Sometime ago I expressed the wish and intention of setting up a memorial of some kind that would allow members of the public to post their thoughts, feelings and messages to the spirit of little Peter Connelly who died so tragically, and before he ever got the chance to grow and discover that there was more to life than pain and tears.
He lived, he laughed (we hope), he suffered and he died, but most of all he mattered. This page, unfortunately, will expand because from this point on I will record the names of all those children who will, in time, follow in little Peters wake, that is the ultimate tragedy, and will remain so until our governments start looking after our most vulnerable children…and until every single parent realises the irreplaceable value of our precious children. This little ‘garden’, named in honour of Peter, is for all of them.
Please feel free to express your feelings here, just remember to keep it nice…children are listening.
Peter Connelly – Born: 1st March 2006, London UK – Died: 3 August 2007, London UK. Cause: Prolonged Abuse/Murder (mother and two males). Age – 17 months.
Dean Shillingsworth – 25 Feb 2005 Blacktown, NSW, Australia – 11 Oct 2007 Ambarvale, NSW, Australia. Cause: Murder (mother). Age – 2 years old.
John Erik Ashfield – 1987 – 5th August 1993, Nowra NSW, Australia, Cause: Prolonged assault/Murder (mother and boyfriend). Age – six years old.
Millie Martin – 5 September 2008 – 11 Dec 2009 Enniskillen Northern Ireland,UK. Cause: Assault/Murder (mother’s boyfriend). Age – 15 months.
Violet Mullen – 2008 – 12th January 2010, Huddersfield Rd Oldham, England UK. Aged 15 months. Cause: Murder (mother and boyfriend)
Kyra Ishaq – 2001- May 2008, Leyton Road, Handsworth, Birmingham. Cause: Starvation, dehydration, physical abuse by mother Angela Gordon and stepfather Jumaid Abuhamza. Age – 7 years old.
Joshua Jones – 2006 – 06/11/2008, Runcorn, Cheshire. Cause: prolonged child abuse/beaten to death by Wayne Davenport (mother’s boyfriend). Aged 2 years.
Ryan Lovell-Hancox – 25/10/2005 – 24/12/2008, Wolverhampton Hospital. Cause: physical abuse/murder. Age – 3 years old.
Alfie Goddard – March 2008 – May 2008, Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Cause: abuse/murder (shaken and thrown to the ground by father Craig Goddard). Age – 3 months.
Amy Howson – 23/08/2006 – 23/12/2007, Nelson Road Doncaster. Cause: prolonged abuse/broken back inflicted by father James Howson. Age – 16 months.
Abbie Jamieson – October 2007 – 8/02/2008, Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, Scotland. Cause: child abuse/murder by father Craig Jamieson. Aged 4 months.
Sanam Navsarka – 2007 – 8/05/2009, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Cause: child abuse/multiple broken bones and internal injuries inflicted by mother Zahbeena Navsarka and stepfather Subhan Anwar. Aged 2 years.
Charlotte Avenall – 2001 – 12/09/2009, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Cause: accidental hanging/lack of parental care and supervision. Aged 8 years.
What a lovely tribute to this beautiful little boy. He does matter and he is so special. I dont understand it myself….the overwhelming emotion and feelings that this child and his tragic life bring about. We have all heard these awful stories before. There is something about Peter…his sweet little face, his wispy blonde hair, the look in his blue eyes,angelic….so contradictory to the dark and savage way in which he was treated. Not to mention the cavalier manner in which his case was handled.
I believe that little Peter is special and that his life had meaning. I would do anything to go back and save him, comfort, hold and love him. Unfortunatley, it is too late for that. I can only refuse to forget him and do my best to further the cause of other children like him. We owe it to Peter to fight for these innocent children. Through our words our actions and our votes.
Rest in sweet peace angel. You are loved.
Beautiful words for a beautiful angel.
The sweetest baby Peter, I love you, I wish I could have saved you, rest in peace and when my time comes I will find you in Heaven and give you lots of kisses and cuddles
Merry Christmas baby Peter. You are in my prayers today. I am making a donation to Smile Train in your memory
Merry Chistmas MY SPECIAL BOY!!!! I love you dearly and will never forget you!!! You have a special place in my heart forever!!!! You are with God our Father now but I miss you like mad!!!! Love you!!
Merry Xmas to all you little angels – have fun up there!
Happy Birthday beautiful boy.
Happy Birthday angel .
Its a shame that this is the only way this beautiful little boy will be remember. WE need to protect our children and make sure another child does not suffer, all children are suppose to be loved. Rest in Peace Peter and play with the angels
I read this story time and time again as I am so distraught that this could actually happen to a baby . I know have a baby boy of my own and am reminded every day to always cherish every waking moment with him and to love him every day. I will never understand nor do I every want to understand what could possess a mother to let someone hurt her own child..it’s crazy and she should be punished..an eye for a eye is what i believe in!!!
Eleven children killed by abuse in the UK in just two years who are already listed here. What does this say about us?
Rest in Peace sweet lil angel.
I love you sweet Peter, beautiful baby boy. I would rock you tightly, safely in my arms, shower you with hugs and kisses. May God himself have been right with you consoling you, keeping the pain away. I hope you had some good times. But you are safe now, you have all the love you deserved all along. Your story had affected me so much. I just know you are happy now someone in New Jersey loves you.
It is three years today since Peter was murdered and I am sure that I am not alone in remembering a little boy that I never knew but desperately wish I could have saved. I wonder how his mother feels today or is she just too damaged to comprehend the tragedy of his death and her part in it. He was such a special little boy and how sad it is that in death he should have captured the hearts of so many people and yet in his short life he endured so much suffering and fear.I know that I and many others will never forget him. Rest in peace Peter.
Rest in peace sweet angel. Im thinking of you on this day and every day
You are loved.
having watched the story , again , after 6 months . I look at it now without the utter shock and horror of the first time , it made me ill .
it still makes me shudder , what happened to that precious child , but now i want reprisal for him .
Why in this day of eternal retribution , when everyone has to pay their dues are his pathetic murderers still alive .
if i was offered the chance to give them lethal injection i gladly would , they are evil and deserve to die .
I have said my piece . hope you are with the angels Peter , god bless .
it was only this april 2010 that i come across his story & since that day i do not understand the kind of attachment i have for this angel Peter. in a way i am angry on how he was treated by the people who should be giving him love, caring & patience. i have a child almost the same age as Peter he is 14 months & there are times my child can be cranky & naughty but i cannot hurt him…& when my mom who takes care of him while i am at work gives him a spanking i get hurt as if my heart is being torn into pieces i do not understand why tracey connelly allowed that man to hurt her son…with the slicing of the fingertips–i cut my sons fingernails every weekends for hygienic purposes & keeping a child still is difficult & with steven barker doing the slicing of the fingertips & pulling of fingernails of the baby i picture it so horrific—i really feel pity towards this little boy & as a mother i want to impart to him love—i really wish there is a god & i wish he is with peter to take care of him —-rest in peace my angel peter…
Thankyou for your kind sentiments but I must question why you allow your 14 month old baby to be spanked…? if your mother is your primary carer for your child in your absence I suggest you have a word with her – babies of 14 months should not be spanked, he is only a baby, how can a baby be naughty…?
it is just a slight spank but even if i know it doesn’t hurt him that much i still cry over it & would ask my mom not to do that because as you’ve mentioned he is just a baby he doesn’t know what is right & what is wrong…but let correct i do not tolerant that since i am very aware of child violence.. my baby has a habit of hitting people with whatever is in his little hands of his or he even hits people with his own hands & would blurt out a giggle…he is very interested on electric sockets, he would go & reach cans & if he cannot reach it he would shake shelves (make shift ones) until all the contents falls down…he would roll over & make the cartwheel position (& believe me my heart would literally pound like a motorcycle on a highway) my son is very playful & very active….
Time to baby-safe the house because when he starts walking…
When my boys were small I had nothing on shelves that they could reach, in fact I didn’t get furniture like bookshelves until they were older. No coffee tables in the middle of the floor, nothing with sharp edges. Stairs were barricaded and I covered the light sockets with those safety socket covers – you can buy them easily in the shops very cheaply so get some asap. My house was very basic back then and I guess it will all happen again when I become a granny
I cannot get you out of my head dear baby peter, I think about your sweet little angelic face every day, and mostly every night when I tuck my baby boy in bed and kiss him goodnight…I always wonder if you ever got any goodnight kisses In your short life, god how I wish I could have been your Mommy little darling boy!!!!!!
Just voicing my opinion on a comment I read above, I do realize that this is for a memorial for the sweet blue eyed baby p but I thought I could give my ideas on the matter…. first I would not call a child of that age naughty, nor would I spank them or allow anyone else to spank them!!! Children of that age are just exploring their surroundings and checking out their boundaries, they haven’t a clue they are doing anything wrong, so therefore how can you even remotely decide that they deserve a punishment for something that they don’t even realize is wrong????? I too have a little one, he slaps, occasionally bites…and is constantly into everything in sight but I use the method of distraction..because their attention span is so short at this age it’s much easier taking them out of whatever thing they are into, and either playing with them, or giving them another toy rather then telling them to stop, or no. As for the slapping thing, I always tell my little guy “that is not nice to slap, it hurts mommy” when you are telling him this it’s important not to smile, he needs to know you are serious. These methods seem to be working for us, remember every child goes through this stage at one time or another
most of all always remember that we are all our children have in life in the beginning, so make them feel loved unconditionally and hug and kiss them every chance you get!!! Baby Peter in heaven, I feel love for you like you are my own baby boy, and you’ve touched my heart in a way that it will never be the same; we printed off a picture of you little boy and we have it hanging on our wall, you should have been all along babe but you are loved now my sweet!! Have fun flying with the angels.
Rachel, your little boy is lucky to have you as a mommy. It is so sad that baby Peter is so loved by so many of us and yet he was not blessed with any of us as his mommy. I did not like my little boy climbing into my bed at night until I read this story about baby Peter who was so alone and so hurt, with no mommy to hold him and protect him. Now I take my baby boy into bed with me and cuddle him tight against me because you never know which cuddle will be your last. Doing this has made me realise how much I adore him and how important it is for mothers to hold their children as much as possible. When I hold my son close to me I also feel as though I am holding little Peter as well, I wish I could have saved him.
fly precious one
your endless journey has begon…..
your in my heart little boy….
I often think about you en what i had done to save you if i had lived near by you…i still think what i can do for you wright now…for your justice…those evil cariers are locked up now…but when they are getting free…there punishment begins….believe me…..the whole world is angry……. your in my mind little one…….
To Peter: You are a very loved little man. I think of you every day, and my heart breaks with every thought of each tear you shed. It has been more than a year now, that I have loved this little man, I have several pictures of you and look at them as often as I can. I love you little man, rest in peace
I read a story about little Peter two months ago, after deliberately avoiding it since it all became public. I have not stopped crying ever since and was told by my family to go to the doctors because they thought I was depressed. I too keep looking at his pictures and looking at sites like these as I can’t stop thinking about him. I am surprised at how many people feel exactly as I do, how they wish Peter were their own son and could hold and care for him the way he should have been. So many if onlys – I think of ways he could’ve been saved, what I would’ve done if I were the teenage girl, the grandmother, the social worker, doctor, a neighbour. I just cannot believe how many people let him down. There will always by degenerates who take pleasure in hurting innocents, but what really angers and hurts me are the people who could’ve helped him; the people who knew and didn’t do anything and the people such as the A&E doctor and the social worker, who should’ve known but missed his later horrific injuries through laziness and incompetence. To me that is unforgivable. I think about him when I see my daughter’s hands, when I put her into her cot, when I come home and she’s snuggled on the sofa with her dad watching a Disney DVD….every time I look at her, I just think ‘he should’ve had all this too’ . Although I never had the pleasure of meeting him, I dont think I will ever come to terms with the fact that this has happened to him in front of so many people and nobody helped him. I imagine what his life would be like here with us, how his bedroom would look even, and it’s so pointless because he’s gone and none of the pain he suffered can be taken away. I am heartbroken. I really hope you are out there somewhere Peter and you can feel all the love people have for you. You are in my thoughts always. I wish we could’ve saved you. xxxx
Kerry, thank you so much for your honesty. I finally feel like I am not alone in my grief for Peter! I am also seeking councilling because I can not get his suffering out of my head . . . I wake up at night and I can’t get back to sleep because I think of him, I think of what his personality must have been like so damaged, how he was hungry all the time, how he was in so much pain. I watch the internet for news and I feel comfort in the postings from all of you. I feel like Tracy Connelly owes ME and the rest of us who cannot forget an apology! How dare she let something like this happen! I can’t believe she hasn’t taken her life . . . how can she live with herself? God, what does that tell you about her? If something ever happened to my boys, especailly if I caused it . . . Keep those other children of her’s away from her! Don’t force them to relive the horror they witnessed. She is unremorseful, given the chance she will fall back into her usual habits. No more chances, social services . . . you don’t serve the criminal, protect the children!!!
She must be an unbelievably selfish and deluded woman. I have read recently, apparent extracts from letters that she has sent from prison saying how she misses sex and is going to have fun when she gets out. Also that saying that she has to believe there is a heaven so she can see her little boy again. This mortifies me, I am completely distraught by what has happened to him and his own mother clearly has other things on her mind. I do not believe in heaven but if there is one I’m pretty damn sure she won’t be going there. The problem with this country is that in general people just don’t care. If they cared then the medical profession, Police, Social Services, neighbours, health visitors,MP’s would not have left him to die. If they cared, the murderers would not have received such ridiculously short sentences.After dumping Peter’s bloodied clothes and hiding out in woods for over a week following his death, Owen was even released on bail!! during which time he changed his name by deed poll and nearly escaped the country. If all criminals were treated like criminals and sentenced appropriately, according to their crimes, they would not be free to commit more crimes. I cannot believe we live in a country where a man only recieves a 10 year sentence for torturing, mutilating and brutally beating a toddler to death. It’s completely crazy.
you are so right Kerry
Happy Christmas little Peter. Thinking of you today as always. you should be running around playing with your presents and laughing, if only. Xxx
hello kerry
jou are so not alone… ive been trough the same…i was down .. it was like a stone in my stomic….crying at night..couldn,t sleep…my boyfriend sad ..why are you crying?? even today i look at his video every day …since i came to know about peter…and every child who died off severe torturing….. it made me do something with children…were going to be foster parents for crisis children who are going trough this………i have also a son ..ryan is 3 now…born august 8 just after peter died………..
Hi Serina, me too. I have applied to become a foster carer although I am getting nowhere at the moment as the agencies are concentrating on older children and I have a young daughter so I am getting turned down. I have also applied for volunteer work, visiting struggling families with young children who may be at risk. I know if I was one of the people visiting his house I (along with countless others) would have seen the wood for the trees and got him out of there one way or another. It’s too late to help him now but at least we can still help others
A mum at my children’s school is also a foster mum and currently has two children aged under four in her care – even though she deals with them on a frequent basis she hates social workers for the reason that so many of them get carried away on their little power trips that they refuse to listen when she has something to say. She has seen many kids taken from her and replaced into dreadful homes for the sole reason that ‘the mother deserves another chance’. Very often it is all about the mother and that is why Peter died. It was all about Tracey-fucking-Connelly and not about that poor child. We do need so many more foster carers, it is a very hard job and often you will feel like banging your head against the wall when they make a decision that you know is wrong for the child you have cared for. That’s part of it – but god knows we need them…sadly.
One thing also – what a shame they are stricter on allowing people to become foster carers than they are on people becoming parents – going by the qualifying criteria Tracey Connelly would never in a million years have been accepted as a foster carer and yet they allowed her to keep that poor little baby. It does not make sense does it…?
No it does not make sense.
Peter’s Prayer
Though we did not know you
We love you just the same
If we could have saved you
We would have saved you from your pain
We place your photos on our wall in love
To invite you in our home
Here you’ll find the love you needed
And you’ll never be alone
This home is filled with love
Take as much as you wish
Enjoy the warmth, laughter and adventure
That in life you had missed
If we could wrap our arms around you
And cuddle you so much
know that you are loved
By the people that you have touched
Lovely
What a sweet poem,thank you for sharing it with those of us who think of Peter and love him always.
Peter, Elohim, Osiris, Thor, Wotan and all the hosts of heaven- Archangel Michael awaits to receive you back home. Rest in blissful sleep. I love you than my mind can convey.
I figured this would fit well right here. I wrote this for you little guy. I hope you enjoy it. It’s your lullaby. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=342138&songID=10402496&showPlayer=true&ref=nf
Annette,
your lullaby was beautiful. I thought it was sorrowful yet peaceful. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I will never forget Peter. He will always remain in my heart and soul. Thank you for making this memorial. God bless you.
God has saw all and knows all. He will be the final Judge. ALL our sweet childern are now sitting around our Jesus Christ. Peace little one’s.
there are so many more sad stories… what the hell is wrong with people????????????
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/kiesha-weippearts-grave-was-no-secret-police-will-allege/story-e6freuzi-1226072658506
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Jaidyn_Leskie
Yes I remember little Jaidyn Leskie – the mother’s boyfriend killed him no doubt about it. That poor child was surrounded by useless adults.