British Association in Forensic Medicine Summer Meeting – 25th June 2022 Mercure Hotel Sheffield – "A Normal Child and the Consequences of an Idee Fixe"

Mr Paul C. Reid Q.C and Dr Naomi Carter, Forensic Pathologist, will be discussing the case of the death of Ella-Rose Clover who was murdered by Michael Wild on 21st January 2018 by the deliberate infliction of blows to the abdomen while Ella was in his care. He had also inflicted Non Accidental Injuries on Ella over a period of about 4 months but the specialists who examined and treated her attributed her injuries to medical causes without being able to find a medical reason for her injuries. It was only after Ella’s death that a full appraisal of her injuries by Dr Carter concluded that she had been subjected to multiple previous episodes of physical abuse in the months leading up to her death.

This presentation to the British Association in Forensic Medicine discusses how the fixed idea by the treating doctors that Ella’s injuries were not inflicted injuries affected the way she was treated in life, and had the potential to undermine the prosecution of Wild for her murder.