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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Cheryl McEvoy

Inquiry into death of Glasgow toddler starved to death in hellish flat will last for weeks

An date has been for the inquiry into the death of a toddler starved to death by her parents.

The hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court is expected to last more than a month and hear from multiple witnesses following he horrific death of little Lauren Wade.

The two-year-old was found emaciated and covered in lice in the hellish Sighthill flat she shared with her natural mother Margaret Wade and her partner of 14 years Marie Sweeney and died 30 minutes after she was admitted to hospital.

Read more: Murder of teenage mum shot by boyfriend to feature in Sky Crime probe

A toxicology report after her death seven years ago found alcohol and diazepam in Lauren's body.

She was so malnourished her shoulders and backbone were visible through her skin, the palms of her hands and feet were black and her baby teeth decaying.

Wade and Sweeney were convicted of wilfully ill-treating the little girl and jailed for six years in 2019.

Wade, who was released on parole in March, has already said she does not want to appear at the hearing, due to start on Monday, July 11.

Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull will preside over the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the case that shocked the city.

The neglect of the toddler and two other children led to a Significant Case Review looking at how the health and social care agencies dealt with Lauren and her parents.

This later found that Wade and Sweeney were uniquely cruel and "devious" and avoided what they saw as "interference" from outside agencies such as health visitors and social workers.

It also highlighted a lack of "professional curiosity" from those charged with protecting the three year old.

The review also found that a large number of professionals dealing with the family did not push hard enough to see evidence of improvement in the family's circumstances after concerns were raised.

A police officer who attended the scene on the day Lauren died described the house as "uninhabitable" with rubbish piled so high in the kitchen he couldn't get in.

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