Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P, has appeared before a parole board this week in a bid for release, but her family has said she is "dead to them" and deserves to "rot behind bars".
Connelly, now 45, is serving a sentence for causing or allowing the death of her 17-month-old son Peter at their home in Tottenham, north London, in August 2007. The boy, known as Baby P, suffered more than 50 injuries despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police officers and health professionals over eight months.
She was jailed at the Old Bailey in 2009 and received a sentence of imprisonment for public protection with a minimum term of five years. Her then-boyfriend, Steven Barker, and his brother, Jason Owen, were convicted of the same crime.
Parole hearing and family reaction
Connelly appeared at a hearing in London on Tuesday and Wednesday, just a year after the case was adjourned. Public parole hearings took place last October, but the case was adjourned after the panel decided there needed to be a further psychological assessment.
During the hearing, Connelly told how she has changed and "now knows" the impact of her behaviour on her loved ones. She said she "hated every minute" of having to listen to details of the "lifelong" pain and suffering of her living family members, who gave evidence revealing the impact she had had on them and how they are tortured by thinking of Peter's final moments.
A family insider said: "She's dead to the family she once had and they will never ever forgive her. They live to remember Peter and nothing more. She is not a real human and she deserves to rot behind bars."
Previous releases and recalls
Connelly was first released on licence in 2013 but was recalled to prison in 2015 for breaching her parole conditions. She then spent a further seven years behind bars before being released again in July 2022 after the parole board ruled she was suitable for release. She was recalled to prison in August 2024 for breaching parole conditions again.
The panel heard private statements read on behalf of members of Peter's family – who are known as "statutory victims" – about the ongoing impact of his death and their concerns about Connelly's potential release.
Asked how it felt hearing those statements, Connelly told the parole hearing: "I hated every minute of it because I know that their pain and their suffering is on me. I made decisions and choices that led to every moment of their pain and suffering and I can never apologise for that. I understand that my impact on them has been lifelong."
Promises and objections
Connelly has vowed to stay away from children in the future and promised she will not have a relationship with anyone with kids, admitting she was "c***" with them. She said: "I was c*** with my own children. I don’t want to be around other people’s children because I know how bad I was with my own. If I have friends with children, I won’t be meeting those children. I don’t want to be around those children. This is even after licensing ends."
She said she "would be aiming to avoid people with criminal records or people with children", and said she wanted to live alone. She explained: "I want a relationship. I just don’t want to live with someone again. I want my own space. I want my own home."
Connelly previously breached conditions on "developing intimate personal relationships" on the internet. Tuesday’s hearing was told Connelly, who is bisexual, had failed to tell probation officers she had been seeing a married man, and had deleted messages and photographs of a sexual nature they had sent to one another. She promised that if released, she would tell probation officers about future relationships. Asked why she could be trusted not to breach her licence conditions again, Connelly said: "I can’t give you a magic answer as to what’s different now."
Those saying she should be released include her prison offender manager and a psychologist who had completed an assessment on her. However, the psychologist also told the panel that Connelly was likely to "continue to test the boundaries" of her conditions, and could cause sexual harm to someone with whom she entered a relationship.
The panel heard that Alex Norris, the Justice Secretary, was opposing Connelly’s release. The public part of the hearing concluded at the end of play on Wednesday, and the Parole Board’s decision is expected at a later date.
