The Cradle in the Grave (2 page)

 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Hannah, Sophie, 1971 –
[Room swept white]
The cradle in the grave / Sophie Hannah.
p. cm.

ISBN : 978-1-101-54373-3

1. Women television producers and directors—Fiction. 2. Sudden infant death
syndrome—Fiction. 3. Mothers—Crimes against—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6058.A5928R66 2011
823'.914—dc22 2011014075

 

 

 

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For Anne Grey, who introduced me to, among many other invaluable pieces of wisdom, the motto ‘Take nothing personally, even if it's got your name on it'. This dedication is the exception to that generally sound rule.

 

 

 

 

Helen Yardley, the Culver Valley childminder wrongly convicted of murdering her two baby sons, was found dead on Monday at her home in Spilling. Mrs Yardley, 38, was found by her husband Paul, a roofer aged 40, when he returned from work early in the evening. The death is being treated as ‘suspicious'. Superintendent Roger Barrow of Culver Valley Police said: ‘Our inquiries are ongoing, and the investigation is still at an early stage, but Mrs Yardley's family and the public can be assured that we are putting every possible resource into this. Helen and Paul Yardley have already endured intolerable anguish. It is vital that we handle this tragedy discreetly and efficiently.'

Mrs Yardley was convicted in November 1996 of the murders of her sons Morgan, in 1992, and Rowan, in 1995. The boys died aged 14 weeks and 16 weeks. Mrs Yardley was found guilty by a majority verdict of 11 to one and given two life sentences. In June 1996, while at home on bail awaiting trial, Mrs Yardley gave birth to a daughter, Paige, who was placed with a foster family and subsequently adopted. Interviewed in October 1997 on the day that he heard the family court's decision, Paul Yardley said: ‘To say that Helen and I are devastated is an understatement. Having lost two babies to crib death, we have now lost our precious daughter to a system that persecutes grieving families by stealing their children. Who are these monsters that decide to tear up the lives of innocent, law-abiding people? They don't care about us, or about the truth.'

In 2004, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which reviews possible miscarriages of justice, referred Mrs Yardley's case to the appeal court after campaigners raised doubts about the integrity of Dr Judith Duffy, one of the expert witnesses at the trial. In February 2005, Mrs Yardley was released after three judges in the court of appeal quashed her convictions. She had always maintained her innocence. Her husband had stood by her throughout her ordeal, working ‘20 hours a day, every day', according to a source close to the family, to clear his wife's name. He was helped by relatives, friends, and many parents whose children Mrs Yardley had looked after.

Journalist and writer Gaynor Mundy, 43, who collaborated with Mrs Yardley on her 2007 memoir
Nothing But Love
, said: ‘Everyone who knew Helen knew she was innocent. She was a kind, gentle, sweet person who could never harm anyone.'

TV producer and journalist Laurie Nattrass played a major role in the campaign to free Mrs Yardley. Last night he said: ‘I can't put into words the sadness and anger I feel. Helen might have died yesterday, but her life was taken from her 13 years ago, when she was found guilty of crimes she didn't commit, the murders of her two beloved sons. Dissatisfied with the torture it had already inflicted, the state then robbed Helen of her future by kidnapping – and there's no other word for it – her only surviving child.'

Nattrass, 45, Creative Director of Binary Star, a Soho-based media company, has won many awards for his documentaries about miscarriages of justice. He said, ‘For the past seven years, 90 per cent of my time has been spent campaigning for women like Helen, trying to find out what went so dreadfully wrong in so many cases.'

Mr Nattrass first met Mrs Yardley when he visited her in Geddham Hall women's prison in Cambridgeshire in 2002. Together they set up the pressure group JIPAC (Justice for Innocent Parents and Carers), formerly JIM. Mr Nattrass said: ‘Originally we called it “Justice for Innocent Mothers”, but it soon became clear that fathers and babysitters were being wrongly charged and convicted too. Helen and I wanted to help anyone whose life had been ruined in this way. Something needed to be done. It was unacceptable that innocent people were being blamed whenever there was an unexplained child death. Helen was as passionate about this as I am. She worked relentlessly to help other victims of injustice, both from prison and once she got out. Sarah Jaggard and Ray Hines, among others, have Helen to thank for their freedom. Her good work will live on.'

In July 2005, Wolverhampton hairdresser Sarah Jaggard, 30, was found not guilty of the manslaughter of Beatrice Furniss, the daughter of a friend, who died aged six months while in Mrs Jaggard's care. Mr Nattrass said: ‘Sarah's acquittal was the indicator I'd been waiting for that the public were starting to see reason. No longer were they willing to let vindictive police and lawyers and corrupt doctors lead them on a witch-hunt.'