Revealed: Evil Baby P mum's Islington past
 | | Tracey Connelly – was raised in a council flat, off Essex Road |
THE MOTHER of Baby P - the tot who was tortured while on the at-risk register with Haringey Social Services - grew up in Islington, it has been revealed this week.
Tracey Connelly, 28, was brought up in a council flat, off Essex Road, by her Irish-born mother Mary O'Connor and a man who was not her dad.
After complaining of being physically abused, Connelly was taken under the wing of Islington Social Services in her early teens and sent to a boarding school.
She managed to pass a handful of GCSEs before leaving school at 16 and moving in with her then 33-year-old boyfriend.
They married at Haringey Civic Centre, but Connelly never had a full-time job.
Court orders had prevented the identification of Connelly and her boyfriend Steven Barker during the Baby P trial because Barker also faced trial for rape. Following his conviction, an order by the High Court meant that the pair could not be identified until Tuesday this week - a week after the second anniversary of Peter's death. But their names had already been published on websites including Facebook by the public.
In March 2006, Baby Peter was born and Tracey was at first "ecstatic" because she had always wanted a boy.
He lived with Connelly and his natural father in Finsbury Park, but family friends noticed that her enthusiasm soon waned.
The couple split after Connelly, who had already cheated on Peter's father, took Steven Barker to her school reunion.
Laura Swaby, who visited the home in Easter 2007, heard Connelly moaning that Peter "wanted cuddles all the time" and added: "She didn't seem to enjoying having him near her at all."
Connelly spent much of her time chatting online and appeared to be more devoted to her dogs, a German Shepherd called Lady and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Lucky, than her son.
Peter was often left playing in his playpen while his mother spent her time in front of the computer or television in a council flat which smelt of dog or human urine.
As the child's mother, she did nothing to stop Peter being abused and killed. She told a string of lies to cover up her relationship with Steven Barker and prevent her son being taken into care.
Connelly admitted she was desperate to keep her £450 a month in benefits and an allowance from Peter's father.
Her deceit continued even on August 2, 2007, the day her assault investigation was dropped. She rang her social worker and told her she didn't want more appointments for a month because they were going on holiday.
By then Peter was lying paralysed and his mother was trying to buy herself more time before she was arrested.
Connelly, of Penshurst Road, Tottenham, was cleared of murder on the direction of the judge but admitted causing or allowing the death.
In May this year she was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment for public protection with a minimum of five years before being considered for parole. However, she had already served nearly two years on remand.
Barker, from Tottenham, was cleared of murder and manslaughter but convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child. At his second trial he was convicted of rape.
He was given a life sentence and told he would serve a minimum of 10 years for rape and 12 years concurrent for causing or allowing the death of Baby Peter.
Barker's brother Jason Owen, of Bromley, Kent, was cleared of murder on the direction of the judge and convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child.
He was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment for public protection with a minimum of three years behind bars before being considered for parole.
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