Bronson Battersby’s mother has revealed heartbreaking details following the tragic death of her toddler, who reportedly starved to death after being left alone for days.
The two-year-old was found next to the body of his father Kenneth two weeks after the pair were last seen alive by a neighbor in Skegness, Lincolnshire, on Boxing Day.
Kenneth, 60, died at home of a heart attack, reportedly shortly after December 26, leaving the toddler in the dark for days without food or water.
Bronson’s heartbroken mother Sarah Piesse, 43, fought back tears and said her son was just two inches too short to reach a fridge full of Christmas leftovers that could have saved him. He also couldn’t reach the tap because of his short height, nor could he reach his snacks, as they had recently been moved to a higher cupboard to prevent him from reaching for them himself, she said.
Piesse said The sun she is kept awake by the ‘haunting’ vision of her ‘beautiful boy’, who was born weighing just over 1.2kg, frantically scrambling around in the dark, looking for food and water.
She said she still has her son’s Christmas present – a toy steering wheel – at home and said: ‘I know they had a big Christmas dinner together. They had all the trimmings and chicken instead of turkey because Bronson liked chicken. All the food would have still been in the refrigerator. If Bronson had been just a little bit bigger, he would have survived. The refrigerator would have been full of Christmas leftovers.”
Smiling as she thought of her son, she continued, “A typical, cheeky little two-year-old. He was always trying to get his favorite pink waffles. And when we didn’t say anything more, he smiled and shouted, ‘Yes! More more more!’ Kenny moved all the snacks higher up so he couldn’t get to them without asking.
“All I can think about now is him, starving, reaching up and trying to get them. I can not bear. He was about two inches from being able to reach the refrigerator to open it.
“His last moments were spent alone and he must have been so thirsty and hungry. He must have been crying. He must have been so confused. And Kenny was lying there on the floor. I can only pray that he thought his father was asleep.”
An anguished Piesse said she is kept awake at night because she cannot forgive herself for not being there to save her two-year-old.
She said: “It haunts me. If I can fall asleep at all, it’s only for a few hours. I wake up to think of him wandering around alone, starving. He must have been so weak in the end that he decided to give up and hold his father, hugging his legs.
“I will never forgive myself for not being there. When I picture him alone in that apartment, I feel like a failure, cruel, selfish. That little boy was sitting there and wanted something to drink, wanted something to eat. It breaks my heart even more.”
Piesse again wondered why authorities didn’t do more for her son as she described the “nightmare” she is living in and from which she will never wake up.
She said: “I just don’t understand why the alarm wasn’t raised earlier. Why didn’t they? I am in a living nightmare and I will never wake up from it.”
Lincolnshire County Council has been told The independent that social services spoke to Battersby on December 27 to arrange a visit to the house on January 2. After receiving no response that day, the council said the social worker contacted police and made an unannounced visit two days later, after which they contacted police again.
However, it took another five days before the bodies of the father and son were found on January 9, after the council said the social worker had been forced to gain access by the landlord to enter the property himself.
The council has launched a “rapid review” of the case after preliminary tests reportedly showed Bronson, who was in children’s care, had died of dehydration and starvation. Lincolnshire Police said the exact actions of all organizations involved will be analyzed in a forthcoming review.
The force said it has also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). A spokesperson for the watchdog confirmed that it is now assessing the referral to determine further action.
Piesse said she found out about Battersby’s death from a friend who lived near him and immediately asked, “Where’s my boy then?” Who has my boy?”
She said The sun: “I got down there as fast as I could. I was there within 10 minutes. I ran down the road screaming Bronson’s name. I screamed for him, knowing he needed me. I was afraid of what he would have seen when his father died.
“But the police put me in the back of an ambulance at the scene. They told me that a two-year-old boy had been found at the scene and that they were doing an autopsy.
“My whole world collapsed. I shouted, ‘How? How?’ I knew there was no way Kenny Bronson was going to make anything happen. He would never lay his finger on him.”
Piesse said she and Battersby — who also share a three-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son — are in an on-again, off-again relationship after splitting in 2019. When Piesse moved into a new flat six months ago, she said the couple decided Bronson would live with Battersby because they found the tall staircase without a handrail in her home unsafe.
Through tears, Piesse said an argument with Battersby meant she last saw Bronson in November, when she made him spaghetti bolognese and he played with his siblings. She said she would see her son this month to give him his Christmas present.
She said The sun: “Kenny and Bronson always had a bond, so when I got the new apartment it made sense that Bronson would stay with him.
“Social services were involved so I knew they were in the area and reporting.
“Kenny and I had had an argument in November and when he said no, he meant no. So I pulled back a bit and gave him space. I will never regret that now. I can’t sleep because every time I close my eyes I see his face.”
She added: “No other mother should have to go through what I went through.
“I want to know why they were denied access on the first visit? That would have saved him.”
The social worker involved was not suspended, but took time off after the incident.
Heather Sandy, executive director for children’s services at Lincolnshire County Council, said The independent: “This was a tragic incident and we are supporting the family at this difficult time.
“We are currently investigating the case with partner agencies to better understand the circumstances, and we are also awaiting the results of the coroner’s investigation.
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved.”
Lincolnshire Police said: “Police were notified at around 3.25pm on Tuesday, January 9, of the deaths of a 60-year-old man and a two-year-old child at a property in Prince Alfred Avenue, Skegness.
“Investigations have been carried out and the deaths are not being treated as suspicious.
“The matter has been referred to the coroner’s office.”
They added: “The exact actions of the organizations involved will be analyzed in a forthcoming review and at this stage it would be inappropriate to comment further.
“As part of standard operating procedures, we have referred this to the IOPC following a death or serious injury following police involvement.”
A spokesperson for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said: “We can confirm that we have received a referral from Lincolnshire Police in relation to this matter and we are now assessing this to determine what further action is required from us.”