A mother who enjoyed inflicting pain on her son cried in the dock as she was been jailed for 27 years for his killing. Her partner has been ordered to serve at least 32 years in prison for killing nine-year-old Alfie Steele, who was repeatedly beaten and held down in a cold bath. Alfie died on February 18, 2021 after being found with 50 injuries all over his body, having been hit with a leather belt and “dunked” in the bath at his home in Droitwich, Worcestershire.
His mother Carla Scott, 35, was found guilty earlier this week of manslaughter and child cruelty, while 41-year-old Dirk Howell was convicted of murder. Passing sentence on the pair at Coventry Crown Court on Thursday, Mr Justice Wall told them: “You have both refused to tell the truth about the day of Alfie’s death, preferring to lie to pretend that it was no more than a tragic accident and to cover up for one another.
“What is clear is that Alfie did not have the quiet death you tried to portray: a death in which he had an epileptic fit and gently fell asleep in the bath. His death was violent and brutal.”
February 18 had been yet another day on which the couple had decided that Alfie was “to be tortured”, the judge said. The six-week trial was told Alfie was denied food as an act or cruelty and routinely subjected to other “sinister” punishments, including being locked outside his Vashon Drive home in cold weather, and made to stand in a statue-like pose.
The judge told Scott and Howell, who was given a life sentence with a 32-year minimum term: “Alfie died either through drowning, concussive head trauma or mechanical asphyxia. The doctors could not determine which it was. For the purposes of this sentence, it does not matter which.
“Whatever the mechanics of his death, the true cause of his death was your cruel and unlawful conduct towards him.” The judge told Howell: “Some of your actions can only properly be described as sadistic. I am sure you got pleasure from inflicting pain.”
Scott, of Vashon Drive, was found guilty of child cruelty, and Howell, of Princip Street, Birmingham, admitted cruelty. Both denied unlawful killing but were convicted by jurors. Alfie’s mother was ordered to serve half of a six-year sentence for cruelty committed over an 18-month period, with a further consecutive 21-year sentence, of which she must serve at least two-thirds in custody, for manslaughter.
She appeared to become emotional in the dock as she was told the overall effect of the sentence was that she would serve at least 17 years in prison. A multi-agency review is underway into social services and police contact with Howell and Scott, after it emerged several 999 calls made by neighbours in April, May and August 2020 had supplied details of Alfie’s ordeal.
Prior to the sentencing in front of a public gallery packed with family members and police officers who worked on the case, the court was told Alfie wanted to be soldier or a famous rugby player when he was older. In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC, Alfie’s grandfather, Paul Scott, said he was haunted by being told that “Alfie’s last words were him shouting for me.”
Mr Scott said: “I saw Alfie’s lifeless body being carried (to hospital) in the helicopter. Since then it has felt like a nightmare. It hurts that he will never be able to make his own decisions.”
He described his grandson as a charming, funny and inquisitive young boy whose kindness and cheeky smile “was enough to melt your heart.” Mr Scott added: “He has been taken from me. I will never get to see that cheeky smile again.”
In a separate statement, his wife, Alaina Scott, said: “Alfie was 18 months old when I first met him. He wrapped his little arms around me and gave me a lovely hug.”
Describing the nine-year-old as gentle and loving, she added: “He was also the life and soul of our family. He was a considerate, warm, polite little boy who would help people of all ages.” Detective Chief Inspector Leighton Harding said he was pleased that justice had been done for Alfie Steele, adding: “Our thoughts firmly remain with his family, friends and all who knew him and truly loved him.”
The officer said of Carla Scott and Dirk Howell’s trial at Coventry Crown Court: “The jury heard evidence of a culture of abuse, cruelty and torture by Scott and Howell. “Torture amounted to repeated beatings with a belt causing extensive bruising. He was often woken in the early hours of the morning and forced to stand outside where Scott and Howell threw jugs of cold water over him.
“He was grounded for excessive periods, made to stand for hours inside and outside his home. He had food removed or withheld from him, (was) banished to his room, and most distressingly he was forced into a bath of cold water and his head forcibly held under.
“Alfie should have expected unconditional love and protection from Scott yet she deliberately neglected his needs, choosing to prioritise her own needs and her relationship with Howell. The lies they told to children’s services, school and police were intended to protect themselves and prevent the abuse they were inflicting on Alfie from being discovered.”
