Girl Found Killed Days After Mother Cleared As Mentally Well

A young woman whose baby girl was found by her stabbed to death had been assessed by social services five days previously, but was found to not be suffering from any mental health disorder and allowed to keep the child.

The woman, named locally as Ntsimbi Galtricia, 23, from Brazzaville in the Congo, was found with stab wounds beside the body of her daughter, believed to be aged two, at their home in Barking, east London, at 12.15am yesterday.

She is being treated in intensive care in hospital, where her injuries are said to be serious but not life-threatening.

Scotland Yard said that it was not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack. Officers from the Met’s Child Abuse Investigation Command are investigating, and Barking and Dagenham council has also begun an inquiry.

Shopkeepers on the Thames View estate said yesterdya that they had called police repeatedly about Ms Galtrica’s erratic behaviour; one said he had told them of his concern for the welfare of the girl, named by neighbours as Balthous.

Ms Galtricia had been picked up by police several times, including last Wednesday, after harassing shopkeepers and accusing them of being the child’s father.

Barking council confirmed that a mental health assessment had been carried out on the woman on August 9.

“She was found not to have any mental health care issues,” a spokeswoman said. “The child was not on the child protection register and was not in care. Crucially, the information received from the police did not raise any concerns for the welfare of the child at the time and we didn’t take any action in respect of the child.”

Huseyin Alacayir, 30, who works in the Thames superstore on the estate, said he had called police repeatedly about Ms Galtricia’s behaviour, including “once about five times in a day”. He had been obliged to ban her from the shop because she kept accusing him of being the child’s father.

“At first she was normal, she would come in to buy food and sometimes champagne,” he said.

“But a couple of months ago, she was acting like I was her husband, shouting at me in front of the customers and saying I’d better look after the kid.”

Scotland Yard said that it would not confirm the name of the woman or her child until the father had been traced. He is thought to live in Paris.