A mother, Sharon Goldie, removed the door to her daughter’s bedroom to purposefully expose her to the sex she was having with random men.
Goldie, 49, accused her 13-year-old daughter of “exaggerating” when she became violently ill at their home in Wishaw, Lanarkshire in 2018. Leaving her dying daughter Robyn on the sofa to watch Tipping Point, Goldie went out to the pub for a night’s drinking. On her return, she found her daughter unresponsive on the sofa.
The callous mother sat outside the home and continued drinking with another individual, and when she checked on Robyn, she realised she had stopped breathing. The schoolgirl died as a result of peritonitis and a perforated duodenal ulcer.
A mother who left her dying 13-year-old daughter on the sofa while she went to the pub has been jailed https://t.co/l2pg0HBZLc
— BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) October 29, 2020
An inquiry that came about as a result of a public outcry heard that Goldie was often drunk and “entertaining men at home”. Robyn’s bedroom door had been removed and never replaced, with the youngster suspected of having been exposed to the sexual activity going on in her home.
In 2020, Goldie was jailed for three years and six months after admitting wilful ill treatment and neglect between July 2017 and July 2018.
There were several other crimes she pleaded guilty to, including failing to provide her daughter with adequate food, clothing or heating, and allowing her to drink alcohol and smoke cannabis.
At one point, the unhygienic conditions she was forced to endure, including cat urine and faeces in the home, lead to the youngster getting fleas, which Goldie also pleaded guilty to.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC called for the inquiry after ruling that the circumstances surrounding the 13-year-old’s death was a matter of “serious public concern”.
The hearing will be looking into what precautions could have been taken to avoid the tragedy, as well as those that could be implemented in the future to prevent similar deaths. The inquiry is set to focus on the interactions between the family and social workers.
Procurator Fiscal Katrina Parkes said: “The Lord Advocate considers that the death of Robyn Goldie occurred in circumstances giving rise to significant public concern and as such a discretionary Fatal Accident Inquiry should be held.
“An FAI will allow a full public airing of all the available evidence at which interested parties will be represented. The evidence will be tested in a public setting and be the subject of an independent judicial determination.”
Robyn is said to have told social workers that she had caught her mother having sex with men at the home they shared. The information appears to have been transmitted through the proper channels, with concerns raised about her welfare to social services.
Hamilton Sheriff Court’s fatal accident inquiry heard that concerns came to breaking point when Robyn, who had lived with her grandma for eight years, was returned to the care of her mother.
Independent social worker Maggie Mellon, who was involved in the case, said there was evidence supporting Robyn’s claims that she described as “disturbing”. Mellon, 70, said: “The biggest question was whether she could safely stay in her mother’s care and it was thought she could be made safe through advice and guidance.
“There was some disturbing evidence being known such as that Robyn did not have a bedroom door which had been taken off by Sharon and had never been put back again.”
“Her mother had been entertaining men at home drunk and Robyn had been exposed to her mother’s sexual activity and there were adult men in the house behaving inappropriately towards Robyn in the home,” said Mellon.
Goldie had also told social workers she didn’t want to look after her daughter due to the “stress it was causing her”. The inquiry also heard how the mother advised Robyn not to report an alleged rape because it would go to court.
Council staff told Goldie to disclose full details of the alleged attack, which she did not do, Hamilton Sheriff Court heard.
Social worker Brian McNott, 39, told the inquiry: “Robyn had made an allegation of rape and Sharon’s response to that I found to be really concerning. I felt it was a really underwhelming response to something that her daughter had said she had gone through and she spoke Robyn down from seeking police intervention,” said McNott.
“We had to direct Sharon to get Robyn a doctor’s appointment and we found out that she didn’t give full information in respect of the allegation of rape to the doctor. That was a real concern of her ability to make sure Robyn was safe and to get her medical intervention if required.”