Toddler Bronson Battersby was found wearing Pudsey Bear pajamas, curled up next his dead father, two weeks after the two had last been seen alive. His father, 60-year-old Kenneth Battersby, of Skegness, Lincolnshire, in the UK, reportedly had a heart attack while home alone with the 2-year-old. Bronson starved to death as a result.
Now, the devastated family is mourning the loss of the father and son, and also asking for changes to be made within the social work system.
A social worker visited the home twice before she found Kenneth and Bronson's bodies.
Kenneth was last seen on Boxing Day, December 26, 2023, by a neighbor, according to the Daily Mail. Later, on January 2, a social worker came by the house for a routine visit. When she received no answer, she left and contacted the police. The social worker returned on January 4. When there was no answer, again she contacted the police.
Sadly, it would be an additional five days before the social worker was able to gain access to the Battersby residence. On January 9, the social worker spoke to the landlord to get a key to the building. Once she was inside, she found the bodies of both Kenneth and Bronson together. Both Kenneth and Bronson had been classified as vulnerable and required weekly checkups. Kenneth had a pre-existing heart condition and had severe jaundice over recent months.
More from CafeMom: ‘Radical Raw Foodist’ Couple Arrested in Starving Death of Their 1-Month-Old Newborn Son
'If social services had done their job Bronson would still be alive,' Bronson's mother said.
Bronson’s mother, Sarah Piesse, 43, last saw the toddler before Christmas, when she and Kenneth had an argument. Piesse fought back tears as she told The Sun, “If social services had done their job Bronson would still be alive. But they didn’t do anything. We have to be able to rely on social workers to keep our children safe.”
Preliminary postmortem results found that Bronson died of dehydration and starvation. The family’s pet boxer, Skyler, was emaciated but survived.
Bronson's body was so frail, his mother couldn't even hold him one last time.
“Bronson starved to death because his dad died,” Piesse said. “They think Kenneth died no earlier than December 29. It means if the social worker had pushed to get in when she got no reply on January 2 then Bronson would still have been alive.”
Tragically, when Piesse went to identify her son’s body she was not allowed to hold him. “I couldn’t pick him up because his body was too fragile. I could only touch him. He had been left there too long,” she explained.
'Bronson deserved so, so much better,' a family friend said.
A family friend is troubled by the image of Bronson trying to revive his father. “Bronson deserved so, so much better,” she told The Sun. “He was such a loving, adorable little boy. They found him curled up at Kenneth’s legs. He was left in the dark and must have been terrified and so confused. He must have thought his dad was just asleep or something. He must have been trying to wake him up. He must have been screaming. I don’t know how the neighbors didn’t hear.”
'I just want to remember his little smile and soft nature,' Bronson's sister wrote.
Bronson’s sister, Melanie Battersby, prefers to remember her younger brother differently. “Beautiful little boy deserved so much better than this life,” she wrote on Facebook. “We love you Bronson, forever a part of us, and forever my baby brother,” her post continued.
“A lot of anger inside at minute when I just want to remember his little smile and soft nature instead,” she wrote. “He [was] perfect.”
Heather Sandy, executive director for children’s services, said per the Daily Mail: “This was a tragic incident, and we are supporting the family at this difficult time. We are carrying out a review of the case alongside partner agencies to better understand the circumstances, and we await the results of the coroner’s investigations as well. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved.”
The social worker has not been suspended but has voluntarily taken time off. Police have ruled out any suspicious circumstances and have turned the case over to the coroner.
