge’s statement read: “How do I explain losing my son in such horrific circumstances? Harlow was enjoying his little life. He was a happy smiling baby.”
She also spoke of the “guilt” she felt, having made arrangements to move him to a nursery six weeks after first using Foster as a childminder, due to her own concerns about the number of children being looked after.
“All the red flags I missed,” she continued before recalling Foster trying to comfort her at the hospital, claiming Harlow had choked on pasta.
She added: “She even put her arms around me. I can’t think of anything more evil. It is despicable. I blame myself every day for my son’s death. This monster, Karen Foster, deserves nothing. I hope her actions haunt her.
“Our boy’s life has been taken away by a horrible, fake individual, who we trusted and who promised to care for him. No words can describe how it has ruined our lives.
“Harlow was enjoying his little life, which he should have been able to live to the full. He had everything he needed - a family who loved him, sisters and brothers to look up to, laugh and grow with. Everything was perfect.
“His love of us all was clear to see. He was a happy, smiling, boy who loved to sing with his sisters. His giggle was infectious, he made us all laugh and was so loved by everyone who met him, except for one person. He made us all love life being with him.
“The moment we got the call saying he had collapsed changed our lives forever. Harlow’s last few days of life were absolutely terrible.
“Watching each other experience his life ebbing away from us, was heart-breaking. He tried so hard to fight but, in the end, he just didn’t have the strength, she had done so much damage to him.
“The actions she has taken over the last two years make us sick. It is horrendous to put any grieving family through what she did.
“She still appears not to show any remorse for her actions. We question why she did not tell the truth from the start. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome for Harlow, but we would have had answers sooner.
“We could have started trying to claw back to some sort of life which now seems a long way off. Our lives will never be the same, we have to try and salvage what is left.
“We had trusted that woman to look after our Harlow, an innocent baby boy, but she took him away from all the family. That fateful day when Karen Foster shook Harlow to death will stay with us forever.”
Outside court, Det Supt Allen Davies, of our Force Major Investigation Team, said: “Before this reprehensible assault committed by Karen Foster, Harlow Collinge was a healthy and happy baby boy who had his whole life ahead of him. That life was so cruelly and unfathomably snatched away by a woman who Harlow’s parents had put their trust in to keep their little boy safe.
"Having inflicted such a devastating and catastrophic injury on Harlow, Foster spun a web of lies which she continued to repeat to medical professionals, the police and Harlow’s parents about how he came to be so gravely unwell. Her purpose was to try and protect herself rather than be honest about the child she had a duty of care to keep safe.
"To make it worse for the family, Foster has continued with those lies for over two years, whilst they have been waiting for answers as to what happened to their son and why.
"This has been a detailed and meticulous investigation managed by a dedicated investigation team who have worked incredibly hard, along with the prosecuting team. The case of evidence proved beyond all reasonable doubt that Foster was solely responsible for Harlow’s unlawful killing, meaning Foster finally admitted her guilt last week.
"This case will without doubt leave a lasting impression on everybody who played a part in getting justice for Harlow. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank and praise everybody involved.
"My thoughts remain with Harlow’s family who have behaved with dignity while dealing with such an unimaginable and unexpected loss. They have gone through so much pain, exacerbated by the amount of time it took Foster to admit to what she had done. They have endured every parent’s worst nightmare and have shown great strength and bravery.”
